pop up wont crank open or lock!

dentra · 10-16-2011, 10:31 AM

went camping last weekend and was raising my roof up when it was about half way up it just fell back down! we were able to get it up using a ratchet and a 5/8 socket on the nut inside of the crank tube! and were able to lock it up by putting a bolt in between the chain and sproket that goes from the crank to the threaded rod underneath the camper! does anyone know how to go about fixing this and how to get to the parts in the crank mechanism? is it done from inside the camper or from the outside? thanks for any info on this!!!

BuckHardy151 · 10-17-2011, 09:10 AM

You should add the year, make, and model. Sounds like either the cable is off the spool or the clutch mech went out. I believe you may have to take the outside panel off. Screws probably hidden under edge strips.

dentra · 10-17-2011, 03:16 PM

sorry 05 fleetwood newport I went back and added that but I guess it didn't come up!

BuckHardy151 · 10-18-2011, 05:27 AM

From what I've been able to find on the web, there is a little lever that is spring activated and is suposed to grab the teeth on the gear itself. Spring may be broken. Access from under neath.

Superslif · 10-19-2011, 11:04 AM

We had a 99' Coleman PUP where I thought I was being proactive and sprayed lube into the crank area. The next time it wouldn't crank up...The crank box for my 99' was mounted just above the rear bumper. I was told by the dealer it was not meant to be lubed because it worked on a friction system where two cork washer like objects rubbed together and that what would cause the gears to in-gauge. By lubing it, the 2 discs would just keep slipping and not in gauge the crank gears. I had to drill out the rivets under the crank box and wipe off the lube I had applied. Now this "crank box" was mounted outside the trailer so it was easy to get to, but in later models I think the crank gear box was mounted higher on the back wall of the trailer.

I have a 05' brochure I'm looking at now and it has a picture of the construction of the PUP without and walls. And yes, The part you put the crank in is about 3' off the ground, then there is a chain that connects another gear at about bumper level...from there there is a rod about 2 feet long that goes under the floor and is then connected to a bunch of cables.

I wonder if that chain that goes from the crank handle to the bumper area gearbox broke. The length of the chain, that looks like a bike chain. would be about 1.5 feet. I wonder if you look under your bumper can you see the lower gearbox. On mine before I drilled out the rivet I was able to peek inside and see that the washer things were not in-gauging.