Help with lowering

[GeorgiaJ]

Last week I went camping in my 2008 2308C. At home it lowered without a problem. But at the campground it would not raise. There was no sound coming from the motor. Prior to this it had been sluggish a couple of times about going up. I changed out the battery in the fall of last year, and there had been no problem since then, but I hadn’t gone anywhere since last fall. I had to manually crank it up (which was very difficult-had to pump with my legs as my arms aren’t strong enough). But I spent my 3 days camping, and when I was ready to go home and lower it- it lowered with the switch after pulling the safety cable. When I got home- nothing happens again, unless I manually crank it up. I have followed the directions in the owners manual on trouble shooting when the top will not raise and the motor will not run. A. I have took the battery and had it checked. It was good and charged 100%. B. I checked the fuse that is inside behind the circuit panel. It was intact. C. I have checked for loose wire connections. Did not find any issues. D. I replace the lift toggle switch due to breaking the old one when checking it. The fuse in line with the toggle switch was checked and is OK. New switch installed- still nothing but a slight click sound when requesting it to lower. E. I am now at the check the solenoid motor using a jumper. Not totally sure on that maneuver, but will attempt that tomorrow if it has stopped raining, and I can manually jack it up again to be able to get to that equipment. Within the papers of repairs etc given to me by the previous owner it says the solenoid has been replaced once before. Then F says remove end cap and inspect brush assemblies. Clean and lubricate brushes and replace if necessary. OK, I know that is out of my pay grade. I am a 67 yo female, and a brush to me is something you run through your hair. I wouldn’t know what a “good” brush looked like if I saw one. The local repair place said, “ sure we’ll look at it, but I have never worked on a hi lo before”. That does not inspire confidence. Right now, I am frustrated with this situation and considering selling “as is”. I am sure it wouldn’t make much money with current condition. I have looked through as many posts on this topic on this group as I could find. Is there any suggestions any of you guys could give me?

 

[JackandJanet]

Georgia, if the lift motor/solenoid was making no sounds, that indicates they are not getting battery voltage. This is most often due to a flat battery, which often happens after a day of towing, especially if you have the refrigerator running off DC power during the tow.

If you have jumper cables, try running them from your tow vehicle's battery to the trailer battery and see if it will raise then.

I'm assuming, of course, that you had the Master Switch in the top raise/lower position. I doubt you have bad brushes in the motor. But, the solenoid HAS gone bad in some other member's trailers.

When you manually raised it, were you then on battery power and did the lights inside work?

- Jack

 

[GeorgiaJ]

When I manually raised it I had it plugged into electric, but I did check by unplugging it to see if the DC lights were working OK- and they were. I took the battery out and took it to Autozone when I got back from camping and they said battery was good and 100% charged. I will use the jumper cables on it tomorrow to see if that does anything. I will also try that jumper wire thing on the solenoid tomorrow God willing and it’s not raining. Thanks for your input.

 

[GeorgiaJ]

Jack I wanted to thank you for your input. I tested the solenoid with that jumping technique and the motor worked. I changed out the solenoid (only cost about $35 at auto store) and everything is working fine now. I have decided that I am going to try to sell it. Thanks again. I will be listing it on here along with Craigslist and my local Facebook marketplace.

 

[JackandJanet]

Great bit of troubleshooting, Georgia. You seem to be one who could easily deal with the problems that arise when you own ANY camping trailer. I've had mine since 2007, and there's not a year goes by that I haven't found something to fix/improve/modify. As many new camper owners have discovered, they quickly become a full-time "hobby".

- Jack

 

[Elaine and Bill]

Just wanted to be sure that you put the master switch in the raising/lowering position. Lights do not work in this position.

 

[GeorgiaJ]

Thanks for your input. It was fixed as far as raising up again with the solenoid replacement. After the repair I sold it to a couple from a local town. Unfortunately, I heard back from them and one of the cables snapped after they got it home. This is truly heartbreaking and I feel bad that this happened to them. I had no indication that would occur. Hopefully, they find the help they need to get it fixed. I told them about this forum and recommended they research info here, and get input from members here.

 

[Elaine and Bill]

Yes! So glad we were told about the Forum too!

 

[JanaThurman]

Just wanted to be sure that you put the master switch in the raising/lowering position. Lights do not work in this position.

I am new to all this and I have a problem. Mine is up and can't get it down. lights are on with the switch in any position. There is no click when switch is engaged. The switch seems a little sloppy to me and I am not sure the bar is releasing when able is pulled. We are in our 70's and about had it with this HiLo business . We have changed the solenoid. I am thinking the swith is the problem since it seems sloppy.

 

[JackandJanet]

Jana, if the "switch" you are talking about is the Master Switch and the interior lights are on with it in any position, then the switch is bad and is stuck in the "camping position". You should simply replace that switch - it is a "Single Pole, Double Throw" (SPDT) switch and you can find them in most automotive stores I think or, online. Just pull the old switch and transfer the wires to the new one, connecting them the same way. I'd disconnect the negative battery cable at the battery first, though, since you're working with battery wiring.

- Jack

 

[sam-HILO]

Georgia J

Sorry to hear you sold your HiLo. No matter what ARV you have things need to be fixed/replaced. I hope the new owners get on the forum. The information on how to change the cables is on this forum. If they can't fix it them selves a shop could read the directions and do the repair. It takes eight hours.

 

[sam-HILO]

Jana Thurman welcome to the forum.

You should be able to get the switch you need on the internet. No matter what goes wrong on the HiLo it is fixable.