Safety brackets

[dtlowe]

I just bought a 2004 Fleetwood Sequoia. The crank up system appears not to have or to need safety brackets (those metal brackets that fit around two of the shafts the cable runs through on opposite corners).

My question is, can I get some and put them on there anyway? I'd feel better 🙂

Also, does anyone have a handy link to explain the self braking, wiffle system it's claimed to have?

I get how the one piece door acts as a sort of safety, but at that point I'm already IN the camper to put the door down :h so I'd still feel better if I put the braces in place first...and the braces would tell me how far up to crank it too.

[Ryanincc]

If you have a Goshen lift system or a Jayco you can get safety posts here. If you have a Coleman/Fleetwood, they are not necessary.

[RoyB]

I did find this drawing on google showing the pulleys inside a coleman lifter arm assy that appear to be the open type pulleys. This is on a manual crank up system.



GOOGLE Closeup view of a STARCRAFT Lifter Arm Assy showing pulleys...


Roy ken

[RoyB]

opnspaces gijoecam - my roof raise has an added length of cable permanently mounted to the roof and the bottom wall to let you know when the the roof is at its maximum height. You can play a pretty good high C note on this cable when the roof is fully up.

After I insert my four lifter arm support pieces in the four corners I do bump the electric switch down a couple of times to lower the roof on top of the arm supports to relieve a little strain. Maybe down to a low C note on the test cable... Its isn't enough slack to allow the cable to walk out of the pulleys... My 12VDC Electric lift system is the Powerwinch Model P55000 Folding Camper Winch. I don't think I have any drawings on the LIFT ARM Assemblies or the wiffle tube showing any pulleys. I'm thinking all of the pulleys on my setup are closed around the top of the pulley to prevent the cable from coming off per say. I know the top of the lifter arm assembly is a closed top on the pulley. I probably should look at this more closly...

Been doing this since 2008 without any problems for what ever that means... I can only remember one time where when lowering the roof that one corner didn't go down all the way. It went down to about 10-inches or so of remaining travel needed to bottom out. That problem was because I was not on level ground.. I moved the trailer a few feet and it came on down just fine...

Roy Ken

[bondebond]

I haven't tried that.

[gijoecam]

I wouldn't lower the roof onto any supports to take the load off as this could result in one of the cables coming off the pulley and getting wedged, which would be a whole different disaster to deal with!

On the Coleman/Fleetwood whiffle-tree setups, each corner is drawn up individually. It would take a catastrophic failure of the whiffle tree or brake assembly for the roof system to let the roof drop, and even then, the door will hold it up. Trust me... It will not let you lower the roof with the door in place. (Everyone tries this once by accident at some point in their ownership!) In the event the brake refused to hold, you could always secure the handle to the bumper in a pinch. 🙂

[opnspaces]

Hey Roy,
You say yours take strain off the lift cables. Are you lowering the roof to rest on the supports after you install them?

[RoyB]

This is what my two "Lifter Arm Safety Post" as they are called looks like that came with my off-road camper. I install one in each opposite corners of the roof. I later added two more made up from metal stock I got from LOWES... Not only does this give you safety from the roof falling down on top of you in the middle of the night it also takes the strain off the lift cable.


Wouldn't have it any other way...
Roy Ken

[azemptynesters]

On the Coleman/Fleetwood trailers, the door keeps the roof from falling when it is in the raised position. Because of their lift system design, it would take a catastrophic failure for the roof to fall.

Dan

[dtlowe]

Thanks for the responses and information. I think I'll try the dowel option for some extra piece of mind.

[Dakota98]

opnspaces wrote:
I'm don't think the Fleetwoods have a safety bracket. I don't think I've ever read about them in the 10 years I've been on this forum.

I agree though with the suggestion of maybe two dowels with crutch tips. I would go a step further and use some velcro strips to strap the dowels to the support beams so they can't fall over during the night.

My 1991 Sequoia had them.

[lfloom]

I had two Coleman Fleetwoods - a 2000 and a 2004, neither have them. I forget why, but you definitely do not need them. I think it might be because all 4 are independent, and also the door (when put in place) acts as a bit more support. I have been on various PUP boards since 2000 and never heard of anyone needing one.

BTW, my 2nd PUP was a Sequoia. Enjoy all that space!

[opnspaces]

I'm don't think the Fleetwoods have a safety bracket. I don't think I've ever read about them in the 10 years I've been on this forum.

I agree though with the suggestion of maybe two dowels with crutch tips. I would go a step further and use some velcro strips to strap the dowels to the support beams so they can't fall over during the night.

[Dakota98]

As far as the supports go, many people discarded them because they couldn't figure out what they were for, or just left them @ home. If you can't locate the OEM for a descent price, just get two 1" wood dowels from HD & put rubber furniture tips on each end.