Possible to tow?

[Dblcola-HILO]

We're going to look at an older HI-LO that's about 2 hours away. One of the cables has snapped and it has been permanently raised? Not sure how it was done. My question to you is can this be towed in the raised position?

If I can get it home I'd surly think about buying it and replacing the cable.

Thanks for any help.

 

[towlit554]

The manual says to never tow in raised position. The cables all run up walls and loop around pulleys. The upper section moving and bouncing would place extreme stress on the joists and attachments potentially causing a catastrophic collapse. I would figure out a way to get it lowered prior to towing and use jacks to raise it back up once home in order to replace cables.

 

[Dblcola-HILO]

I was afraid of that but I had to ask. Thanks

 

[Dblcola-HILO]

The manual says to never tow in raised position. The cables all run up walls and loop around pulleys. The upper section moving and bouncing would place extreme stress on the joists and attachments potentially causing a catastrophic collapse. I would figure out a way to get it lowered prior to towing and use jacks to raise it back up once home in order to replace cables.

I was afraid of that but I had to ask. Thanks

 

[sam-HILO]

Towing with broken cable

Never ever tow a HiLo with the top raised up. Make sure the guide rod is lubed up. Battery needs to have a full charge. Bring some strong people with you. Raise the top up until you get it off the guide bar. Hopefully,you can manhandle it into the down position. It is recomended that you replace all four cables. Check out this document on how to replace the cables. Cable replacement in my 1998 HiLo 24TD 3-3-2010 Welcome to the forum. Keep us posted and let us know if you buy this unit. How to buy a used HiLo is posted in the forum.

 

[Hersbird]

It depends on what they did to permanently raise the top. If they put in a bunch of wooden or metal studs on top of the lower half resting holding up the roof you should be fine towing it. I bet it has been towed a bunch that way unless they are just using it as an extra bedroom or shed in the back yard. They may have also just bolted the upper half to the lower half while in the upper position. I wouldn't trust that as much as actual studs as the cables may not have snapped as much as they ripped out from rotted attachment points.
I personally put a 2x4 in each corner after raising the top so there is no way a broken or detached cable will cause the top to fall. I wouldn't tow it with just those 4 braces but one every 2' with a top plate all along the inside of the roof would give me no concerns towing with the top up.

 

[Dblcola-HILO]

It depends on what they did to permanently raise the top. If they put in a bunch of wooden or metal studs on top of the lower half resting holding up the roof you should be fine towing it. I bet it has been towed a bunch that way unless they are just using it as an extra bedroom or shed in the back yard. They may have also just bolted the upper half to the lower half while in the upper position. I wouldn't trust that as much as actual studs as the cables may not have snapped as much as they ripped out from rotted attachment points.
I personally put a 2x4 in each corner after raising the top so there is no way a broken or detached cable will cause the top to fall. I wouldn't tow it with just those 4 braces but one every 2' with a top plate all along the inside of the roof would give me no concerns towing with the top up.

Talking with the owner on the phone they have mounted metal "L" brackets in 4 corners plus a 2x6 across the back. Said they towed it 45 miles to current location. I'm going to look at it but I think the price will have to be really good before I buy it.

 

[Hersbird]

I paid $1200 I think for my 96 with rotted wood along those cable attachment points and in the back window. All the tanks, pumps, appliances, axles, tires, were good. I was going to just gut it all out and make my own teardrop camper with the lower 1/2 but it turned out not that hard or expensive to put back into original working order. It's not pretty, but it's dry and it goes up and down. Someday I will pull off the top and completely redesign it into either a teardrop hi-lo or a toyhauler hi-lo I haven't decided what I want.