Good day working on the 1703

[thewalters]

First let me say this is a great forum. The information, knowledge, and amount of resources available is wonderful. My uncle had bought the camper about 5 years ago but had only used it 3 times in those years. The wife and I used it a couple of times last year and liked it but thought it was just a little small. We started looking this winter and spring but the more we looked the more attractive the Hi-Lo looked. We finally bought it and brought it home last week. While cleaning it on Saturday I found a few things that needed some attention. After getting on here and doing some research today tackled some maintenance items that may have never been done to this unit. First item was to scrape and sand the rust from the guide bar and inspect and lube the pulleys and cables. I had noticed the seals wasn't meeting towards the front so I did a cable adjustment. One of the front cables had started cutting into the top by where it bolts on and this was contributing tithe seals not lining up. To fix this I took a piece of angle that is used for garage door hangers it has a rounded radius and won't cut the cable and put it between the cable and the camper top. I still need to replace the batteries they were in the camper when my uncle bought it and are shot. Still a few things to go over but will soon have it back in tip top shape.

 

[JackandJanet]

Great fix! Much simpler than the one I did for a similar problem.

Be careful how you adjust the cables. Shorten them too much and it causes the cutting you had. You just want it to raise high enough to make the rubber seal in the top meet the flange on the bottom half. The "ledges" inside the trailer may not line up when this is done.

- Jack

 

[thewalters]

Thanks Jack. I think I know why the front cables were cutting in more than the rear ones. The rear cables are in about 22" from the back of the camper while the front cables are in about 46" from the front. This would put more weight on the front cables thus causing the excessive bending and eventually cutting of the top. Hopefully the angle will distribute the weight a little better

 

[JackandJanet]

You could be right about the cable placement helping to cause the damage. And, in my trailer, the drop down bunk is in the front which adds weight there. There's really nothing but cabinets at the other end. I think the AC unit is about midway between the front and rear cables.

But, I KNOW, in my case, that I caused the damage to mine by shortening the curb side front cable too much. I was trying to align the "ledges" on the interior of the trailer at that side. I think I was lucky I didn't break something.

- Jack