1991 Coleman Roanoke Royale lift doesn't stay up

[BU77Ybee]

I recently greased the wiffletree, which by the way, looked like it had never been greased since manufacture. The lift system goes up much easier now. BUT, now the roof doesn't stay up unless the stop pin is engaged. It seems like a rather unsafe way to keep the roof up, this one little pin. If someone were to remove the crank while we were inside the camper, the roof would come down on us rather quickly. Does anyone know if this is just how it is? Or is there something missing that should keep the roof up besides this pin?

 

[WrkrBee]

This is hear say, because I don't have a wiffletree. I believe there is a clutch assembly, in the crank area, that probably got greased. I've heard of people using brake cleaner to clean the brake pad out. There's usually two supports to put on opposite corner post to keep the roof up in case of failure.

 

[Raycfe]

No you hear clicking when cranking up? The pawl to prevent lowering or it's clutch is what I would look at first.

 

[RetAF]

If the lift mechanism isn't clicking while you raise the roof, the pawl is not engaged and needs to be reset. To do that, once you have raised the roof all the way, over-crank the handle by a quarter turn and that should do the trick.

 

[BU77Ybee]

If the lift mechanism isn't clicking while you raise the roof, the pawl is not engaged and needs to be reset. To do that, once you have raised the roof all the way, over-crank the handle by a quarter turn and that should do the trick.

I will try that. I have seen videos about that, but they were always on newer PUPs that had a chain drive. There is not a clicking noise when raising the roof. This thing is so old, it's hard to tell if the mechanisms are just simpler (less advanced) or broken, lol.

 

[BU77Ybee]

So, I was able to get a copy of the original owner's manual courtesy of colemanpopupparts.com. Surprisingly, this is just how it is! I'm wrapping a bungee cord around the crank and bumper to disallow anyone removing the crank while the PUP is up. Thanks all, for the suggestions.

 

[Kev23]

Thanks for the tip on the bungee cord. I just picked up a 1990 Roanoke Royale. It was garage kept most of it's life and seems to be in good condition overall.

 

[theseus]

Your door will prevent the roof from coming down. Coleman designed it to be the safety stop when the roof was up.

 

[davez26]

I've had this same thought from time to time on our 1991 Roanoke CD. Just this pin?, and that's all the manual shows/mentions. We wrap a bungee as well. Didn't think of the door, so that makes me feel better.