I should start by saying this is my first Hilo. I just bought the trailer after it has been sitting in the up position for about 2 years.

I have lubed up the hydrolic arm that has been exposed. Lucky me no rust. I lubed up the cables and the support wheels all around. Hooked up a new battery and of course no response. Yes I have lights and as soon as I connected a battery I did hear something winding up. I certainly have power, however nothing happens when I hit the switch to move it up. I of course can not disengage the safety cable. I have a lot of work to do on her. Anyone have any advice on where to start with the lifting system. Everything underneath seems to be intact. Of course I will not be moving it until I figure out how to get it down. Anyone understand the apparent manual system I am reading about but cant seem to figure out. I am assuming nothing is going to happen until I can get that safety cable released right?

I have the 1984 manual I got from this forum..I am sure this one is 99% same as 1983 right?

Hello Jman and welcome to the forum.

As I understand it, you are saying the weight of the top on the safety bar is keeping you from releasing the bar, and that you cannot lift the top.

I think your trailer has a "Master Switch", that should be near the lifting switch. This is a 3-postition switch that has to be in the "Top Moving" position to allow the Lifting Switch to work. If you are able to turn on interior lights, the Master Switch is in the wrong position. Move it all the way to the opposite setting (through the center, neutral, position). Try to lift the top with the Master Switch in this new position. If you hear the lifting motor run, you should be able to pull the cable release and then you can lower the top.

If what I've told you doesn't apply, let us know.

- Jack

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I don't believe your Hi-Lo has the master switch that Jack mentioned, that came in later years. If the safety bar doesn't release it is probably because of the weight of the top holding it in position. You will need to raise the top enough to get the weight off the bar. If the top is not raising and the motor is making noise it could be that the hydraulic fluid is too low to fill the system, there could be a leak somewhere. I believe Dexron II or III transmission fluidis what is used. Don't fill the reservoir with any more fluid than it takes to make the top move up, otherwise when the top does lower you will have fluid gushing out of the reservoir. It is only supposed to be filled when the top is down.

Please keep us up to date on your progress.

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The hydraulic pump that lifts the top is the same one use to lift hydraulic tailgates on trucks, for loading. Its a simple switch one way up powers the pump by exciting the motor with a starter Solenoid. The Solenoid should be attached to the pump. It has a set of battery cables coming off 2 large lugs 1 to the battery and 1 to the pump. The wire on the small lug is the up wire from the switch ( it supply's a small electric current to power lift). The other wire from the switch goes to pressure release valve (another Solenoid) that releases the pressure on the pump allowing it to go down. Its easily spotted it has a hand valve that you can release pressure with also.Top must be completely up to release the safety bar. Solenoids go out the most. What is the use of a solenoid?
A solenoid is a coil of insulated or enameled wire wound on a rod-shaped form made of solid iron, solid steel, or powdered iron.Devices of this kind can be used as electromagnets, as inductors in electronic circuits.

Thank you all for the suggestions...Mystery solved...the motor was not rising because the solenoid was bad. My other issue was that I was not balanced!!! I had not given the respect to how important it really is. Well I did figure it out before I was actually able to lower it. In addition I used an 800 grit wet sand paper on the hydrolic arm wiped it off then used a spray grease. While I was under there I sprayed all the pullies and cables. I must say I am very impressed with how well built these things are. This hydrolic/cable system scares me a bit but since these are so overbuilt, I am hoping I can get a few more years out of this old girl. I have a big interior restoration ahead of me now. I will need interior and exterior bulbs, I have yet to locate any actual fuses, only a breaker box with 4 separate breakers. The connection to my 2006 Tahoe fit perfectly, however no exterior lights are working as of yet. The original fridge is long gone and I have not tested the furnace yet or the stove...I did notice that the holding tank for the toilet is heavily damaged...I am sure I could use an aftermarket for that yes? Where is the best place for parts for these trailers? I welcome all comments as I have a lot to learn about this trailer. I really want to avoid the learning the hard way on this project.

Jman, almost everything that needs ANY kind of repair has been repaired by someone on this forum. Use the "search" feature at the top of the main page to narrow your search and go from there, or just ask, and someone will chime in pretty quick.
Most surely the lift system is critical, and should be a priority. Once raised, ensure the seal on the top portion (between the walls) mates with the raised METAL trim of the bottom (NOT all the way to the wood trim inside). If you look at the door jam, you'll see what I'm talking about. When raising or lowering, the unit should be as level as possible.
Below the Hydraulic piston is a "GUIDE ROD", this needs to be very clean and smooth and lubed with lithium type grease. Very important! NOT paying attention to this rod WILL cause the top to jam up or down. It's not chrome, but should be as smooth.
Just take your time and by all means watch the Hi Lo videos in the library -32 or 36 short but important videos.
Welcome to the RIGHT place,
Tree

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Treeclimber
2703 Tow Lite
2002 Escalade
Bonita Springs, Fl. &
Andrews, NC

Amazon, Craigslist, EBay and my local RV Dealer are my best places for parts

Jman, going to try and post a pic of the BULB seal. The black seal at the bottom needs to meet the raised portion under the screw. Let's see if this works! Think it worked! hoo-ray!

Attached Images

bulb seal.jpg (98.1 KB, 13 views)

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Treeclimber
2703 Tow Lite
2002 Escalade
Bonita Springs, Fl. &
Andrews, NC