crank problems

[fishinful]

Hi Folks-

 I've looked at past threads and cannot find anything. I have a Coleman Timberlake. We've used it a lot( once or twice a month) for years, however its been better than half a year since we've been out.

 I went to crank the roof up and it was only making the clicking sound two or three times on the way up. I thought a small shot of dw40 would do the trick. As soon as I did that I remembered reading somewhere that you should never lubricate that area. As soon as I did that, it spun freely in either direction. whoops. Trip coming in one week and the roof wont stay up.

I removed the rivited dust cover directly behind the bumper that contains the felt washer, the big toothed fender washer and eclectic gear thing that rests inside each tooth.  That has a spring thats a similar set up to a conventional fishing reel and is not broken. I believed that by lubricating the felt washer I allowed everything to spin freely. I used a spray on chemical de-greaser on the felt washer and other parts in the hope that with everything dried out, tension on the metal washer in front of the felt would be enough to grab that toothed gear and hold everything in place.

I temporarily removed the big cover plate that holds the wrom gear and the individual cables and what-not. I did'nt see anything broken or unusual. It seems that either tension is somehow not being apllied  to allow that clicking mechanism to hold everything when the roof is up.I've read that over cranking it can reset/adjust the cables to  make things start clicking again, but I'm afraid I'll really do some damage and pop a cable or something stupid( i'm really good at that). Do i try to degrease it again? Is there something that would make that felt washer swell up or more tacky that it engages the gear properly? Is there something thats worn/broken and I dont see it?

I've tried a few ways to hold the roof up once its raised and they all work, it just seems like a crummy way to go for a few weeks at multiple campgrounds. Any suggestions?

[mike4947]

This is about the 10th thread on different forums about this in the last month.

When all else fails read the manual. This "feature" is caused by overcranking when lowering the roof. It trips the ratchet pawl out of position. The fix, which is in the manual, is to slightly overcrank the roof when raising it. This resets the pawl.

[fishinful]

Thanks Mike-

 Sorry this was #10 on your "I already saw that on some other thread on some other forum" I did read that this was the solution,and stated so in my post, however I was concerned that overcranking could create its own set of problems.

I have, in the past , encountered other problems from even cranking it to the minimum level of being able to have enough height to insert the door. during cold days the plastic windows would shrink to the point of not being able to close the zipper. I followed a suggestion from another poster to remove the extruded aluminum strip above the tent and lower the whole mess, it worked.

I offer my humble apology for making you read this post. I thank you for responding quickly. I suppose I've been under the false assumption that one reads the manual, goes back about ten pages of threads and tries to use the search and when there is still a concern or maybe just wants reassurance, they are free to post.

Having read many of your wonderful contributions to PUT over the years, I am always amazed at your vast knowledge of so many different things. I hope that in the future, you will kindly pass over anything I post lest you develop excess stomach acid.
                                     Thanks Again
                                                          Tracy

[mike4947]

Tracy, Sorry if I was cranky (pun intended) I've got a case of shingles and when the pain patches and meds start to wear off I tend to get that way. When the pain starts up think of a third degree burn, only painful. Surfing the forums helps take my mind off it till i can slap on another patch or down some meds.

[fishinful]

no worries bro. It would be nice if they found a cure for shingles rather than just masking the pain. Thanks again

[Mary Jo]

Hello, I'm an overall newbie -- new to owning a pop-up camper and new to this group, which I initially joined to solve the problem mentioned above about the lack of a "click" in the ratchet system. However, I have read the manual, and my husband TRIED the overcranking with the top up to get the ratchet -- or pawl -- to reset, and it hasn't worked. We have a 2001 Coleman Santa Fe we bought a few weeks ago, paid for some repairs and thought we were in good shape. No problems with the ratchet system or hearing the clicking, until our first attempt to camp last weekend. Service people said to remove the ratchet box and spray WD-40, which now I will not do, after reading the above post. Now, my husband is a strong guy, and we had another guy also try the overcranking, and it still didn't work. Do we almost have to break the darn thing to get it to reset?

Mary Jo

[wynot]

Tracy, Sorry if I was cranky (pun intended) I've got a case of shingles and when the pain patches and meds start to wear off I tend to get that way. When the pain starts up think of a third degree burn, only painful. Surfing the forums helps take my mind off it till i can slap on another patch or down some meds.

Having had shingles, I wouldn't wish that agony on anyone even though I got a list of candidates...  Everytime I feel that they might be thinking about making a comeback, I literally chill out until it subsides.

[cwilson]

after me six year old son got the crank handle and gave a hugh turn the wrong direction. I had the same problem with the crank not clicking and the roof not staying up. so like any man i took the crank out and started problem solving. after several different attempts, i pounded out the rolled pin at the end of the crank shaft that you insert the crank handle into.  under that rolled pin there is a nut, i just loosened it a little and retighten it. then the clicking action returned and the top would stay up. i am not recommending you do this, but at your own risk. it worked for me, sort of.

however, i now have a small problem. the crank handle seems to be a bit harded to crank the roof up.  any suggestions.  i just can't remember how much force it took before i fixed it.  how much force should the handle need to crank it up?

[Lab-dog]

how much force should the handle need to crank it up?

Depends on the model/year of your trailer.  For my 98 Coleman Bayside the Lift System Repair Manual says "Torque on Upper Crank: 75 - 100 foot pounds"

In reviewing this document further, it looks like all Colemans from 68 to 2000 use between 60 and 100 foot pounds.  But don't quote me, check with your dealer or someone official.  I just did a quick scan of the thing, you can download it here (somewhere I can't remember where I saw it) or from Natasha's Camping page, there is a link there too.

[Shawsee]

Hi all in new here also,

I bought a 93 Coleman Roanoke from the original owner and when he showed me the set-up procedure I noticed it did not make the ratchet clicking sound like my older Jayco did. When I asked him about it he said as long as you lock the square thing in the bumper the roof will not fall down. So my question is: does the 93 Coleman Roanoke have the ratchet type or is it different from the newer models? I don't want to try and "over-crank" it to re-set the pawl if my model doesnt have that feature, I may end up breaking something which has been known to happen.  :confused:  Can someone please help?  :confused:

[Shawsee]

Finally!

I got an answer from Fleetwood today via phone call. Their number is 1-800-544-8193. My 93 Destiny Series Roanoke DOES NOT have the ratchet type clutch mechanism, so therefore it will never click when cranking up. Apparently the Destiny Series made from 1990 to 1993, the crank mechanisms were made differently those years. The Tech told me that Fleetwood changed back in 95 to the ratchet type clutch BUT,,, he also told me some newer models were made differently also, where they used a "clutch release" method, no ratchet.
Here is a link he gave me http://home.comcast.net/~jmcanzo1/liftman.pdf

So try this link for info and if you can't find the answer give Fleetwood a call. They were very helpful and great to talk with.

[doreenb]

I was just reading the posts and replies on the cranking problem. I purchased a 1993 Coleman Destiny yesterday with roof air.  My 13 yr. old son and I set it up last night and found it to be extremely hard to crank up. Is that normal? I thought maybe it was the weight of the a/c that made it so hard. Now, after reading these posts, how do we know if we've got it all the way up? and how do we make sure we don't overcrank it? I'm a single mom and appreciate any advice so we don't mess it up!
thanks, Doreen

[Shawsee]

Doreen,

My Coleman cranks up easy for me, although it does not have the A/C like yours. I would imagine that with A/C the extra weight would give it some effort to crank up the roof. My guess would be that it is normal but I am no expert by any means.

As for your other question of "how do we know when it's up all the way". When my roof is up all the way, the cranking actually stops where I cannot even get another turn of the handle. Then I look at the canvas to see if it's tight and upright. Another trick that I found is, when it was in the down position I started cranking it up and counted the revolutions till it was fully popped up. For mine it was 52 cranks till fully open and thus I always go by this method and it never fails. I just slide the crank in at the 3 o'clock position and start cranking and counting and when I start reaching 50 cranks I start slowing down and when I reach 52 cranks it's open all the way. Pretty simple trick but it works for me.

I have a question for you now. Does your 93 make the ratchet clicking sound? Or do you have that square thing in the rear bumper that you pull out to crank up/down and then push in to the lock postion?

[doreenb]

Mine does make the clicking noise. When you're finished cranking, there is a piece you push in to lock it. I am scared it will fall down on me! Doesn't seem very secure. Mine is a 93 Destiny Cedar.
It also came with an awning that we don't know how to set up the poles. It looks to have too many poles and two of them that are attached to the bag have wooden handles on the end of ropes. I'm lost on this one, so it was suggested that we go to a campground and look at someone elses. I would order a manual from Fleetwood, but it seems a waste of money just for these two questions.
I bought the camper at an RV dealer. It had been vandalized, so the fiberglass corners are cracked and broke and there's a hole in the side just to the right of the door. I figured we can cover it with a piece of tin and paint it to match the camper. I've attached a photo of it.
thanks, Doreen

[Shawsee]

Doreen,

No need to buy an owners manual, here is the link and scroll down till you find your model and then download it.

http://www.popupportal.com/manuals_2.asp?mf=Coleman

As for your awning the two poles with the wooden handles are the upright vetrical poles. The ropes are for anchoring the poles with stakes into the ground. The other poles are the "roof rafter poles" they attach horizontaly to the roof and then there should be a pin on the end of each pole. The pins go into a small hole in the square piece at the end of the awning. What these rafter poles do is make the awning snug/tight when inplace. You are lucky you have them as where mine did not come with them and they cost $32 each to replace!

The square thing you push in is a lock to keep the roof upright and as long as it is locked the roof should never come down on you unless the cable snaps and that's highly unlikely, plus if your door is in place the roof could never actualy fall down on you. LOL

I noticed in your picture the hole there in the side. It almost looks like where on mine the door latch/lock is located. On mine there is a Tee handle with a key slot for the enrty key. Is your door equipped differently or is that perhaps the location of where the Tee handle was before they vandalized it?