Problems setting up new cub camper

Submitted: Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 09:49
ThreadID: 106868 Views:11553 Replies:8 FollowUps:6
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We have just bought a new supamatic regal cub with transcontinental pack and having problems getting it set up so we can close the doors properly and the canvas is not overstretched or too loose.The window at the front over beds is loose and floppy but the back has to be so tight in order to get doors straight you can see the stitching holes. We have done the spirit level thing reset as instructed over the phone and even driven back to where we bought it.We have spent hours trying to get it right. The gap between the floor and trailer is uneven ( was like this in show room but told ok) approx half inch one side and negligible gap the other. When using the winch the camper doesn't open up and when winching back down it grinds and the belt gets so tight my husband has to do it and then it doesn't seem to be sitting square. We sold our home to have a holiday and travel and this is spoiling what should be a wonderful experience so any help and hits from fellow cub users would be so appreciated.
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Reply By: Member - Foot - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:25

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:25
If you are finding it hard to use the winch to pack it up you might have the horizontal arms in the wrong position and or maybe not locked down so that it pivots, if the arms aren't in the correct position it will be extremely hard to winch it down, and it will bend some of arms and this may make your canvas not sit right. Check the arms would be my first suggestion.
AnswerID: 528988

Follow Up By: Member - Foot - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:44

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:44
Also when you are almost done and are at the stage of clamping it down, work from the back to the front with someone on the other side doing the same as it should pull down nice and square but you may need to adjust the tension on the clamps as they may be out of adjustment.
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Reply By: scruffy - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:27

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:27
Personally, I would be taking it back to where you bought it from and get them to set it up. When they have trouble, then tell them it is not fit for service. Demand a new one to replace the faulty one. Bob
AnswerID: 528989

Reply By: Tony H15 - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:38

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:38
There is obviously something wrong with either the winch or the hinging mechanism - the Cub winching mechanism is normally extremely light and easy to use. Not too sure what you mean by the floor and the trailer, I assume you mean the floor is not on the same plain as the trailer, that being the case I would be demanding the dealer fix it. The hoop at the bed end can be pushed out further and the hoop at the other end let in a little; however, this will only go some way to solving the problem with loose/tight canvas. Spreader bars between hoops also help a little, particularly around the door. I found the hoops were not set and forget; rather, they had to be adjusted every time the cub was set up. Wrinkled canvas around doors and windows making them difficult to open/close is a common fault with Cubs and with the awning attached the problem becomes worse. We bought a Supamatic a few years ago (having had several soft floor campers previously) but were so disappointed we traded it after our first trip away losing around 7k (after trying to sell privately for several months). The wife’s son also had a Supamatic and his also suffered the same problems. Since then we have been to several Cub stands at C&C shows and noticed that all their displays suffer the same problem. Despite the Cub hype, we found the Cub slower to set up and pull down than our previous soft floor campers - cleaner but slower. There are several other hard floor campers around which do not appear to suffer from the wrinkled canvas/hard to zip doors and windows syndrome but if I had my druthers, I would not go past a soft floor camper: cheap, roomy, huge bed, plenty of storage, easy to set up and no need to spend a fortune: some of the Australian made soft floors are extremely well made and quite cheap in comparison to the Cubs. No doubt I will cop a severe beating for this; but, this was our experience.
AnswerID: 528990

Follow Up By: Tony H15 - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:40

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:40
Forgot to mention: make sure the hoop at the floor end is released before winching the floor up.
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Follow Up By: ozwildlifecarer - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 16:05

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 16:05
Thanks everyone.
Tony not sure what you mean by hoop at floor end.Can you explain what you mean please.
Ta
Linda

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Follow Up By: Tony H15 - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:42

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:42
Cubs and most other hard floor campers have three tubular steel hoops, one holds the canvas out at the bed/draw bar end, one holds the canvas up in the middle and the last holds the canvas out and up at the floor end - the floor end hoop must be released before winching. Sometimes, despite undoing the wing nuts, the hoop may jam or twist, making winching difficult. As I already mentioned, four spreaders between hoops helps with door and window zips and sagging canvas. A couple of spreaders between the hoop and trailer will also help the canvas from sagging at the bed/drawbar end, particularly with the awning on. Hope that makes sense. Most Cub owners either don’t notice the sagging canvas or choose to ignore it; I couldn’t, it drove me crazy so I offloaded it and bought something else. Good luck.
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Reply By: Member - Duncan W (WA) - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:43

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:43
I've only hired the Cub, so not an owner, but what we found was that if the floor is not perfectly level doing the zips up on the doors was nigh on impossible. Many a night we had a large open gap in the doors. As for the winch, our biggest gripe was that the web strap blew around in a wind at night disturbing sleep so much so that we threw it off from over the roof. Problem then was throwing the webbing back over the roof in the morning so that we could winch it all down in the pack up.

No doubt as an owner you'll soon sort yourself out and iron out these little annoyances.

cheers

Dunc
Dunc
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AnswerID: 528991

Follow Up By: Member - bbuzz (NSW) - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:37

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:37
Re the webbing strap.

On any vehicle, even boat tie downs, if you put a twist in the webbing strap and make it firm, it doesn't hum or flap.

The twist is the key.

bill
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Reply By: baz&pud (tassie) - Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:35

Monday, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:35
Hi,
Can i suggest you google "The Cub Club", and ask questions from there.
baz
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AnswerID: 529015

Reply By: GHThommo - Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 16:58

Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 16:58
Hi,

We have a 2008 supamatic regal with the trans pack. We also had difficulty with the door to the extent that we busted the zip. I had tried resetting the canvas to no avail. When we got the zip replaced the unit was reset and I marked all the poles with a texta so that if they moved at the wing nut joints I could reset them. Haven't had a problem since. We also called in to Cub in Sydney and got an updated version of how to set up the poles to get the canvas 'taut' and eye balled them about our problems.

Originally we had trouble getting the unit level and to get the gap correct - this was mainly due to the legs being too long. The solution was to dig out under the legs (their suggestion over the phone) which in some locations was inappropriate. So I made the legs shorter - it is easier to put a block of wood under them to raise them if necessary. Also if it is not level from side to side you may need to run it up onto some wood under one tyre. We always travel with several pieces of flat wood to put under either the tyres or legs (especially on sand).

We have never had difficulty with the winch (it sounds like you are not detaching the cross bars fully??). I suggest you ring Cub. They were very helpful when we visited them and if we had rang when we had the original canvas difficulties they could have solved them over the phone.

Gary Thomson
AnswerID: 529090

Reply By: adtrac - Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:09

Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:09
CUB CAMPER SETUP INSTRUCTIONS I can send them but will be in three parts in three separate postings if that would help
AnswerID: 529110

Reply By: adtrac - Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:09

Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:09
CUB CAMPER SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
Set camper roughly parallel with ground but slightly down at the front-
Use jockey wheel to do this.
Let down the two rear legs (located under the rear section of the camper)
And tighten the locking screws, then wind the jockey wheel up until the
Camper is parallel with the ground.
Open the clips holding the roof to the body of the camper - both front and
side.
Release brake on the winch and unwind the strap to white mark - reset
The brake and lift the camper to the upright position ,then go back to
the winch and wind the camper down to the ground , then set the
adjusting legs on the rack to suit the ground the camper is on.
Go to the upper section of the camper and lift the canvas over the edge
and attach the elastic loops to the black fixing points on the body of the
camper, then do the same on the lower section.
The elastic loops on the lower section attach to the rack under the floor.
Step into the camper - Note that the door is not closed at the time of
folding the camper, once inside tum and face the door, notice that
running across the door opening is a diagonal pole (adjustable bar) with
a black collar and a wing nut in the mid section and a small ( slide
bracket) at the lower end.
Undo the wing nut and release the tension on the adjuster bar, then undo
The locking screw on the slide bracket and raise the slide bracket and
Adjuster bar up until it contacts the stop screw on the vertical pole.
Tighten the locking screw on the slide bracket and then push the adjuster
bar towards the rear of the camper to stretch the canvas.
In spacematic models you should now position the comer poles under the
Rear comer of the adjuster bar and also the diagonal support bar opposite
the door, this also helps with tensioning the canvas.
Note - When pushing the adjuster bar toward the rear of the tent do
it firmly but don't over do it.
Damage can occur by over tensioning the adjuster bar.
Tell tale signs of this are difficulty opening and closing door.
If the zip on the door is hard to open or close release some pressure from
the adjuster bar. '
The diagonal pole on the other side of the camper is also. adjustable and
once into position there is no need to change the adjustment unless the
canvas is sagging or over tight.
Closing the camper is a reverse of the opening procedure.
Ensure that the bed is down and that all windows are closed and there is
nothing left high enough to stop the frame from closing, remove the two
AnswerID: 529111

Follow Up By: adtrac - Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:11

Tuesday, Mar 25, 2014 at 20:11
support poles in the rear comers, - release the wing nut on the adjuster
bar and let the bar slide in a bit to release the tension then undo the
locking screw on the slide bracket and slide the adjuster bar to the lower
end of the vertical pole, tighten the locking screw on the slide bracket
(this prevents the adjuster bar from slipping during closing) and then
Push the top section or the adjuster bar towards the rear of the camper
To square up the frame - then tighten the wing nut.
At this point, when you look to the inside top rear section of the camper
The tent frame should look fairly uniform and square.
This will allow the frame to close neatly into the body of the camper, The
door must be left open before closing the camper.
Stepping out side, release all the elastic loops from their attachment
points and push canvas edge towards the inside or the camper.
With the brake on the winch inplace ,simply wind the winch until the
floor travels the vertical and the canvas section drops down towards the
camper body.
At this point you can begin tucking the canvas into the body of the
camper.
Continue winding and tucking in the canvas until all the canvas is inside
the camper.
(Remember when pushing in the canvas take particular note of the
junction point of the internal frame and the adjuster bar on both sides of
the camper.
It is important that the canvas not folded over this point when closing the
camper ).
The new ezy wind system allows the canvas to wound until it is past this
junction point before tucking in begins.
(Failure to take care with this operation can result in damage to the
canvas)
Finally push down on the lid to squeeze out the air , attach the front
clips then the side clips - push the rear legs up into the camper and
tighten the securing screws .
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FollowupID: 811786

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