The seal inside the cylinder went out on my 2705 Towlite. Had it removed and sent to a shop and they replaced the seal. Third time now and it still won't work. Each time they return it, it will work a few times and quits again. When it tries to go up the motor runs and the top will go up maybe a 1/4 inch. When you let off the up button it automatically goes back down. I am into this for $1000 now and still can't use my Hi-LO. Wanting to sell it but can't in this condition. Would like to buy another new ram and cylinder. Thanks for any ideas.

Frustrated, welcome to the forum and sorry to hear of your troubles.

Just a thought, have you checked that the manual lowering valve is completely closed? It's possible a bit of debris is caught in it and is not letting it close fully. Your symptoms describe an opened lowering valve (as well, of course, failed seals in the cylinder).

Fully open the valve and run the lift to flush the valve. Then, close it and see if it works.You might need to do this a couple times if it IS the valve, to clear and reseat it properly.

I'd think the shop would have inspected the cylinder for any defects that would cause damage to the seals under use. And, didn't they give you a guarantee for at least a short period after the repair?

- Jack

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Hi-Lo 1707T - Tire Minder TPMS on Tow Vehicle and Trailer, 300W Solar Battery Charger, Equal-i-zer WDH, Progressive Dynamics Converter, Fan-Tastic Fan, LiFePO4 battery 12V DC Electrical System
2024 F150 Platinum FX4 3.5L PowerBoost SCrew

Truly sorry about your repairs. We are so lucky to have Jack to answer technical questions. I hope his tips help. Keep us posted.

Good morning,

Has the shop said what is wrong with the "new" seals when you have returned it for re-repair? Are the seals actually damaged/blown out or are they not finding any damage upon re-inspection and re-repair? I am wondering if they are using a traditional hydraulic oil seal rather than using one approved for Dextron 1-3. Is the shop aware that our trailer use Dextron 1-3 rather than a traditional hydraulic oil?

Please let us know what you find out.

And those are good points too! Thanks, 97towlite. If the seals ARE failing, what's making them do that?

- Jack

The Rv repair shop is working with the hydraulic repair shop to get this resolved. Not getting anything done for the last two weeks now. I offered to pay half for them to try and source a new cylinder and ram. It was in the repair shop for three months. Just got it back and still not working. The RV repair guy said he will try to find a new one. Not sure that's going to happen.

my mechanical opinion- just replacing the seal is apparently, not what was needed. it doesn't take much of a nick to kill a hydraulic seal. the cylinder should have been rebuilt which would have included honing, polishing and checking for straightness, parallel and wear; if this was actually done, then something is definitely wrong with the system and you will probable blow a new cylinder. again, just my opinion