somthing broke, top pass side droped 3' - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

robobd · 02-23-2011, 10:32 AM

I just purchased a 88 22L , drove 750 miles , got home and leveled out the camper. i went to raise the top and had it 3/4 of the way up and the door side came crashing down after a loud pop. now the driver side wall is bulging out and I cant get anything to go up or down, and most of the guide tracks are off. any ideas on how to fix my major probllem: inexpensively?

Bruce Leach · 02-23-2011, 02:53 PM

It sounds like one of your lifting cables broke. The same thing happened to me however I was lucky enough to have it happen while I was still looking at the trailer. I was able to re-negotiate the price. The quickest way to see if a cable broke is to look under the trailer and see if the cable is hanging down and loose on that side.

If it is a broken cable there are some excellent reference material in this forum. Search cable replacement. There is a PDF file that I followed to replace mine. I went ahead and replaced all 4 cables. JR Repair also listed in this forum has the replacement cables needed. I think I paid $45 plus shipping for the replacement cables.

Bruce Leach
2293L
Expedition

retiredcamper47 · 02-23-2011, 02:55 PM

Sounds like a cable snapped. If you are lucky, it might only be a pulley. Get some friends to come over and place them at each corner of the trailer. While you operate the lift switch they will be raising the top half in a level fashion. Once the top is all the way up, support the four corners with 2x4's or 4x4's. Now you can inspect the cables, guide rails, guide blocks, and pulleys. Contact Jim or Rob at J & R Repair for needed parts (419-883-3001). There are threads on this forum that explain how to change out cables and such. If it is a cable, I would replace all 4 cables at the same time. Better safe than sorry. The other three cables have raised & lowered the top as much as the broken one. Good luck.

Bob

JMDoering · 02-23-2011, 03:39 PM

If the top is jammed too hard for your friendly volunteers to lift, consider investing $60 or so bucks in a 60" farm jack from Harbor Freight (better yet, borrow one if you can).

Don't be too disappointed with your new Hi-Lo. This sort of thing is VERY rare. BTW, its a good thing to inspect and lubricate the cables and pulleys periodically as a preventative.

Jim

davegilbert · 03-10-2013, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMDoering

consider investing $60 or so bucks in a 60" farm jack
Jim

I know this is an older post, but I hope I can get an answer to this: does anyone have a method of jacking the Hi-Lo up to provide more room for working under it? I'm wondering if one were to use two of these jacks, one on each side, to raise the unit up -- and then, of course, put heavy duty jack stands or concrete blocks under it to secure the trailer and provide safety -- if one could get more workable room under it to repair various items (such as the grey/black water tanks, etc.). I'd also like to wire a backup camera into my 24' Tow-Lite.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance. . . .

JackandJanet · 03-10-2013, 12:59 PM

I put a big block of wood on top of a bottle jack to raise the trailer, then support it with the jack stands. The block of wood, about a 6" length of 4x4, acts as sort of an "extension", giving me more lift distance with the jack.

Hopefully, everyone understands I don't get underneath any part of the trailer until the jack stands are in place and have taken over the job of supporting the trailer.

As far as a backup camera goes, I tried this. I ran the video and power line back underneath the trailer from the hitch area. Then, I mounted the camera on a bike carrier I have on the back bumper. It worked, but was not particularly helpful. I've stopped using it and have gone back to the side mirrors on my tow vehicle.

- Jack

JMDoering · 03-11-2013, 12:49 PM

Hi Dave,

Our 1969 Bon Voyage was pretty close to the ground, having been designed to be towed, not by modern SUVs and trucks, but by the power cars of the 1960's. Jack stands have always made me a bit wary, especially if you're going to be doing any heavy torqueing, prying or hammering. My solution was to take some scrap 2X6's from an old deck, and construct a simple, but stout, pair of box ramps long enough so both wheels per side would sit on a flat. Then all I had to do was pull or back the trailer up on the ramps and block the wheels. If it was just a quick job, like bleeding the surge brakes, I'd leaved it hitched to rely on the TV brakes. The box ramps gave me about a foot in extra clearance and crawl room.

I know there are molded ramps available for raising a car off the ground for work clearance, but I'm not sure I'd trust them under the weight of a trailer.

Good luck,
Jim