OK, yes - that's a reason to replace at least that one cable. It's not too hard to do, if you're at all "handy" with repairing things. The most difficult part is getting the cables in the first place. J&R repair in Ohio will sell you a set or possibly just one. You'd have to contact them and ask. Here's a link to their homepage:
Home - JR REPAIR People HAVE been known to make their own cables too - the only tricky part is attaching the cables to the adjusting bolts.
Once you have the cables, you just have to feed them along the routes used by the old ones. This is probably best done with the top UP, since you will need to be inside the trailer to route the cable over the final pulley on the lower half. To gain access to this pulley, you will need to remove the trim strip inside at the top of the lower half. It's easy, it's just held on by several screws.
Once you have the top up, you would lower it onto 4-2x4s that are cut to the same length that are placed between the "outriggers" (the things the top rests on when it's down) and the top, so there is slack in the cables. They can then be removed and replaced, one at a time.
If you think the cable might have enough left in it to raise the top, then raise it hydraulically. Otherwise, you'd need something like a farm jack to lift that portion while you incrementally lift the rest hydraulically. The top doesn't need to be ALL the way up, just far enough for you to work inside comfortably - so that would govern the length of your 2x4s.
I've possibly confused you with all this. Treeclimber is out of town right now and has no access to the forum. He should be back in a few days to help clear things up.
- Jack
