Hi-Lo 1810H - Trouble Lowering

Hello all,

I have an 1810H that was performing great and then, not so much. Long story short, the front right side won't come down although the other three corners appear to be operating properly. I tried to raise it all the way with a jack and then let it rest on studs to release the cable pressure to see if there was any slack to be taken out or change a cable.

Anybody can offer any ideas as to where I should begin to troubleshoot this problem? I tried to figure/ it out and the only thing I can think of it the cable possibly having sheared a pulley and the cable is hung up?

Thanks

JCD, I moved your post to its own thread, because I don't think your problem relates to the issue discussed at length in the thread you initially put it in.

You MAY have pretty much correctly diagnosed the lowering problem with your idea of a pulley/cable interference issue. I suspect, if the cable is not moving on that side, that the cable there will be somewhat slack if you lower the top a bit. I'd try that, but don't lower it so much that you twist the top much, because you can break the guide blocks.

If you find that the cable is binding somewhere, and you can't see where under the trailer, then I suspect you'll find the problem under the interior trim strip that is on top of the bottom half INSIDE the trailer. You have to take that trim strip off (just remove the screws). That will show you the cable as it goes over the topmost pulley in the system. I suspect, rather than a pulley break, that the cable may have become frayed there and is binding through the small opening that it has to pass through.

If so, you'll have to replace the cable. You should inspect the other cables at their upper pulleys if this is the case, because they might be damaged too. The cables tend to rust and break over the top pulleys because they don't get inspected often enough and don't get lubricated.

Let us know what you find.

- Jack

Hawdy,
Thank you for the prompt response. I thought I had started a new thread but my eyes deceived me. Thanks for the move.

Thank you for pointing out the location of where to start. I thought it could be a bind but need to see if these guides and tracks will accommodate changing the pulley or having to replace the entire part. I hope it's nice and easy and not a summer job. will get back and advise on what it is? Thanks again.

Thank you JacknJanet.
To update, the cable came off the sheave so after some pulling and tugging and resetting and adjusting, the top goes up and down great. The only thing I noticed is that the right front cable may be in need of more tightening because the front right corner is about 1/2" lower than the others when the top is fully deployed. While under there I also noticed the safety latch is not locking the bar so one more thing to do.

Great! Looks like you did a great job of troubleshooting and repair. When you say, "came off the sheave", do you mean it was off a pulley? Possibly the upper one? If so, maybe that cable was sort of "loose", so it didn't ride down in the pulley properly, and that might correlate with the right front corner being low.

When you adjust, tighten the cable(s) just enough to make the bulb seal on the edge of the top half meet the "lip" on the lower half. Take the inside trim strip off the bottom half so you can see the bulb seal from inside the trailer. Don't go too high, or you can damage the area where the cable attaches to the top half (it will dig into the frame there).

If the latch is not locking, you may need to shorten ALL the cables, to raise the top higher. Again, just get the bulb seal to meet the lip.

- Jack

Lowering problem.

Lube your cables while you have the inside cable exposed. Glad Jack got you on the right path.

JackandJanet said:

Great! Looks like you did a great job of troubleshooting and repair. When you say, "came off the sheave", do you mean it was off a pulley? Possibly the upper one? If so, maybe that cable was sort of "loose", so it didn't ride down in the pulley properly, and that might correlate with the right front corner being low.

When you adjust, tighten the cable(s) just enough to make the bulb seal on the edge of the top half meet the "lip" on the lower half. Take the inside trim strip off the bottom half so you can see the bulb seal from inside the trailer. Don't go too high, or you can damage the area where the cable attaches to the top half (it will dig into the frame there).

If the latch is not locking, you may need to shorten ALL the cables, to raise the top higher. Again, just get the bulb seal to meet the lip.

- Jack

Click to expand...

Good morning, evening to others...

Thank you for the kind words but still have to finish the job.
Well, it came off the sheave but it did not come off the pulley on to the top rail at all, and yes, it was the top pulley. It just lost the groove and then it locked itself into the side of the pulley pin. I'm so glad that it wasn't frayed or sheared but like you, I suspect that it may have been loose.

I did adjust it just as you said and I'm thinking that it is like you indicated loose. I'm going to get back to it asap even though if I didn't measure, you would never know. It appears that the proper length to have the seals in proper location is 30 inches so I'm going to recut my 2x4's and set them all first then lower and tighten.

Will advise on progress. Thanks again.

sam said:

Lube your cables while you have the inside cable exposed. Glad Jack got you on the right path.

Click to expand...

Hello,
Yes sir. I did a full lube job on everything that moves from the mechanisms on the roof to the bearings on the axle. I do mean everything that moves. I just figured if I was there already, might as well. Everything!!

Thanks

JCD - you were being more technically correct in your calling the "wheel" part of the pulley system the "sheave". I had to look that name up, so you taught me something today - thanks!. We all just call the wheel the pulley, so now I understand that the cable was probably resting over the axle but not in the wheel.

If the cable is undamaged, you won't have to replace it. I normally just lower the top onto 2x4s to take tension off the cables, then move the adjustment bolts out (or in) the same distance that I need to change the height of the top. It's a 1:1 adjustment - there's no mechanical advantage in the pulley/cable arrangement. You don't really have to have 2x4s that are long enough to hold the top fully up.

FYI sam is a lady - she posts quite often.

- Jack

sam said:

Lube your cables while you have the inside cable exposed. Glad Jack got you on the right path.

Click to expand...

Sam I apologize. I was unaware that you were a female and called you sir instead of ma'am.

JackandJanet said:

JCD - you were being more technically correct in your calling the "wheel" part of the pulley system the "sheave". I had to look that name up, so you taught me something today - thanks!. We all just call the wheel the pulley, so now I understand that the cable was probably resting over the axle but not in the wheel.

If the cable is undamaged, you won't have to replace it. I normally just lower the top onto 2x4s to take tension off the cables, then move the adjustment bolts out (or in) the same distance that I need to change the height of the top. It's a 1:1 adjustment - there's no mechanical advantage in the pulley/cable arrangement. You don't really have to have 2x4s that are long enough to hold the top fully up.

FYI sam is a lady - she posts quite often.

- Jack

Click to expand...

Hello to all,
NP Jack. Glad I could be of educational value. To be fair, I'm a sailor of more than 40 years so all these hardware's and their associated parts are easy to remember. Did you know that there are no named ropes on a boat and the only rope that exists on a boat is a bell rope?

So I cut the 2x4's to 30 inches, dropped the lid and got under her again to get it all adjusted and she is now level and working as designed. The nice thing is that I can still lay down the outer box and relieve the cable tension while the trailer is static. I think it may be a good idea to plan a full re-cabling if and when there is any down time but I think I may be taking care of some other tiny things first.
Thanks again

Great to have you onboard, JCD. My knowledge of ship/boat terminology is pretty sparse, but I DO know a submarine is a "boat" and not a ship. I know why the sides are called "port" (Dock/boarding/left) and "starboard". And, you salute the ensign at the stern of a military ship when boarding.

I also know the potty is called the "head", because it used to be that you went up to the bowsprit on old sailing ships to perform that function.

However, I'm much more comfortable with aviation terms since I spent 20 years as an Air Force pilot.

- Jack

Interesting post on the correct names for the parts.

My user name..Smeraldo, Ann and Melissa. First letter of each name SAM.In this forum is a lengthy document on how to make cables and how to change them out. I wouldn't change them out unless absolutely frayed or broken.

JackandJanet said:

Great to have you onboard, JCD. My knowledge of ship/boat terminology is pretty sparse, but I DO know a submarine is a "boat" and not a ship. I know why the sides are called "port" (Dock/boarding/left) and "starboard". And, you salute the ensign at the stern of a military ship when boarding.

I also know the potty is called the "head", because it used to be that you went up to the bowsprit on old sailing ships to perform that function.

However, I'm much more comfortable with aviation terms since I spent 20 years as an Air Force pilot.

- Jack

Click to expand...

Top of the morning to all,

Thank you for your service Jack. I gave the Marine Corps 12 years. I wanted to make it a half-life career but as luck would have it, 2 wars made me rethink if I will survive the third so I decided to serve in the USA theatre and here I am, 4 grown up headaches and 9 headache reducing grandkids, 3 of which are already in college. Unbelievable now that I think of it.

To update some more, the fridge for some reason was on the fritz and would not work on ac/dc, but is working on propane. Have to troubleshoot that but I can't find a breaker box to establish circuit continuity. Also, the roof unit does not want to turn on so I have to recheck the electrical. I did find the in-line fuses on everything but still need to find the breaker box. Will let you know how it goes. After that I'll start of the HWH and the furnace.
Everyone have a great day.
Thanks

Hawdy to all,

Well, the fridge now works on all 3 fuel sources. Also, I found the breaker panel which is not inside a drawer. Tomorrow I will be troubleshooting the a/c and the furnace. I need to establish if power is getting to the units then figure it out from there.

I'm starting to think that running the camper from home with 15 amps instead of a direct 30amp feed may not provide enough amps to kick the a/c into gear. The furnace also will need to be looked over.

I can't believe how many things go to sleep when you put them to bed for a season. Wow. Back to it.

I don't think you CAN run the A/C off a 15A feed. I am able to run mine off a 20A circuit, but I've also installed a "soft-start" device on the A/C, and, I have not tried to run the A/C with any other A/C device powered (refrigerator, hot water heater, microwave). I never even tried to run the A/C off that power source before I installed the soft start, so I don't know if it would have worked.

In a full service campground with 30A service, I found that the A/C would trip the campground circuit breaker if I was also powering the refrigerator and hot water heater on shore power. This was when the trailer was new and I was learning things about it.

I think the A/C can pull around 25A during start without a soft start. The fridge and hot water heater work very efficiently on propane. That's how I operate them.

- Jack