Noise when lifting the camper

[travelbug]

HI! We have just purchased a 1998 Jayco 12SO. I've noticed when I am cranking it up it makes that ratchety noise as it's going up and I assume that is normal, but when it gets to about 3/4 of the way up it makes a loud THUNK. The top doesn't seem to drop any at all and as soon as you start cranking again it goes back to sounding normal. Is this indicating a future problem with the lift system? It also seems very hard to crank. This is our 2nd popup, we had an old (1972) Jayco about 7 years ago, it was very easy to crank up, but it didn't have A/C and this one does. Is there any sort of safety in place to stop the top from dropping if a cable was to break while it was setup?

Thanks for any help!
Kristi

[tknick]

The racheting sound is the safety feature to prevent the top from dropping.  a corner may sag, but unless all 4 cables broke at once the roof should drop.  The thud sounds like one of the cables may be coming out of a guide or pulley and the noise could be it dropping back into place.  I would first try to narrow down where the noise is coming from.  Then examine the cable and pulleys on that corner and at the winch to see if you can find the exact cause.

good luck
travis

[paulski617]

My Jayco does the same thing.  I've read, either on this board or another, that 1 loud thump, as you are describing, is normal.  In my case, it doesn't seem to indicate any type of problem.

[uchwear]

When I first bought my starcraft it would do that about half way up at the same spot each time.  I looked on the winch while I had someone else crank and I found that at the same place each time the main lift cable would double over on itself and the thud would happen when it realigned itself.  I lubricated the entire cable and the winch where the cable spools and it's worked great since then.