Went out to open up the PUP to continue fixing the furnace when suddenly the lift cable snapped. I was able to keep cranking it, but one corner is sagging. I guess my questions are how difficult/easy would it be to attempt this fix myself? or should I bring it to a professional? Keep in mind this is my first PUP and I'm not very experienced fixing mechanical things. Any advice would be appreciated.
Only you can determine your mechanical ability. This is a repair that many, many p'up owners have tacked by themselves. There are several good tutorials on how to do this on the portal. If you don't want to tackle it, you may have trouble finding someone to work on it as it's my understanding that most camper places don't want to work on p'ups and Fleetwood in particular has been out of business for a while. Personally, I'd go for it, but I'm an engineer, so it comes easy to me. Look for a PM from me; I have some documents to share that might be helpful if you want to try it yourself. Caveat; I've never done it ... only read about others doing it. BTW, I'd be very careful lifting the roof with a broken cable. That puts all the additional stress and strain on the remaining cables and you'll likely snap another if you don't support the weight on the broken corner as the roof is going up/down.
Firstly, sorry this happened to you! You need to cut a 2x4 at the correct length to hold up that corner - don't go inside that thing without a support of some type. You should cut 4 of these so when you take the winch loose, they hold the roof up. Don't work alone, you'll need extra hands. You'll need a book to show you how the cable is routed. Be prepared that an RV shop wont be able to order the cable by#, that they will order something longer and cut it down for you. You must remove all the pieces of cable and bring it to them - shows total length and cable ends. If after reading your book, looking at youtube vids, thinking about dropping a roof on yourself etc you will know what you can do. Find a smart bro in law or crafty neighbor to help.... The RV shop I took mine to about pretty much blew me off, as the cost was near what my old camper would sell for. I did my cables myself - all 4 in that process. Fix one, broken another... All without internet helps and no have a book at the time. Foolish or crafty, I dunno. It's what I had to do... I wish you luck! Be safe about looking at it or taking it apart.
If you can't fix it yourself. Try looking for a handyman on craigslist. Someone that fixes miscellaneous things for a living will have no problem with a cable repair.
Here is a place you maybe able to get the cable. https://colemanpopupparts.com/collections/crank-assemblies-related-parts?page=2
check out this page. There are link at the top that will help you. The lift cable repair guide shows you how to do it all. http://www.campersolutions.com/home/help-my-roof-won-t-lower I believe every Coleman owner should read this. If you have a sailboat marina near you, they can make the cable pretty easily.
You might also be able to use an adjustable load bar. I have one I got from Harbor Freight, and take it for emergencies. On my last trip I wasn't paying attention and the post covers got stuck and pulled out of the body of the pup. I had to use the cargo bar to stabilize the roof while I worked the spring back into the tubes.
Here's a link to the Parts Book for you '97 Sea Pine: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0273/4347/files/1997_coleman_destiny.pdf?16695232820753828628 It doesn't give instructions on replacing the cable, but pages 3 & 4 show the parts of the lift system.
Thanks for the link!! I went out today and bought all the parts and tools I think I will kneed and plan on tackling it over the weekend. The PDF on how to replace the lift cables is super detailed and the pictures are awesome. Thanks Again and wish me luck. I let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for the link! This will for sure come in handy for this repair and any other I might need to work on in the PUP.
The Lift cable has been replaced!! It took me longer than I thought, but I'm feeling good about how it turned out. Started working on it at 3pm and with a break for dinner and putting my daughter to bed, I finish a little after 8. I was working alone so I had to keep running back and forth between the lift arm and whiffle tree. Also I kept dropping tools and parts in the snow which then made it even harder to work. It seems to me like that cable had been replaced before because the way in which the cable was routed through the pulleys was not at all like the diagram. The short cable was going through 2 pulleys instead of one and the long cable appeared to be doing all the work. Which is why I think it snapped. I inspected all the other cables and they looked to be in pretty good shape. I'll make sure to keep an eye on them in hopes of catching anything before it fails. I now feel pretty confident about replacing any of them if I need to. Again thanks to all that replied with their advice and specially smit1088 for providing me that "how to" link. I followed it step by step and the job turned out great.
Thanks for the props, but I'm just sharing someone else's wonderful work. Very happy to hear it went so well for you. I know the repairs are intimidating at times, but with this group here you usually can get the help you need.
