The front is not lifting up
 

I just bought a 1995 Tow Lite 26 foot from the original owner. He told me that the lift mechanism worked fine when packing before their last trip but when they arrived at the camp ground the rear will start to go up but the front does not move. What do you suggest I do to try and fix it. Thanks

Go under the front of the trlr.
View the pulley cables and see if they have come off of the pulleys. Unusual.
There may be damage.
Or the cables have broken.
Unusual that both broke

Thanks for your reply. The cables are on the pulleys The rear will rise up but I only go about 3” because I don’t want to force it. It is like it is caught on something in the front.

Check to see that nothing fell in between the top and bottom half and is jamming it up. If clear, check the guide blocks to make sure they are not broken or missing. They are located on the inside lower edge of the top. They slide on the slide rails mounted on the outside of the bottom half. This is what keeps the top in alignment when raising and lowering. Happy hunting....

Bob

HiLo problems
 

Hi Vstrom; Have you looked at the pullies on the lower half on the top beam/rail. These two pullies turn the cables 180 degrees where the cable connects to the top half. The pullies are made of a composite and do come apart. I have not seen any made of metal. Check to see if something fell down between the upper and lower half and jammed the top half. There are small doors that cover over the fresh water fill tube and outdoor shower fixture that if left open when the top was lowered could have jammed the top. The screws that mount the verticle guide rails on the outside of the bottom half have been known to have backed out enough to jam the top. Let us know if any of this works. Good luck.

easy fix , buy cable and clamps and treaded eyebolts , did my whole trailer under 50 dollars with all new parts

jack up with farm jacks to see problem

Vstrom650, did you get it figured out? I had the same issue but on the back. Discovered we forgot to unplug the AC jack and it was holding it up. I was curious to see if you discovered the issue and what the fix was?

Caution with those farm jacks until you know the problem. If you start jacking, you'll have to coordinate raising with the switch. Just jacking alone will raise the front end off the ground or you'll hear damage occurring. You can also damage the pulley mounting brackets. It mainly depends on what's causing the jam. Find that CAUSE FIRST! As retiredcamper and JIM L says, it may be something jammed or a door popped open when you lowered it last time.
Tree

This reads like Vstrom650 bought this trailer sight unseen or didn't raise it for a look inside b4 the purchase!!

Thanks for the reply’s. It will be next week before I can work on the trailer again.

Thanks for everybody’s ideas. I will check the front to see if anything is caught. Thanks for the advice on jacking while using the at power system at the same time. I would not have thought of that.

The PO told me in advance that on the last trip the front would not go up but that the back would start to rise. This is a one owner trailer that is in very good condition. The only other issue is that the front curb side tire wears out very fast.

I appreciate your suggestions. I will post pictures and videos when I start working on the trailer next week.

Nope. The owner was very up front with me about the roof being stuck on the front. It is a one owner trailer that has been stored inside when not in use. I would appreciate any suggests. Thanks Randy.

I worked on the trailer today. The front pulleys near the ram are in bad shape and I will replace them. I fabricated a new support bracket to hold up the ram. My question now is concerning the very front of the ram. It looks to me like there was a tip on the very front of the ram that fit into the heavy steel plate that slides along the bar. It appears that my tip is broken off into the heavy moving plate. Is there suppose to be a tip on the very front of the ram and if so is it replaceable?