Electric hydraulic pump failure with top up while camping - what to do?

[Green_Rino]

Hi, I purchased a 95’ 8’ CO last winter and have been reconditioning it all winter. It’s now ready to go and I am putting it on the truck tomorrow. I like to be prepared when I am on a long trip and something has been bothering me. If I am camped somewhere and I get ready to leave and the electric hydraulic pump fails how do you get the top down or do you just drive slow with it up?

Thanks

 

[Soundsgood]

The top needs the pump to go up, opening the valve and gravity will bring it down. Do NOT drive with the top up.

 

[Green_Rino]

Yes but if the pump isn’t working how do you get the top up off the pins?

 

[Teknomad]

You could try using a small hydraulic car jack and a 2x4 (I used different lengths front and rear) to raise the roof up a bit and get the pin out. I used the front arch at the edge of the CO and the beams in the rear when I was rebuilding my pistons O rings.

My system is completely hydraulic so after I reinstalled the pistons and bled the system all I had to do was rotate the release valve at the pump.

Does your pump have a manual release valve for emergencies ?

As long as you can get some lift to get the pins out and the pressure holds at all 4 points I would thing you should be OK to lower it

 

[enelson]

Hi, I purchased a 95’ 8’ CO last winter and have been reconditioning it all winter. It’s now ready to go and I am putting it on the truck tomorrow. I like to be prepared when I am on a long trip and something has been bothering me. If I am camped somewhere and I get ready to leave and the electric hydraulic pump fails how do you get the top down or do you just drive slow with it up?
Thanks

If the pump is able to raise up to camp position the pump will most likely not break while sitting idle. All you need is a slight bump to get the top off the pins. A more likely scenario would be killing the battery while camping with no power to raise the top to get off the pins, but again you only need the pump to run for a brief time to raise it enough. We’ve camped in our Alaskan over 200 nights and haven’t had the top stuck raised on us.