Rich, I had to move a stack of 1.25"x20 ft lumber to get my truck back there, but your suggestion to jump the battery worked. Seems the top was not up all the way as I thought, for it rose a fraction before topping out with the usual pump squeal. Now, I'm off to have the battery checked - its connections were clean and tight, but it's of an unknown yet undoubtedly old vintage. I assume that if it's good but merely discharged, then something else will be the next suspect.

RC47 - no such breaker yet found on this 93-21FLL.

Hopefully the battery is the culprit, I should have thought of that sooner. Get a deep cycle battery for maximum life. The breaker(s) are usually mounted on the side of the battery/pump compartment and can be either inside or outside depending upon the year the trailer was built. They put me mind of an old metal aspirin container or a miniature sardine can and should have two terminal posts on them. But, if you are getting some power to the pump it probably is not the breaker. The older breakers had reset buttons on them, the newer ones automatically reset after cooling down. I'm not up on older HiLo's but I think they had a fuse inside behind the main power and lift switch. Maybe one of our experts can clarify that.

__________________
Great Wife, Joyce
2010 2310H Hi-Lo
2012 F150 4X4 SuperCrew EcoBoost w/Leer Cap
Reese WD Strait-Line Hitch
Amateur Radio K3EXU

Two tests, identical results:

5 volts, 0 cranking amps, "replace battery"

That was obvious to robobd and Rich as the probable cause. It should have been obvious to me, too, but no, when it lifted in increments "as though it had been exhausting a weak battery" I instead assumed without thinking that the lift runs on household current and something else was to blame.

[no head-slap emoticon is available here]

Duly humbled, we looked at our situation a little harder. We don't seem to need a battery to live in the trailer in one spot, while plugged into line current. The trailer isn't going anyplace else until at least April, when our house is expected to be finished. Right now it is blocked by construction materials, but surely even in April we will want a break from trailer life and our new house will feel like a vacation. Meanwhile, sure, we might need to move the trailer a few feet to get out of the way of some unforeseen construction process; but this can be done slowly and carefully with the top up, or we could jump it again. Later, when we want the trailer to really travel, seems to be the right time to buy a nice fresh battery. Unless I'm making another rash assumption...

This forum is invaluable. There's no telling how much time and money I would have spent chasing geese, without its help. Many, many thanks to those who replied, and to those whose troubleshooting of the problems of others became useful references for people like me. Merry Christmas to all!

Jeff

I'm glad you found the problem. Sometimes we tend to overlook the basic causes.

I love stories with happy endings!!

__________________
Great Wife, Joyce
2010 2310H Hi-Lo
2012 F150 4X4 SuperCrew EcoBoost w/Leer Cap
Reese WD Strait-Line Hitch
Amateur Radio K3EXU