wench on starcraft camper

[jilllbyers]

Hi - I have a quick question.  We have an older (1993) Starcraft popup camper that a tree limb fell on.  We have a hole in the top that we are hoping that we can repair.  It also affected the lift system - the camper would crank up but would no stay up.  We took it to what seemed to be a good repair place for campers - they said it needed a new wench.  They have put this on and now the camper is raising unevenly.  One corner raises quicker and goes to 47 inches while the others are at 43 inches.  We cannot raise it totally because it would rip the canvas on that faster corner.  The place that sort of repaired it says it is not the wench but I am not sure they have really looked at it closely.  It was raising the correct way - evenly with the old wench and now it is not working with the new wench.  I am pretty sure that this place is tired of our little old camper - they deal with alot of larger more expensive RVs.  I was wondering if anyone had some thoughts?  Could a cable just be crossed or hooked in wrong  - would this let on corner raise quicker?  I wish I knew more about campers. - thanks Jill

[TheViking]

Hi - I have a quick question. We have an older (1993) Starcraft popup camper that a tree limb fell on. We have a hole in the top that we are hoping that we can repair. It also affected the lift system - the camper would crank up but would no stay up. We took it to what seemed to be a good repair place for campers - they said it needed a new wench. They have put this on and now the camper is raising unevenly. One corner raises quicker and goes to 47 inches while the others are at 43 inches. We cannot raise it totally because it would rip the canvas on that faster corner. The place that sort of repaired it says it is not the wench but I am not sure they have really looked at it closely. It was raising the correct way - evenly with the old wench and now it is not working with the new wench. I am pretty sure that this place is tired of our little old camper - they deal with alot of larger more expensive RVs. I was wondering if anyone had some thoughts? Could a cable just be crossed or hooked in wrong - would this let on corner raise quicker? I wish I knew more about campers. - thanks Jill

LMAO....I apologize Jill but the title you chose kinda threw me back a bit. By "Wench" as on your P-UP, I assume you meant "Winch". If you were a man and said you had a Wench on your P-Up, the wife would be a bit angry.
That being said, it could just be that it needs to be greased. Or maybe adjusted?

[AustinBoston]

LMAO....I apologize Jill but the title you chose kinda threw me back a bit. By "Wench" as on your P-UP, I assume you meant "Winch". If you were a man and said you had a Wench on your P-Up, the wife would be a bit angry.
That being said, it could just be that it needs to be greased. Or maybe adjusted?

Yes, wench has been used to refer to a variety of things over the years...all of them female.  I actually avoided this thread at first, thinking there might be a photo of a "wench" on a pop-up, and that pop-up might even refer to something other than what we normally think of here.  My wife would have been sure to find out, then I'd have to explain...and explain...and explain...and of course by then the offending thread would have been deleted so I could not prove that it came from the Pop-up-Times Arvee Club site.

To jillbyers:

It sounds like you have made a fair assesment of the "repair" place.  TheViking may have a solution, but if greasing doesn't work, you might see if you can find someone else to work on it.  My understanding is that adjusting the cables can be tricky.  (someone will surely disagree with me).

A properly adjusted winch should not raise the roof unevenly.

Austin

[mountainrev]

A properly adjusted winch should not raise the roof unevenly.

Austin

A properly adjusted wench also should not raise the roof unevenly.  But it's difficult adjusting wenches properly.  Been trying to adjust mine for 17 years.

[TheViking]

A properly adjusted wench also should not raise the roof unevenly. But it's difficult adjusting wenches properly. Been trying to adjust mine for 17 years.

 
LMAO !!!!!!!!  :!

[tjy355]

My wench will not raise the popup roof either.  In fact, I have to do all the setup.  I think I need a new wench as well.
 

[dthurk]

Old wench, new wench, does it make a difference?  






This is one of the best threads I've seen on this forum yet!    

[jilllbyers]

Old wench, new wench, does it make a difference?  

Alright alright - I wasn't sure of the spelling and chose the wrong one.  That being said does anyone really have any helpful information about this problem. - Jill




This is one of the best threads I've seen on this forum yet!    

alright alright - I wasn't sure of the spelling and chose the wrong one.  That being said does anyone really have any helpful information about this problem. - Jill

[dthurk]

Sorry.  Don't mean to make anyone feel badly, but it is probably the best typo I've seen so far.  Please don't be offended by our having some fun with it.  We're certainly not trying to  be malicious here.  

I don't really have any ideas concerning why this problem is happening with your camper.  It seems strange.  I would say the company you're dealing with has messed up something with the lift system.  I would not be shy about letting them know this and expecting them to take care of it, whatever the problem may be.  If they only replaced one corner of cables, it may be that the rest need to be replaced, and you may need to pay for that, as it wasn't done originally.  If the problem lies with something they did do, and did incorrectly, they should put that right at no extra charge to you.  

If you don't get satisfaction there, tell them you will go somewhere else to have it dealt with properly.  If, after the camper is fixed, the problem is found to be caused by them, you should expect to go back to them and have them put things right.  Then go do it.  

I don't know how much you're into on this, is it worth a possible small claims court situation?  

Just trying to think through all the possibilities here.

[chip]

My old Starcraft had a cable system controlled by a "Master" cable that pulled, basically, a bar with four cables, one to each corner.  Each corner cable was attached to an eye-bolt, with nuts to adjust the length of the cables at the bar.

Sounds to me like one of the cables somehow wound up just a tad shorter than the other three, hence the more rapid lift of the one corner.  Or, the one cable could be twisted and/or not set into the bar.  By the time all of the cables have done their job of lifting the part they are supposed to lift, 4" at the corner may equal some small distance at the business end of the winch cable.

If the wInch was replaced, there would have been some slack on the rest of the cables, causing the misalignment.  Might just take someone crawling under the camper with a wRench and adjusting things.

This all assumes that you have the same type of lift system as my 1967 Starcraft.  (Which I wish I still had, sometimes...)

[tjy355]

Exactly.  Sounds like it could be just a cable adjustment. The shop that replaced the WINCH should take it back and fix at no charge.