Hi Ralph - I'm reasonably certain the dent on the inside (caused by cable tension) is caused by attempting to raise the top too much at that point. Once the bulb seal makes contact, the top is not going to go much further up without a lot of force. I suspect the dent is the least of the possible troubles that could be encountered.

- Jack

Jack,
That may have been the case in the past. The cables have stretched so that the top no longer completely reaches to top seal. If I repair as you did I may get a better seal. There are several things wrong with it. The sag at the structural weak point at the door has caused and the incorrect installation of the box awning (they drilled 2 holes and didn't patch the other) has caused water damage that I have repaired. I wish I had found this forum when I first bought it. I do love my TowLite but it is 19 years old and only travels about 300 miles a year.
Ralph

Rolff,

My lift system has been my biggest headache with this unit. It is supposed to be bombproof but I bought it when it was 2 years old and 2 cables snapped from rust the second time I had it out. Then as you can see the attach points for the cables are failing.

I like the Hilo but there are some design flaws that become apparent from time to time.

It tows a lot easier than the 28 ' Crossroads I had previously. And of course it had problems even though I bought it new :eek:

I am looking forward to some winter camping here in Arkansas pretty soon.

Regards
Ray

They don't maintain themselves. The previous owner obviously didn't read the section of the manual on maintaining the lift system. If properly cleaned and lubed the lift system should last many years without trouble.

Why not make the lift points out of thick aluminum instead of wood. As mentioned in the thread above the rail other than the lift points is boxed aluminum which will last forever.

When I had the cables replaced, they put thicker ones on which will increase strength and life.

The Monarch lift pump seems to be first rate. It will lift a much heavier load than the top half of trailer.

It would probably only added another 100.00 to the cost of what the original owners paid which was 24000.00

Over the years Hilo improved the structure of the rails and moved from entirely wood (which I've read in this forum some have replaced after it rotted out) to some wood.

But I still like the ease with which it tows and will keep camping in it til I can't.

Ray

I believe that the cable cutting into the frame was my fault. The first year I got it I was excited to work on it and I left it up all winter supported by the cables. I can't say for sure what snow we had but we always have some. I also have left it up for extended summers on out RV property without support. I thought the safety bar took the weight from the cables.
There are so many fine features to the Hi-Lo that is is a shame that some simple things weren't done as Ray said at the factory to improve them. In mine if someone had sealed the misdrilled hole from the box fan I would not have had water damage.