Skips at top.

[Dennis1989]

I have a question, I have a new to me1975 ramada. And it goes up and down very smooth. Previos owner replaced gear boxes and chains. It goes up and down just fine. But I want to know if there is supposed to be a hard stop at the top. If I take it all the way up not being used to it. And not knowing if the walls will clear. I go up. It gets to the top and if feels like it skips a gear and the too bumps down half an inch. Its all the way up because the walls clear when I go in. Is there somthing wrong? It this normal? Is there a stop missing? Will it go out of time? Or do I just have to be more carefull?

[raider]

I don't like questions, especially the ones I don't have answers for, which are there are many.  Yeah, be careful.  Before you get to the point where it starts to skip, can you get the sidewalls up?  My top would stop and I would not force it, but after I put the sidewalls in place I could raise it another inch with no problem. Weird. I have since changed the gear boxes and chains but they were not that bad, at least to me since it was the first time I've seen them apart or disassembled.  Are you talking smooth as in easy? I was going to suggest to clean and lube the extrusions, the metal parts that push the roof up but that does not sound like the problem. If they look dirty maybe wipe them down with paint thinner or something similar and then spray them with DRY lube silicone.  Just something to think about.
Other then that, maybe drop a gear box and take a look and see if you can spot anything obvious. Make sure you read up on it though. There is helpful information in this forum that covers gearboxes.
Hopefully someone else will chip in with their 2 cents.
 

[Dennis1989]

Yes I can get the side walls up. I just never know when to stop, beside going to put the walls up and coming back to crank more a bunch of times. I am cranking smooth and consistent. The extrusions are dry. And dirty. I will be cleaning them and re lubing with dry lube. Maybe I could make a sharpie mark on the extrusions or measure them when the clear the walls. Got a trip booked for the second weekend in September. I'll will drop a gearbox after that weekend.

[raider]

Well I'd say the time to stop and see if the walls go up is when the top stops going up smooth and easy, you should be able to figure that out over time. Marking with a sharpie sounds like a good idea in the meantime.
It is probably a good idea to wait to drop the gear box after your trip as long as you are comfortable with the way things operate now.  I say that because the gear boxes could be a whole nether can of worms.  Bolts have been known to break off etc.. so maybe you should spray them down now with wd-40 or some other type of material. Go ahead and replace the bolts also while you have them out. I believe they are 1/4" carriage bolts. And you'll need some "C" clips or retainers to slip on the bolts to hold them in place otherwise it will be a dickens trying to get the nuts on.

This is all information that I picked up from other members, (and a little limited experience).  I'm just passing it along.

Here is a link from one of many threads on timing of the gear boxes, the last post in this thread has a good tip.  http://www.apachepopups.net/smf/index.php?topic=13644.0

[Dennis1989]

Thank you,
 I waiting till after our trip for that very reason. I don't want to end up with broken bolts. Or something I can't fix in time. Should I pull the gearbox with the road cover all the way up, since the the problem is at the top. Or should I do it with it down?

[raider]

I'm probably not the person to ask that question to as I'm not all that knowledgeable in that area. But it is a good question. Dropping the gear boxes while the top is up, I would think maybe give you a chance to perhaps see if the links in the chains are damaged as well as checking the gears in the gear box. But I don't know..it might just be a issue of taking the gear boxes apart also, and in that case I would want to leave the top down, just in case it runs into a extended period of time. If you got a big barn to keep it in, then no problem.

Hope you have a good trip.

[Terry]

I would do it with the top up as Raider has said.  If you end up having to pull a chain, it will be more convenient to have it already up.  I would advise you to get some penetrating oil and spray down all the threads of bolts you need to remove before your trip. You might also want to pick up some new bolts and nuts in case you do break one or two.  The length of the bolt is very important.  Too long and you won't be able to maneuver them into the hole in the track. A pair of curved hemostats and an awl will be your friends!

[Dennis1989]

My only downfall would not having a covered space to put it with the top up.
Thanks for you help guys. I'll keep you posted after my trip.

[raider]

You probably already thought of this, but you could leave the top down and and then see if you can break the bolts loose on the gear boxes first. If successful  you can then raise the top and drop the gear boxes, just to take a look at the chains in that area for any damage, etc.. and after assessing the situation put the gear boxes back on and come up with a plan.   Hopefully a easy one.