Winch??

[kraftengr]

DW and I are on our first trip of the season and we're having a winch issue. We've used the winch probably 25 times over the past 12 months without an issue but setting up this weekend, the winch seemed to bind up at 1-2 inches before full lift. The cable seems to be winding onto the spool pretty evenly. Any thoughts as to a cause?

[Pill Billy]

Have you lubricated the winch, springs, or riser poles annually?


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[kraftengr]

Yes ...well I've greased the cables at the grease fittings regularly.

[f5moab]

Power or manual winch?

And if a power, is it binding the last two inches, or not just raising the last two inches? Cause the older power winches sometimes lose their setting for the upper limit switch. If that setting is off it will not raise as high as required.

Go to post 4. There are a few places that need lubing at least once a year.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...nch-60970.html

[kraftengr]

The winch is not against the limit switch! ☹️

[Pill Billy]

Is it going up level? I had a failed lift mechanism where one corner lagged by 3-4 inches from the rest.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[f5moab]

Is the cable on the rear pulley and not wrapped around the bracket?

How old is the trailer? Older models had pulley without bearings and were known to fail and cause problems.

[kraftengr]

The unit is a 2014. I will check that, but it seems normal up to the -2" point.

The lift is level and symmetrical

[kraftengr]

I'm stumped!

[f5moab]

Probably not the pulley. I was told by Goshen that after around 2010 the pulleys contained bearings and were probably good for life.

[f5moab]

I guess I'm stumped too. The system is very simple, as the winch turns, the cable is pulled onto the spool and the center pusher and plate push the front springs up the tubes to raise the front, while the rear pusher and plate push the rear tubes up the tubes to raise the rear of the roof.

I wonder if one of the posts or a spring got bent?

[Butch Wilson]

I wish I could help with an answer. The only reason I stopped by was from the title "Winch" I thought this was about my first ex wife !

[JPBar]

Now that's funny!

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by Butch Wilson

I wish I could help with an answer. The only reason I stopped by was from the title "Winch" I thought this was about my first ex wife !

Were we married to the same woman? (But I believe that is wench.)

[Butch Wilson]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Were we married to the same woman? (But I believe that is wench.)

If she gave you my dog and my pickup please send them back !

[Pill Billy]

Are you using battery or shore power to lift?


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[kraftengr]

Well after packing up, I think I've identified the culprit! The battery!! The battery was apparently too weak to crank all the way to the top when we set up...even though I plugged in the electrical. When we wrapped up, the battery was totally dead! So now I've replaced the battery. While I haven't tried to raise the roof yet, I'm betting that was the issue! Thanks for all of the helpful ideas!

[Underthedog]

If the battery is NOT the fix, one other thing to check. We had a mouse nest hidden in the lift mechanism of our former trailer. No amount of lube would have fixed that.