Coleman Popup Trailer Crank Issue

[toltmanns]

Greetings everyone,

This past year I purchased a used Coleman Cheyenne Popup Trailer to bring to Burning Man, as well as to use it for camping and the like. It was a fair price for it, albeit it wasn't the prettiest thing in the world. The black chunk of metal that sticks off the backend and has a hole for the crank had broken off/rusted on the right side (which I didn't notice at first) either from backing up into something or because of the following issue. I could pop it up and down just fine, and it didn't seem to affect the rest of the trailer frame.

I took it to a trailer service company to have the wheel bearings greased and when it was returned to me they had "fixed" the black metal bar by affixing it where it should have been, looks like it was welded and spray painted. Because of this, the middle of the bar over the crank stuck out over the crank hole, so much so that the crank would hardly make contact. I tried to bend the bar back a little bit and hammered it back just enough to get the crank over the lip. With just a fews days before we were heading out to the burn I chose to suck it up and go with it.

Got out to the desert and cranked her up. The crank would keep slipping off at a certain point because part of it was rubbing against the metal piece, but I was making progress. I got it about 6" to 1' before fully upright when something broke and the mounted crank piece would just spin and spin. I tried to take it apart and see what the issue was, but couldn't get the plate off, so I said screw it, it'll work for now. Wasn't able to put the door down, and jury rigged a door flap with a tarp.

The next week when it came time to pack it in, I prayed that I could get this piece down! Using my hand I was able to create enough friction with whatever contact on the inside the crank bar connects with that it slowly but surely came down. I was so thankful for that blessing. Fast forward to today, it's been sitting in the drive since Labor day.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Looking to see what I can do with this thing. I figure if I put myself to it, I can disassemble the box that the crank goes into to see what's going on. I'm hopeful that there is something I can weld together to get it to work. I have little experience with welding, so I'm not sure if that will be strong enough.

I'll post some pictures when I get the opportunity to rip it apart.

Any advice (other than dumping it) would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Troy

[rccs]

I have read on other forums about people who have had the roll pin shear and then they were unable to crank the top up (part 18 in the parts picture) These pins couple the crank unit to the wiffle tree.

[opnspaces]

One other question. When you talk about the big rusty piece that the trailer place claims to have put back where it belongs, are you referring to part 10 above or the rear bumper?

[opnspaces]

I don't have access to the book from work, but do they address the part numbers on the first page or so of the manual? I'm guessing on this but it might be there. I also seem to think I remember that there is a nut in the end of the shaft that you tighten to put more force on the system. Kind of like pushing on the end of the crank with your hand but using the threaded nut to hold the pressure.

If you look into the end of the hole where you put the crank, is there a nut at the bottom of it? I'm thinking part # 13 in the picture.

As far as pins being removed I'm assuming you're talking part # 16. I would imagine that pin does need to be removed to be able to partially disassemble and tighten. Typically these pins are either tapped out with a small hammer and punch, or grabbed with a diagonal cutters and pried out. Be careful if the pin is a hollow roll pin (split pin) as if your punch is not large enough it will drop inside the pin and just spread the sides making it harder to remove.

I know there are others on here who have been down this path, so hopefully you'll get some more ideas soon.

Also if you do find access to a nut to tighten down, be careful as the torque value is possibly inch pounds not foot pounds.(12 inch pounds - 1 ft lb) so there is a big difference between 144 inch lbs (12 ft lb) and 144 ft lbs. 🙂

[toltmanns]

While the manual does give a nice exploded view of what I am working with, nothing is labeled in the diagram, which is a little annoying.



I'm thinking the issues is somewhere between #5 and 8.

Anyone know how this all comes apart? Do the pins in the diagram need to be removed? It's not quite intuitive, and I am a novice.

Thanks.

[opnspaces]

they have a lift system manual here.
Link

[opnspaces]

I have an aftermarket or replacement crank for my popup which has a fairly long shank on it. Could it be as simple as using one of these to make it all work?
Link

[opnspaces]

toltmanns wrote:

Note that you may need to change your "My Forums" Preferences to show the images and descriptions below.

Hey Troy,
Can you edit your pictures and resize them a bit smaller? On my broadband with a widescreen monitor they require a lot of side to side scrolling and are hard to view, I can only imagine the trouble the dial-up and low bandwidth users are having.

Click Edit on the top of your pictures post.
find all the picture links like

http://legitdevelopment.com/hosted/personal/popup/IMAG0796.jpg

and add a height of 480 to the end like below.

http://legitdevelopment.com/hosted/personal/popup/IMAG0796.jpg height=480

If you click on the quote button on this post you'll see the changes in the link to make the below picture smaller.

[toltmanns]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess we were pretty lucky, although we slept in the larger bed that sticks out over the storage area, it would have sucked to have woken up wrapped in canvas.

At any rate, I got out my wrenches and took it all apart to see what's going on and took some photos to further illustrate my issue. I'm hosting these images on my personal server; I expect that they will be available for the foreseeable future.

Note that you may need to change your "My Forums" Preferences to show the images and descriptions below.



This is how the crank is fitting on currently, you can see it barely clears the lip. I was thinking maybe I could get a similar sized pipe with a couple notches cut into it to give me a few more inches of clearance and I could rig up a handle somehow.



Top angle, again no clearance. You can see where the crank rubs against the bar.



The underside of the unit with the metal sheet removed. Where my hand is (the visible part of the crank) spins freely, where it should not.



The visible portion with the case removed. You see the crank pipe, a hard to see washer type deal and the crank gear (for lack of better word), all of which spin freely and can be pulled out about 3-5mm but don't see to be able to be removed. This whole assembly feels loose and can jostle side to side a bit in. Not sure how to disassemble further. Behind the crank gear is another washer thing and a smaller gear, which seem to be solid and attached to the long crank rod (~3 ft long) that controls the rest of the mechanism.



Another underneath shot showing the assembly, in this you can see the variable gap just to the right of the large gear. Again I note that the crank mount can be pushed up to close the gap. Perhaps there was another washer piece there at another point and when I was cranking it up (with oddly distributed force) it snapped. Not sure, I didn't find anything that broke off.

When I apply straight, forward pressure to the normally visible crank mount it can create a little bit of friction to help the whole assembly spin. This, along with gravity were the reasons I was able to get it down.

Interesting to note that the big gear looks like it is what holds the roof up. There is a small spring and metal tooth that I would assume pop into place, but I don't understand how that would pop into place on it's own. The end of the spring sticks out of a tiny gap in the box shown in my second photo, not visible, just below that nut.

This brings me to the point where I am seeking advice on how to remedy this. Would I be able to apply soldering to the whole assembly in order to rig it up? Would this be fairly reliable? I am fairly novice in this arena as a software developer, tending to stay away from hardware unless necessity calls for it.



In an unrelated issue, the storage area cover blew off during travel. Anyone have ideas on how to rig it up? It's all fiberglass around there. The wood is cheap particle board, and somewhat water damaged at that.

Also, any suggestions on how to handle the rusting situation? You wouldn't think it would be a big deal in the desert, but we do get rain and lots of dust.

Thanks in advance folks!

Enjoy your weekend.

Troy

[RoyB]

My STARCRAFT 14RT POPUP has two roof support metal pieces that slips in between the roof and the hard wall of the trailer to keep the roof from falling down after it has be cranked up. I have these support pieces in place in the two opposite corners of the trailer roof. My roof has an air conditoner mounted on it and that would really come down in a hurry if the cable or ratchet broke.


The two support pieces also allows you to bring the roof down tight and remove any pressure on the crank cable or ratchet when the roof has been cranked up. These support pieces could be made up from unistrut PVC or metal type material from lowes. My two pieces slips over the metal raise assy that is on the four corners of the roof.

I am always very cautious of my roof setup. Could hurt my nose big time sleeping under it when fell down.

Roy Ken

[Beer_Belly]

Terryallan wrote:
Maybe you just rounded off the end. Drill out the hole to allow the crank to full insert. That could work.

On another note. Never ever sleep in a pup that is not fully up, locked, and has the door fully installed. Alone with other things. The door is a safety devise. It helps keep the roof from falling on you, and smothering you in your sleep, Should the cable, crank, or wiffle tree break. If those things fail. The roof will fall like a express train. The door with hold it up, on one side. Allowing you to escape. You were fortunate indeed.

Nobody steps into our Pop Up until that door is in place just for that reason.....not even our dog

[RimCountry]

Interesting predicament... great story... sound advice... what a terrific forum! Can't wait for the follow-up! Only wish I could help. 😕

[Terryallan]

Maybe you just rounded off the end. Drill out the hole to allow the crank to full insert. That could work.

On another note. Never ever sleep in a pup that is not fully up, locked, and has the door fully installed. Alone with other things. The door is a safety devise. It helps keep the roof from falling on you, and smothering you in your sleep, Should the cable, crank, or wiffle tree break. If those things fail. The roof will fall like a express train. The door with hold it up, on one side. Allowing you to escape. You were fortunate indeed.