The camper has fallen 😮

[Lb7]

Hi all! Have you ever had to deal with the top half falling over or replacing the internal belts for lifting and lowering? I’m new to the Hi-Lo world (less than a year) and while out of town in December my camper didn’t get lowered all the way, and was about 2 inches from the lowered position, and the top half ended up falling down to the frame! Minimal damage from the inside is done, but now I need to figure out how to lift it up back on the internal shelf and fix the belt/mechanism to higher and lower it. I imagine I should get some 8 foot jacks and a bunch of hands to help - but if anyone has experience in this and would be so kind to share what worked well for them, I welcome that! I’m close to Asheville, so if a professional is needed and you know anyone, that’s welcomed too. Hoping to have my little home back soon! Thank you - LB

 

[JackandJanet]

Lb7 -Hi and welcome! Sorry to hear about your problem but I'm confused.

There are no "belts" in a HiLo. The top is raised and lowered using metal cables that are connected to a hydraulic ram that is moved by a hydraulic pump that is normally found in the tongue of the trailer. There's also no "internal shelf" in a HiLo.

What kind of trailer do you have?

- Jack

 

[Lb7]

Thanks so much for this info! I have a 1997 22L. Guessing a cable snapped from the weight of the top being suspended opposed to supposed at the fully lowered position. The shelf I’m referring too is the rim around the interior where I was assuming the top half “sat” when completely lowered.

 

[JackandJanet]

OK, that "shelf" is just a trim strip that covers the top edge of the lower half and the cable pulleys. It does not serve any structural purpose. If the top half is resting on the "outriggers" (square steel posts that stick out of the sides at the bottom of the lower half at the frame level) then the top is fully lowered and is in the towing position.

Now, a cable MIGHT have snapped, but that would not cause the top to "fall", because there are 4 cables in the lift system. My guess is you've simply lost whatever pressure that remained in the lift system that was holding it up. You may be able to simply raise the top using hydraulic power if the battery has a good state of charge. It will ONLY raise on battery power - shore power does not supply enough amperage, but your converter should charge the battery if you plug it in overnight.

Most trailers also came with a manual lift option that is available at the front of the battery box in the tongue. If you have this, it's just a round opening in a part that is connected to the pump. You stick the supplied rod or anything that will fit into it and pump it by hand to raise the top. It takes quite a while, but does not take much force.

If you DO have a snapped cable, you would see it under the trailer if you crawl under there.

Let me know what you find.

- Jack

 

[Lb7]

Thanks for all this! Gonna show my uncle who is really handy your message. The top front with the big dome window is touching the ground, the back is titled up a bit, so lifting in the titled position seems hard to do. Wondering if I can post a picture..

 

[JackandJanet]

Yes, you can post .jpgs. Click on the "Go Advanced" button, and then drop down to the "Manage Attachments" button. Click it and it will open a dialog where you can "Browse" to the file(s) you want to upload, then, when you've selected them, click on"Upload".

- Jack

 

[Lb7]

Thanks Jack! I really appreciate all your support and assistance. I’ve attached the photos!

 

[JackandJanet]

Ugh! It looks to me like the two front cables may have broken, because the front is down to the traveling position and the rear is still up a bit. You should see those cables on the ground probably, if you crawl under the trailer. To replace them, you'll need jacks on the front end, at least two and once you get the top level, front to back, you might be able to use the lift motor, a bit at at time to raise the back as you continue to jack the front.

If the cables have broken, you should replace ALL of them, because the rears will probably fail soon too.

Another problem, is the guide blocks that are on the inside of the top that run up and down the tracks on the sides of the bottom half. When the top twists like yours has, it can break those guide blocks. If they haven't broken, you want to avoid any further twist as you make your repairs. The guide blocks are specific to our trailers and I don't know where you will find any for sale. But, one of our other members, RahnA, has just had some 3D printed out of carbon fiber and we are trying to get the printer files uploaded to the site.

There are threads in the forum on fabricating and installing cables and on replacing the guide blocks. It IS DIY, but it's not particularly easy.

- Jack

 

[sam-HILO]

Replacing cables

I haven't had to do this repair. Another member posted this fifteen page document on how to replace the cables. Cable replacement in my 1998 24TD 3-3-2010. Best of luck with your repairs.

 

[Lb7]

Sam and Jack deep gratitude to your replies and this wealth of knowledge you’ve offered! I reviewed the PDF and then looked under my camper and it looks like all my cables are still in place, just a little loose on the front back. My uncle thinks that perhaps the hydraulic fluid is low - I think we can only fill that when the camper is up, because it’s in the compartment with the battery, right? The back of the camper had some empty vases back there that kept the camper from lowering down on the back end when it dropped. Fingers crossed we can lower and raise it again this weekend and fill it with hydraulic fluid!

 

[sam-HILO]

Camper has fallen.

Do a search for back posts on filling the hydrolic fluid. It is a bit tricky. Whern you get the HiLo up again lubricate all the cables. DH uses break free. It is found in the gun section at Walmart. It protects,cleans and lubricates.

 

[JackandJanet]

Have you tried just using the lift motor to raise the top? It kinda sounds like you lowered it without making sure everything was clear.

- Jack

 

[Lb7]

Thanks y’all! I actually looks like hydraulic fluid may be good. I have checked the lift motor and it goes, but until we clear the glass bottles that are holding up the back, I’m not gonna raise it. Tomorrow we are gonna jack up the back, smash and remove the bottles and then lower the camper down. Then attempt lifting it all together.

 

[JackandJanet]

That would work, but if you raise the rear at all, you put more torque on all the guide blocks, which can break them. If you can raise the top with the lift motor, it should lift the front first, because the rear cables will be slack. Then, as the front goes up, everything levels and the back will begin to follow.

- Jack

 

[Sernsh]

I’m sorry I am chiming in but I am in a similar situation. Prior to leaving our house, our fluid hose (clear) broke so my husband replaced it. All was lifting and lowering fine until we arrived to our destination and were unable to lift. We checked the hydraulic fluid which was fine, battery was fine, cables are fine, guide blocks are in tact, no fluid was leaking.. so we tried the manual pump and it was not working either. My husband feels like it was not getting enough pressure making us believe it may be a seal. How would we differentiate between a problem with the pump vs cylinder seal? Also our hi-lo, 2008, 28C, has the top sitting on top of the battery and hydraulic pump compartment making it very difficult to access… we may have to jack it up to open the compartment to get to the pump but how do we go about that? Is there a sequence to do that? I read about using farm jacks but would that be on the front and back with supports to each corner? I also have stuff in there to take out that was packed prior to leaving and really need it up asap. Any advice is greatly appreciated!