Servicing a lift system

[Rene]

We have a 2002 Coleman Taos that we bought in February.  The former owner never did anything in the way of maintenance to it.   We are preparing for a long trip and the manual says that the roof should be checked and leveled and the manual lift system lubricated with silicone every couple of years or so.  Everything on the trailer seems to work fine so, normally, we wouldn't worry about it but.....

There is a Coleman Mach air conditioner on the roof which is pretty heavy.  The roof does not lift evenly but we're not sure this really can be fixed.  We've asked around and it's difficult to find anyone who'll even touch it.  Anyone have any insight on what lift systems really need in the way of maintenance and if we can do it ourselves or not?

Thanks!  Rene

[flyfisherman]

I'm not at all familar with the internal workings of a Taos lift system so I would'nt be of any help other than the lifters. Standard fare for lubing lifters is using the 100% silicone spray and I attach one of those small round plastic tubes to the spray nozzel, get a rag to wrap around the lifter so I don't get any overspray onto the canvas and as I'm dropping the roof will stop at a couple different levels and spray at and around the telescoping sections of the lifters (all four). You'll see the juice run down into the section joints and it'll allow the sections to raise and lower without any binding. And the silicone dries and will not leave a greasy residue to acculate dust & dirt. Like I said, for the rest of the system, I simply don't know for your Taos.  Post it when you do know!



Fly

[wavery]

We have a 2002 Coleman Taos that we bought in February.  The former owner never did anything in the way of maintenance to it.   We are preparing for a long trip and the manual says that the roof should be checked and leveled and the manual lift system lubricated with silicone every couple of years or so.  Everything on the trailer seems to work fine so, normally, we wouldn't worry about it but.....

There is a Coleman Mach air conditioner on the roof which is pretty heavy.  The roof does not lift evenly but we're not sure this really can be fixed.  We've asked around and it's difficult to find anyone who'll even touch it.  Anyone have any insight on what lift systems really need in the way of maintenance and if we can do it ourselves or not?

Thanks!  Rene

These "Can I do-it-myself" questions are always difficult to answer because everybody has a different mechanical aptitude.

Does the roof level out when you get it all the way up?

I would recommend spraying all the moving parts (slides, lifts, rollers, cables etc) with silicone spray as your manual suggests. Even though these parts may look clean, they may be dry, sticking and could cause problems.

I would also highly recommend servicing the wheel bearings, checking the brakes (if it has them) and checking the tires for cracking. If the previous owner didn't have the wheel bearings serviced in 5 years, you could be asking for big trouble, especially if he didn't move the trailer very often. There is nothing worse than going down the road at 60MPH and have lose a wheel because a spindle broke due to a bad wheel bearing.
http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/bearing1.html#wheel

[Rene]

These "Can I do-it-myself" questions are always difficult to answer because everybody has a different mechanical aptitude.

Does the roof level out when you get it all the way up?

I would recommend spraying all the moving parts (slides, lifts, rollers, cables etc) with silicone spray as your manual suggests. Even though these parts may look clean, they may be dry, sticking and could cause problems.

I would also highly recommend servicing the wheel bearings, checking the brakes (if it has them) and checking the tires for cracking. If the previous owner didn't have the wheel bearings serviced in 5 years, you could be asking for big trouble, especially if he didn't move the trailer very often. There is nothing worse than going down the road at 60MPH and have lose a wheel because a spindle broke due to a bad wheel bearing.
http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/bearing1.html#wheel

Thank you.  Repacking the bearings was the first thing we had done.  We had a mechanic do it because of the brakes.  Our mechanical aptitude is very high and we do most things ourselves.

The roof does not quite level out when we get it all the way up - it's off by an inch or so - but the back that's having trouble has a 100lb AC unit on it.  So we are thinking that the weight is catching up to the lift system after five years of use and it needs to be leveled.  From a safety standpoint, we are wondering if anyone else has experience with this.  As long as that is all that seems off will the roof continue to stay up?

Also, we are scratching our heads on where to apply silicone spray on the cables.  They are all enclosed and we are pretty sure there may be places where lubricant is NOT what we want.  Sometimes no lubricant is better than too much lubricant and we are new to tent trailers.  We do not wish to compromise the strength and reliability of the lift system.  The manual does not describe how to apply the spray - it simply says to have it done by a professional when they service the entire system.  The problem is that the nearest professional is over an hour away.

Great advice on the bearings, by the way.  That is one of the most overlooked on trailers!

Thanks!

[wavery]

You can safely spray silicone spray on every moving part without concern. It dries clear and non-sticky. Just try to keep it off of the fabrics.

I also have a 2002 Coleman with a Carrier AirV (heat pump) AC on the roof. My PU has been up & down over 100 times in the last 5 years. It still comes up evenly.

You may need to adjust your cables. See pg 45 of Owner's Manual. Here is one (in case you don't have one):
http://www.popupportal.com/manuals_viewer.asp?RN=75

[fshnfool76]

You can safely spray silicone spray on every moving part without concern. It dries clear and non-sticky. Just try to keep it off of the fabrics.

I also have a 2002 Coleman with a Carrier AirV (heat pump) AC on the roof. My PU has been up & down over 100 times in the last 5 years. It still comes up evenly.

You may need to adjust your cables. See pg 45 of Owner's Manual. Here is one (in case you don't have one):
http://www.popupportal.com/manuals_viewer.asp?RN=75

  I've done this on my '88 Chesapeake. It was easy and only took about an hour.  As far as lubricant, I was advised by one RV dealer to use a "Dry" silicone spray for anything under the trailer since road dirt won't stick to it. That's what they use. I use one made by Liquid Wrench called 'Dry-Lube with PTFE'. It's in a gold and white can.

[jtprevatte]

I just sold a 2001 Coleman Taos last week.  I had noticed it was doing the same thing!

I first noticed it when I would get the camper up and then go to install the door.  I would literally have to "push" on the ceiling to line up the little clip things to hold the door.  I too attributed it to the "heavy a/c" unit sitting on the rear section of the roof.
 
As far as adjustment, I was told there was a pin in the bottom of each corner where the cables were and that pin could be moved to make the cable adjustment.  I never did the adjustment as I was selling the camper.  
 
Our seemed rock solid and once I learned to deal with the slightly unlevel roof we never had a problem.
 
Hope that helped.

[Rene]

Hmmmmmm........ so we just had a thought yesterday.  And what you are describing makes us think that we are right.  The AC needs to drain water and the drainage "direction" that makes the most sense for this installation would be the back of the unit.

The AC unit for our trailer was professionally installed and we found it odd that such a minor, tiny and simple roof adjustment had not been done.  Then we realized that perhaps it was to allow the AC to drain.  There are trace marks on the Sunbrella fabric that suggest this to be true.

We are going to leave the roof alone.  If we "fix" this problem we might only to cause another, bigger one.

[wavery]

Hmmmmmm........ so we just had a thought yesterday.  And what you are describing makes us think that we are right.  The AC needs to drain water and the drainage "direction" that makes the most sense for this installation would be the back of the unit.

The AC unit for our trailer was professionally installed and we found it odd that such a minor, tiny and simple roof adjustment had not been done.  Then we realized that perhaps it was to allow the AC to drain.  There are trace marks on the Sunbrella fabric that suggest this to be true.

We are going to leave the roof alone.  If we "fix" this problem we might only to cause another, bigger one.

IMHO, it would be quite to the contrary. I do not believe that AC installer would create a off level condition in your roof for drainage. If you read your owners manual, I believe that it may mention to leave your "trailer" slightly off level to allow for AC drainage.

If something is not operating correctly (like your roof) ignoring the problem can sometimes lead to bigger problems.

[daldricht]

These "Can I do-it-myself" questions are always difficult to answer because everybody has a different mechanical aptitude.

Does the roof level out when you get it all the way up?

I would recommend spraying all the moving parts (slides, lifts, rollers, cables etc) with silicone spray as your manual suggests. Even though these parts may look clean, they may be dry, sticking and could cause problems.

I would also highly recommend servicing the wheel bearings, checking the brakes (if it has them) and checking the tires for cracking. If the previous owner didn't have the wheel bearings serviced in 5 years, you could be asking for big trouble, especially if he didn't move the trailer very often. There is nothing worse than going down the road at 60MPH and have lose a wheel because a spindle broke due to a bad wheel bearing.
http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/bearing1.html#wheel

Where did you locate the link on how to do the bearings on the wheel? Is this part of the original parts catalogue that came with the popup? Wer never got one due to the owner not remembering where it went.

We are far from being mechanical genious - like we have not figured out how to drain a tank that I keep hearing sloshing water as we hook up the trailer to leave a camping area. Holding tank? Is there a valve underneath someplace that fills up as you start the water through the hot/cold faucets when you first hook up to water??
Thanks
Dave

[wavery]

Where did you locate the link on how to do the bearings on the wheel? Is this part of the original parts catalogue that came with the popup? Wer never got one due to the owner not remembering where it went.

We are far from being mechanical genious - like we have not figured out how to drain a tank that I keep hearing sloshing water as we hook up the trailer to leave a camping area. Holding tank? Is there a valve underneath someplace that fills up as you start the water through the hot/cold faucets when you first hook up to water??
Thanks
Dave

That wheel bearing link is just one that I found one time when someone asked a "How to" question. It's quite generic but quite good. Almost all trailer axles are serviced in that manner.

If you look up under your trailer, you may see a plastic water tank (I believe). You will find a plug on one end of the tank. That plug can be removed using a crescent wrench. That will allow the water to empty from the tank. Adjust the trailer's tongue jack so that the plug end of the tank is lower. After the tank empties, replace the plug. I usually drain my tank on the way home (on the road) stop it up after arriving home.

About once a year, you should put a cup or 2 of bleach in the tank to sanitize it. Let it set for 15 minutes then run water through all of the lines by turning on the faucets. Then drain the tank.

On some models, the water tank is mounted in a locker, inside the camper. The drain valve is usually located under the edge of the trailer frame, somewhere.

Here is a copy of your owners manual:
http://www.popupportal.com/manuals_viewer.asp?RN=75

If I were you, I would copy it and read it carefully.

[daldricht]

Since you have already discovered that the water from the A/C causes stains to the canvas and actually on the fiberglass roof also - we had a piece of PVC that was included with our popup when we bought it from the original owner - the PVC is maybe about 2-inches in diamter with a 1/2-cut on one side allowing the cut portion to slide under the roof between the canvas - when you determine which way the A/C runoff is going to drain. The PVC can be about 12-inches to 18-inches long thus allowing you to position the "drain pipe' off the roof and clear of the canvas. Now you won't have to clean that streak off the roof or the canvas!

[roanoke91]

Rene,
I have a Coleman Roanoke which is essentially the same frame and box design as the Taos. I am assuming your box is the smaller 7' length. I recently did a roof rebuild on my camper and while I was at it I lubricated the whiffle tree (the box under the rear of the camper where the crank handle attaches through the bumper), also the track pulleys that the cables run on and made some adjustments to level my roof. If you still have your manual for the camper it explains how the owner can make slight adjustments for each corner by removing the small cotter pin under the camper at each corner (where the cables enter the lift bars) then move the pulley axle to the next hole. This adjustment will lift or lower the corner about an 1 1/2" depending on which way you move the pully. I believe there are 3 holes in the bracket that holds the pully. This is a fairly easy process for quick adjustments. My manual has drawings that show how to do this. To make the adjustments you will need to raise the roof about a foot. Then pull out the beds on each end about a foot. Lower the roof back down so it rest on the bed. Continue to lower the crank handle a few turns to loosen the cables so there is slack in them. You do not want tension on the cables. Relieving this tension will allow you to go under the camper and relocate the pully to a different hole. Remove the cotter pin from the pin that runs through the pully. Slide the pully to the next hole, drop the pin through the pulley and re-insert the cotter pin. Crank the roof back up and check how the adjustment affected the roof. You may have to do this several times until you get the desired level. If this doesn't give you the lift you need then the only other place you can make height adjustments is inside the wiffle tree. It is the long black metal box that the crank handle attaches to under the rear of the camper. It's really more like a lid than a box. Here is a link that explains how to re-grease the whiffle tree and some photos of it. //www.gallery.pstartech.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=4330&g2_navId=xfbf3db07 . The last few photos show how to re-grease the whiffle tree but will also show you where adjustments can be made for each corner by adjusting the eye bolts that control each corner cable. There are four threaded eye bolts that have a cable connected to it that follows along a series of pulleys that control and lift each corner. The eye bolts are connected to a threaded block that runs up and down on a large threaded rod that your crank handle attaches to. When you turn the crank handle in either direction the rod allows the block to move back or forward lifting or lowering the roof. The job of the black box cover is to keep the block that hold the four cables from spinning while its being cranked. Refer to the link on greasing the threaded rod, block and the inside surface of the box so everything slides back and forth effortlessly. Its a pretty simple design but effective way to raise the roof. Frankly I prefer the Coleman lift system to other manufacturers systems. Most folks are afraid to make these adjustments and would rather have a dealer handle it which I would highly recommend also if you are mechanically challenged. I had no problem myself although it does take patience and some trial and error to finally get the roof perfectly level. As far as how to get to the cables and pulleys inside the lift bars simply unzip the tent where the bunk ends connect to the tent side from inside the camper and you should be able to see the cables and pulleys. The back side of the lift bars on Coleman/Fleetwoods are open.
Hope this info helps. Atleast now you know where these adjustments can be made. Sorry for such a long reply.
Greg