My manual references lubricating several areas including the telescopic post, bunk slides and lift system. It does not specify what kind of lubricant. I am thinking a white lithium spray. Am I on the right track? thanks
Others may have more info, but here's what I do. For the telescoping lift arms, I use silicone spray. Tuck a large piece of cardboard between the lift arm and the canvas to keep the silicone spray from getting on the canvas. I used white lithium grease on the lift system cable pulleys and bed slides, but I used regular high-temp axle grease to lube the whiffletree.
I don't know what kind of pup you have, but some lift systems use a whiffletree to connect all the corner lift cables to the crank mechanism. If you have a Coleman or Fleetwood, you have a whiffletree. Here's a link to my blog post about lubing the whiffletree while I did a top height adjustment on our Coleman. There are a couple of pictures of the whiffletree there. http://dustyspopup.blogspot.com/2010/02/door-wars-part-2-top-height.html
I'm betting your Palomino has the Goshen lift system. see the maintaince section of the above link! All PUs are not the same!
Ok, sorry for the bad info. As I said, I didn't know what kind of pup you had. Could I suggest to you that you put the make and model of your pup into your signature like most folks have done? That would eliminate a lot of confusion. Either that or mention what kind of pup you're talking about when you ask a question about it. I know there's a lot of bad/unnecessary/irrelevant info on the internet, and I don't want to add to it. Again - sorry for the confusion!
Not at all Dusty, i appreciate the info, there is always something I can learn. I'll look into adding info to my profile sig.
My Starcraft has the Goshen lift ~ it has the grease fitting underneath (mine has just one) and I give it a couple of "squirts" every season. You can overdo this lubing by having the grease ooze out both ends and then collect road dust. You want to make sure the cable has grease on it (fresh grease) and that will do it. The lifters I use the silicone spray, doing all four right at the connecting sections and I do this on closing up rather then opening. Also use a rag and a piece of cardboard so I don't spray the tenting and then wiping up the excess at the base. As for the bed railings, sometime back I picked-up from our local hardware store a small plastic tube of silicone grease used for such things as window tracts. I rub a dab of the stuff between my fingers and then apply it to the bed slide rails, rubbing it to the metal until it's all gone. Real slick stuff and like the silicone spray, does not collect dirt, and one application will last a couple of years of those beds sliding in and out real easy.
My lift system is similar in that it has the 4 'springs' that push up each corner. I don't see the need to lube the square telescoping tube assembly. Mine is not under any load moves freely. It's just a cover. I did spay silicone it once!
Here is a good website that explains different lift systems and requried lubrication: http://www.customcylindersintinc.com/camper_trailer_roof_lift_system.htm
