how to fix a cable on a pop up

[JStebby50]

We bought a used 1994 Dutchman Pop Camper camper about 3 weeks ago. It is in very good shape....... we put it up one weekend at our house....... to make sure everything worked properly before taking it out on our first camping experience (in years)......  we got to our destination and I went to crank the pop up ""UP" and after a couple of turns the cable popped off.  My son in law tryed to help me reconnect the cable........ but it was not as easy as we had hoped it would be.

I would appreciate any advise on how to repair this.  There seems to be a shortage of Camper repair places in my area........for pop up campers. I feel this is something I should be able to fix myself.

I need to know the right tools and what to expect before I tackle this option.

Thanks to anyone who can make suggestions or give me any inputs.

Jim & Helen
Goldsboro NC

[wavery]

We bought a used 1994 Dutchman Pop Camper camper about 3 weeks ago. It is in very good shape....... we put it up one weekend at our house....... to make sure everything worked properly before taking it out on our first camping experience (in years)......  we got to our destination and I went to crank the pop up ""UP" and after a couple of turns the cable popped off.  My son in law tryed to help me reconnect the cable........ but it was not as easy as we had hoped it would be.

I would appreciate any advise on how to repair this.  There seems to be a shortage of Camper repair places in my area........for pop up campers. I feel this is something I should be able to fix myself.

I need to know the right tools and what to expect before I tackle this option.

Thanks to anyone who can make suggestions or give me any inputs.

Jim & Helen
Goldsboro NC

Welcome to PUT

If you have a digital camera, it would help tremendously to see what the problem is. "the cable popped off" just isn't enough info to go from. There are a lot people here that can help but the more information that you can supply the better and more accurate help you will receive.

You can often get (well meaning) wrong advise just because the person doesn't really understand the problem. "A picture is worth a thousand words".

[edwardr132]

Is the cable broken?

I fixed my cable when one of my sides collapsed.

The tools I used were

1) Very large bolt cutters (used for crimping the 1/8" steel wire

2) 20' feet or so of 1/8" wire

3)  A bolt that has a circle on one side and a machine screw with a locknut on the other

4) A Turnbuckle.

1st step was to open the box where the wires terminate under the pop-up.  start with a new cable and put a loop in it around the bolt that has a circle on it and crimp it with the bolt cutters.  Install that first on the pop-up.  Then run that wire through the existing pulleys to the front of the pop-up.

Basically,  I cut the cable underneath the pop-up near where it comes out at the bottom and put a turnbuckle with two loops in it.  I used the bolt cutters to do all the crimping.  This is used for creating just the right amount of tension on it.  So I used the existing wire where it goes into the tall metal studs and only put new wiring under the pop-up.  Works erfect.  Took about 4-5 hours to get it right for me....  

Now if the other sides ever go; I know just how to fix them.  Hope my instructions give you an idea of how to fix it.