Hello, I am new to this, but about a year ago a dear hunting friend past away. I inherited his late 1960's-early 70's Hi Lo. It has been sitting in a field for about 10 years. needless to say, I am thinking about re-vamping it to make it usable again. First off, the electrical cord seems cut off, but I am not even sure it is the electrical cord. There is a cut off/broken exterior heavy coiled wire in the front, by the propane tanks. That wire looks like a HEAVY duty coiled phone cord. Does anyone know if this is the electrical cord? I need to be able to raise the camper up. Second question: can the camper be raised manually?

The cord you describe is the electrical cord.. It will need to be replaced.In order to raise the top up you need a fully charged battery. I doubt if you have a manual pump to raise the top up.

Thank you very much. This helps. I did crawl in the camper and saw where the battery goes. Perhaps I can raise the camper if I install a charged battery?

Yes, IF the lifting motor, the hydraulic system and the lifting cables are all in good shape, you simply need to get battery-level power to the motor to lift the top. My concern is that it's been "neglected" for 10 years, so you likely have some problem areas in these components, and I would not expect the lifting cables to be sound. If one or more of these break when you are raising the top, it will cause more damage.

I would try to get the top up some other way besides using the lift system.The most "normal" way, is to use farm jacks, and then support the top when it is up by using 2x4s cut to length under the top to hold it in the up position. Alternatively, four semi-strong people should be able to lift the top if you don't use jacks.

Once the top is up, you can thoroughly inspect the cables and replace any that show ANY signs of fraying or rust. You would also have access to the battery and the lift motor and you could correct any problems with those that you find.

My guess is, since the camper has been sitting outside exposed to the elements for such a long time with no maintenance, you are going to find a great deal of deterioration. It CAN be restored, if you have the patience and ability to do it.

- 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
2014 F150 Platinum 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost SCrew

Thank you Jack. Using Jacks or 4 strong people sounds like a manageable way to get this thing up. I appreciate the help.

The cord up next to propane tanks on my 1990 model is the hookup to the tow vehicle for lights, brakes, etc. Normally the electric cord ( 30 amp) is coiled and stored in a side compartment, at least on mine. If it is for vehicle hook up then it should have 7 or 8 smaller wires encased inside the cord. If it is 30 amp electric hookup it will have two covered heavier electrical wires and a bare copper ground wire.

The coiled cord is for lighting in tail break signal ect should be a seven pin plug actually power cord in outside of our 69 plugs in at top of window on drivers side to the shore power. A battery will be needed to raise the top via hydraulic pump you should have a switch in side to achieve this.

FREDDIE: Exactly. Same for my 2001, 24'Towlite Hi-Lo.