wind up Campervan cables

Submitted: Monday, Jan 11, 2010 at 13:41
ThreadID: 75085 Views:8252 Replies:2 FollowUps:1
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Hello
I have a viscount explorer wind up campervan (like a jayco dove),
I'm after some general info on the cable system that winds the roof up. I can't seem to find too much information about them and it seems like a fairly important part of the van to me.

Maintenance ?
replacement ?
carrying spare cable?
do they fail often?
what to do if the cable breaks in the middle of the bush ?

Or any other information that might be handy.

Thanks
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Reply By: Hairs & Fysh (NSW) - Monday, Jan 11, 2010 at 14:27

Monday, Jan 11, 2010 at 14:27
Hi,
We have a Jayco Swan, an older model 1987. I too could not find much information on the cabling system. I asked a caravan repair bloke about the pulley system and how it worked. He suggested that I wind it up, prop it with 2x1 f/j pine and wind it down to just take the weight. He then said to pull out the paneling that hides it all at the front uder the seats and at the rear under the seat and step and the stand up cupboard, Your configuration would be different, but basically the same. The reason he said for me to pull it apart myself, was so that if anything happened while out on the road, I knew what to do to fix it.
Well this is what happened a few months ago, We hadn't un clipped one of the latches before winding it up and pulled one of the box tube sections clean out of the floor under the front seat area. A pain in the backside to fix, with the top down, But I knew what I was chasing and how to fix it by myself. A couple of bigger washers, some new bolts and two housr later it was up and fixed. BTW, and not much swearing ;)
Yes carry a meter or two of spare cable at well as cable clamps 1/2 dozen, the little S/Steel one used on boats, For 3-6mm wire I think they are.
Get in there and get dirty, it's the only way to work out how it works. But make sure you prop it up before you work on it, there is a lot of tension on those cables.

Have fun, ;)
AnswerID: 398821

Reply By: PradOz - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 15:47

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 15:47
All your questions are answered quite simply by purchasing your Viscount equivalent to this Jayco Camper Service & Repair Manual

If you cannot locate a Viscount one I would get the Jayco one as it will give you answers about how the winch and cable systems work. If you find one later simply resell the Jayco one . Plenty of people around like you now asking these questions, so should be easy enough to resell. I keep a copy of mine in my camper easily accessible just in case - I hope mine stays firmly secure in its plastic cover and never needs to come out ;)
AnswerID: 399188

Follow Up By: PradOz - Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 15:51

Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 15:51
Just a PS, i have seen them for sale on ebay from time to time cheaper but rarely. Originally priced over $30 so existing price seems ok and cheap insurance for when something goes wrong (and its usually something simple done wrong by the owner/operator). The book is very detailed in describing how it all works and also what to do to fix ALL the bits in the camper vans from winch, cables and pulleys to bed slides and canvas and screens etc etc - cheers....
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FollowupID: 668178

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