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Old 12-30-2013, 01:09 PM   #1
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Manual lift for Rockwood 276HW

We just picked up our 2014 Rockwood 276 a few days ago and have done a practice set-up/tear down at the house. During the walk-through, the technician told us the lift system will break if you try to use the manual lift. He said it could only be used to lower it. Was anybody else told this, or has anyone had the misfortune of having to use the manual lift and had it break? We do have the roof AC.

Love the high counters, big fridge, tall ceilings, and storage space. Don't love not being able to see out the back when backing up or towing.

Otherwise, we're excited to start using it. Two boys - 1 and 3 years old - so the plan is to use it as much as we can until the boys are too old to want to go with my wife and me.
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Old 12-31-2013, 08:59 AM   #2
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The nut on the electric lift motor is VERY small. It won't break, but it's a pain!!!!!
It also takes about 30 revolutions to raise the roof one inch! Not something you want to do if you don't have to.
Read the manual for the lift motor. It has all the info in it.
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Old 01-01-2014, 07:44 PM   #3
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manual lift

Has anyone with a highwall and an ac used the manual lift to raise the roof? The manual says it will work but the technician at the dealer said it was too much weight and it would break if you used it to raise it.
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Old 01-02-2014, 02:10 AM   #4
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Ask the guy at the dealership to back that statement up with facts. He can't do it.

Had a guy at work tell me once that you couldn't use a 4 cyl car to commute 100 miles one way because it would burn it up. Same thing here.
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Old 01-11-2014, 05:29 PM   #5
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We just got our camper in november, it is a freedom pop up with the same lift system, we were told that if anything happened to the winch we could raise and lower the top with hand crank

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Old 01-12-2014, 05:07 PM   #6
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My last trailer was a Freedom 2280BH. Same lift system, "roughly" the same roof weight. I know the HW has a little more roof, but it isn't THAT heavy. If I'm not mistaken, the end of the worm gear itself is shaped to fit the wrench. If the torque from the winch motor doesn't break it, the manual crank sure won't. It's designed to take some beating and besides, if breaking them was common, it'd be all over the interwebz and I haven't heard of one breaking like that yet.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:33 PM   #7
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When we picked up our 276HW we were told that the manual lift could be used to lift and lower if the winch broke or if the battery died. Our dealer made no mention of breaking anything if you use it - you'll just wear your arm out.
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Old 06-21-2014, 05:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by md1m View Post
Has anyone with a highwall and an ac used the manual lift to raise the roof? The manual says it will work but the technician at the dealer said it was too much weight and it would break if you used it to raise it.
We have indeed, had to use the manual crank to raise the roof on our 2014 HW 296. 90 degree weather, and the electric winch would not work. Plenty of power as we had plug-ins; it just refused to work. We got out the hand crank and didn't think it was working, so we called FR. You have to turn the crank counter clockwise. After 4-5 minutes of cranking, it moved an inch. Yes, it took 45 minutes to crank it up manually. But it worked! No damage, no snapping. It worked fine. Now we just have to get into the shop to have them troubleshoot why the power winch didn't work.
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Old 06-21-2014, 07:31 PM   #9
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I've had to raise the roof once manually, and I used a Dewalt drill that I carry to set the stabilizers. It took a while, but beat the heck out of using a hand crank. Forgot the socket size, but I used a socket and a 3" extension.
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Old 06-23-2014, 06:29 AM   #10
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I think the reason for concern is the fact the hex nut you use for manually cranking is just welded on the end of the worm gear (or so I've been told). If the reason for failure is a jammed motor, trying to force it with the hand crank will shear off the nut. Though I have never had to crank it manually (knock on wood), I have made sure I have what I need to use my drill that I always bring along for the stabilizer jacks. I test cranked it a few inches to make sure it works, but it probably will kill the battery in the drill in short order if it is a smaller drill. If I am not mistaken, the nut on the end of the worm gear is 7/16", and it is buried deep in that big glob of grease they put on the gears.

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Old 06-23-2014, 07:13 AM   #11
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7/19 sounds about right. As for killing a battey? On mine it did not, in fact, I ran the stabs up and down probably a total of four times, as well as ran the top up with the one battery and no recharge.
If the motor has the pack of grease it it, then it is important to add grease after the trip. I guess newer motors do not have the grease pack.
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Old 07-03-2014, 07:39 AM   #12
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electric lift 256 hw manual override

My 2009 256 highwall has an air conditionner 2 weeks ago the lift did not stop and would not shut-off it over travelled by 2 inches before i got the kill switch on battery shut I used the manual override to bring it down i turn it for 30 secondes it moved down a 1/4 inch. so i used my impact drill with 7/16 socket to bring it down. it worked well. Then i tried to lift it it when up with a little effort of the drill. then worked on getting replacement part because would no longer raise or lower the camper checked motor with ohm meter it was open circuit . I left that week to go camping without changing motor of lift system thinking i will raise with drill get set-up at campsite go to raise camper i get it up less then 1 inch when the head off the bolt of the override shears off. So i took everything apart to see if there is any other way to crank it up. I went to a tractor store bought a 2000lb come a long winch with a snatch block and some ubolts for 3/16 cable, tied the cable to the axel put the snatch block on cable hook the come a long on the snatch block tied the other end off the come a long to safety chains with a rated 1500lb carabiner and was able to raise my highwall and enjoyed the rest of my trip. The new electric winch is a total new design the emergency override is now 3/4 inch bolt that you crank from the side of unit insteed of the top.
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Old 07-03-2014, 08:43 AM   #13
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Different maker of winch or did they change the design? Can you give the maker and model of the winch.
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Old 07-03-2014, 09:46 AM   #14
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I have the new winch, still made by carefree. The first one, brand new, had motor problems. It would work sometimes, sometimes it was dead. I could tap on the motor with a hammer while holding the switch on and it would start (old car starter trick). I replaced it and so far it is working fine, although very noisy like they all are. Try the tapping trick if you have problems, might save the day.
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Old 07-03-2014, 09:50 AM   #15
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cabranch, does your winch use the dual 80-amp relay setup instead of the polarity-revring switch? I've got that one and it stopped working. I'm going to start a new thread for it.
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Old 07-03-2014, 09:59 AM   #16
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The parts list indicates an 80 amp relay pack. I have the manual but do not know how to attach it to my post.
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Old 07-03-2014, 10:06 AM   #17
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it is the same manufacturer Carefree but total diffirent design no more worm gear and it has a ratchet lock as it is raised with a clutch. Now the motor is horizontal insteed of vertical. the override is on the side insteed of top with bigger nut 3/4 insteed of 7/16. I am still in the installation process i try the electric part it raised it well but takes many turn of the limit screws for travel limits and seems noisier then the old one. I have not tried the override yet because i not done the installation. The new design uses relays insteed of just a switch this should stop the sticking switch. Has for the model they told be at the dealer that the model vary with each model and year of camper. This one is a 5500. I do not think is a do-it yourself project unless you have very good electrical and mecanic skills i am a industriel electricien.
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Old 07-03-2014, 10:43 AM   #18
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Yep, that's it exactly. I posted a new thread about it anyway.
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Old 07-03-2014, 11:29 AM   #19
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Courtesy of cabranch47, I've uploaded the new style manual here:
Forest River Forums - Downloads - 2013 Powerwinch Folding Camper Lift Winch Manual
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Old 07-07-2014, 04:20 AM   #20
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Thanks for the info!
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