Noisy popping up

[Barb]

I read the other thread about a popup being noisy when raising and lowering.
Wondered if you are supposed to oil anything underneath and how often? Ours
seems noisy but I think it is the normal noise but I have heard other ones
being raised and they were pretty quiet.

Barb- Loves to camp
Owner of lots of furry pets and some great kids

[The Other Harry]

[On 26 Mar 2003 15:28:53 GMT, ltlh...@aol.comdotamus (Barb)
wrote:]

> I read the other thread about a popup being noisy when raising and lowering.
> Wondered if you are supposed to oil anything underneath and how often? Ours
> seems noisy but I think it is the normal noise but I have heard other ones
> being raised and they were pretty quiet.

It seems like the mechanism should be kept greased. I think
the rule of thumb is that the slower something moves, the
heavier the weight of the lubricant that should be used.

Still, something is always better than nothing.

(And WD-40 is *not* a lubricant. The "WD" stands for "Water
Displacement". But it will do in a pinch.)

I really do not know what I am talking about with respect the
noise that occurs when she is raising the top of her trailer.

I have a vague recollection of once owning something that made
a loud banging noise when the motor reached its limits. It
was not a problem, but it sure sounded like one. It was like
a ratchet that was designed to pop at a certain point. The
motor would sense that the load was being taken off it, and it
would stop working.

Rightly or wrongly, that's what I recall.

[Marc]

I would advise a thorough inspection of the lift system & make sure you have no
cables that are fraying, or pulleys getting ready to fail. Last thing you want
is a lift system failure when your inside the unit.
Only sound I hear on my 88 Coleman plantation ( 17 1/2' closed 26 1/2' open
- which is a large roof) is the rachet system for the top.
Coleman reccomend a VERY LIGHT coating of silicone spray on the lift system
parts. Avoid Grease or heavy oils as they can attract road dirt & result in
poor operation & excessive wear on the system.

[DThunderchicken]

Hi Barb;

On our camper there are six pullies in the underside and three in each lift
arm. Plus the crank mechanism. All of these get cleaned and lubed periodically.
I clean them with carburetor cleaner and lube them with silicon lube. I guess I
clean them out about every other year and lube them twice maybe three times a
year.

As was posted earlier do not use oil. It will collect dirt and grit. This will
shorten the life of what ever it is used on.

Try cleaning out the bed slides sometime. BOY the crud I have gotten out of
them. My best;
Dave
`89 Shenandoah
`96 GMC van/`85 beater Blazer
House Springs Mo.

[Tom Shaw]

FWIW
Our Starcraft came with support members which you install after you have
raised the roof and, presumably, before you enter the pop up. These U
shaped channels prevent the top from coming down.
TS
"Marc" <wak...@aol.comDieSpam> wrote in message
news:20030326191758...@mb-mj.aol.com...

[meldx]

was this because they weren't sure how solid their cranking system and cables
are... lol ;-)

Mel

Tom Shaw wrote:

--
MELDX....FAMILY AND CAMPING SITE
http://www3.sympatico.ca/meldx

family e-mail: mailto: me...@sympatico.ca
camping-RV e-mail: mailto: camp...@gosympatico.ca

[Tom Shaw]

:-). Could be. Those cables aren't that sturdy looking :-). I am glad we
have the U channels.
TS
"meldx" <me...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3E83326D...@sympatico.ca...

[Barb]

<<On our camper there are six pullies in the underside and three in each lift
arm. Plus the crank mechanism. All of these get cleaned and lubed periodically.
I clean them with carburetor cleaner and lube them with silicon lube. I guess I
clean them out about every other year and lube them twice maybe three times a
year. >>

Thanks for the info, I'll pass it along to hubby, I figure he knows it is
something that should be done but getting around to doing it is another thing.
<g>

[Marc]

Wonder if the pop-up makers that use those support channels you have to pop
into place with the roof up know something bout thier' lift system that they
arn't telling us. Altho it does appear to be a good idea.

As posted earlier - yeah - those bed slides can get real cruddy too. Also -
check & make sure all the hardware on the bed slides is in good shape too -
have had a couple of the rivits that hold the rollers in place break - nothing
a pop rivet gun cant fix - hasn't caused a problem yet.
Basic rule of thumb - if it moves - sooner or later it's gonna need attention.

[John Laughlin]

My parents owned an early Starcraft Starmaster 8, and it did not have
the support pieces, but 30 years later mine came with them. Perhaps
they're trying to cover their legal behind. I wonder when they
started using them.

An alternative would be a device that works like an elevator brake.
In some (all?) cable operated elevators there's a mechanism that's
operated by the tension on the lift cable. If the tension goes away
the brakes are applied to a guide rail mounted on the side of the
elevator shaft. It's probably much cheaper to use the C channels,
though.

I recall hearing of someone either here or on PUT whose waterlogged
roof suddenly crashed down on them. I don't think it was a Starcraft,
though.

John Laughlin (remove the x to e-mail).
2001 Starcraft 2406
2001 Astro

[meldx]

I also wonder if Starcraft still has the same arms on their pop-up. Mine was a 93
model and had 3" wide arms... did they switch to 1.5" ??? maybe that's why they
now give support brakets??

Mel

Marc wrote:

--

[Barb]

<< It's probably much cheaper to use the C channels,
though.>>

That is the bottom line, cheap, easy to use, we just store them with the poles
in our square PVC tube attached to the rear of the trailer (thanks to a
suggestion and pics from here)

[Barb]

<< Mine was a 93
model and had 3" wide arms... did they switch to 1.5" ??? >>

Ours are the smaller ones, we got a pretty low end model without all the fancy
things but on the higher end models I believe they had the bigger arms.

[meldx]

Mine was also lower end, I think it was a Meteor or Meteorite model (16' open)

Mel

Barb wrote:

--

[Tom Shaw]

I am quite sure my 2001 1/2 Starcraft has 3" supports. I does seem like a
good idea to me to have the u-channels...there are two and you put them on
diagonal corners. I have had some experience with wire cables becoming
frayed on sail boats :-)...never kept them long enough to break.

TS
"meldx" <me...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message

news:3E845840...@sympatico.ca...

[Barb]

<<Mine was also lower end, I think it was a Meteor or Meteorite model (16'
open)>>

Oh that was the teeny tiny one wasn't it, only popped up on one side? That
would be perfect if we didn't have kids. We got a basic one, just wanted
something to get us off the ground, got tired of the rainstorms in tents. We
haven't even used our fridge. Have used the heater. No toilet or air.

[meldx]

nope, that one has 2 beds they where double.. (but more like a regular single
bed).. funny thing thing about it is I paid 3600$ for it and sold it a year
later for 3600$ to a friend of mine who sold it 3 yrs later for 3600$....

Mel

Barb wrote:

--

[garfieldmr]

Our 96 Dutchmen did not come with them, but after our cable broke (and
the top came crashing down -:) about 3 months later Dutchmen came out
with a service advisory and the addition of "U" shaped channels that
you put in place after you put the top up (but only 2 of them that you
put on opposite corners)

I tested them and they do support the roof if the cable breaks.

Garfield

On Thu, 27 Mar 2003 09:59:54 -0600, "Tom Shaw" <a000...@airmail.net>
wrote: