First Time Under My HiLo

[Mel Goddard]

The full shaft of the rod you lubricate should be visible when the unit is up. I use white silicone grease . It sprays on and you can spread it around if you like.but, you don't want to wipe it OFF the rod.

The pulleys are both below and inside. Below- follow the cables. You will find pulleys in both the center of the trailer and on the sides. Inside you need to remove the screws on the rails of the lower walls and remove the moldings to find the pulleys. There should be four. Two in the front and two in the back. Right side and lest side. Once you see where the cables start heading up the wall from below you will have idea where to locate them inside.

I don't use wd40. I use a chain lube product made by liquid wrench. I lube the cables also by spraying the lube on a rag and running it along the cables. That way I can detect any frayed cables.

Rick

How the heck can you reach down to wipe-lube the cables from the top????
I tries it and couldn't reach my arm down there. Underneath, the cables are rustproofed by the KROWN undercoating process. so I just used WD-40, and ran it down the cables.

 

[Mel Goddard]

Do you lube them with the top up, or down?

Having asked that question: I opened up my cable access for the first time, have difficulty in lube-wiping the exposed cables, and just ran some WD-40 down the cables.
I hadn't checked them before, because HiLo told me that they had a lifetime warranty; and I just assumed that they were Stainless Steel cables. Nope.
Two of them had rust at the top end of the run, but still seems to be good.

 

[Mel Goddard]

It also wouldn't hurt to wear a pair of gloves and run a rag along the cables as you lubricate them. This is what I did to check for fraying cables.

Bob

:How did you get in there to wipe/lube them? I found no room for my hand.
So I just ran a lot of WD-40 down the cables from the top pulley end. The cables underneath are protected by the 'Krown' rustproofing that was done when new.

 

[Treeclimber]

Mel, most of my time in the Navy, I worked in aviation. One of the hundreds of things to do on ALL aircraft is to periodically open panels and inspect and lube the cables. Just three or four drops (keeping as much as possible ON the cable) was enough, as the light oil will work it's way INTO the cable through capillary action. Repeating the process will eventually saturate the cable. Continued application (3-4 X a year) will keep it that way. Flexible.
Tree

 

[JoyNoelle]

Well, I made it under the Hi Lo on a wet and dripping Sunday. The application of the grease was fairly easy and the rod looked great. It looks like the previous owner took great care of the system. I visibly checked all the cables and they looked great. Also there was calk around many all the holes I could see on the bottom. Unfortunately, the mice got in again so I am going to have to figure that out. I couldn't quite figure out the hydraulic fluid level so I need to fashion some sort of dipstick as I can't really see well at all into the tank.

Now onto sanitizing the fresh water tank and cleaning up after the mice for the second time this season. Yuck!

 

[RCREYES]

Well, I made it under the Hi Lo on a wet and dripping Sunday. The application of the grease was fairly easy and the rod looked great. It looks like the previous owner took great care of the system. I visibly checked all the cables and they looked great. Also there was calk around many all the holes I could see on the bottom. Unfortunately, the mice got in again so I am going to have to figure that out. I couldn't quite figure out the hydraulic fluid level so I need to fashion some sort of dipstick as I can't really see well at all into the tank.

Now onto sanitizing the fresh water tank and cleaning up after the mice for the second time this season. Yuck!

You can make a simple dipstick by bending a straw. Stuff some steel wool into all the openings. That should stop your mice problem.

 

[RichR]

I believe it was mentioned here before to use Blaster Garage Door Lube, it is a dry type lube that does not collect dust and dirt. I used it this Spring and I think it will be a winner.

 

[sam-HILO]

mouse proofing

Jack mentioned that you could go under your hilo when it is dark outside. With the help of another person you can shine a flashlight all around. Any places on the inside where the light comes through needs to be pluged up. This is where the mice are able to squeeze through. Hope this helps.

 

[sam-HILO]

Good product to use for lubing cables

Go to Walmart and get this can of spray in the gun dept. It is called Break Free CLP. Cleans lubes and protects. One can should do a smaller trailer. DH uses 1 1/2 cans on our 25ft. trailer. His least favourite job to position the Rv several times. Lots of body twisting laying on cardboard to get it all lubed up. This was recommended by another forum member.

 

[JackandJanet]

Jack mentioned that you could go under your hilo when it is dark outside. With the help of another person you can shine a flashlight all around. Any places on the inside where the light comes through needs to be pluged up. This is where the mice are able to squeeze through. Hope this helps.

Actually, it was RichR who suggested that in my "mousproofing thread". And, he pointed out that you could do it "solo" by putting a bright light like a quartz light under the trailer and then going inside to look for light in openings. You'd probably want to move the light around a bit to check everything.

- Jack

 

[Mel Goddard]

Joy, the hydraulic fluid should be within an inch of the top of the tank filler opening. Mine is 1/2" below the top. If the tank were only half full, there would probably not be enough fluid to raise the top.

- Jack

And if you fill the tank too far, it will spill out and you'll have a real mess to clean up on your driveway. 'Ask me how I know'!

 

[Mel Goddard]

You can make a simple dipstick by bending a straw. Stuff some steel wool into all the openings. That should stop your mice problem.

I made a dipstick from the tail of a 'tie wrap'. with a notch at the proper level.

 

[RCREYES]

I made a dipstick from the tail of a 'tie wrap'. with a notch at the proper level.

Necessity is the mother of invention....