Heco Lifting System Help

[Ghetto Johnny]

Hello everyone.
I recently purchase a used Truck Camper and I have been going through it to make it 100% and having some issues with raising and lowering the Pop Top.

My Truck Camper(Viking Spirit ) has the "Heco" Lifting System with the Crank Handle that you Crank from the center rail system and it's horrible. The Handle wants to come out all of the time, the roof wants to drop on your head,and it doesn't lower level (rear closes before the front, the right rear closes before the left) and causes some closing/clamping issues. Supposedly there are some kind of "Torsion Bar Springs" inside of the Tubing and they may be out of adjustment. The Rail Rack Gear may also be worn out causing some issues too. The handle is definitely worn out and the teeth are slightly twisted.

The Previous Owner drilled some holes in the track system so they could install pins while cranking it up and lowering it ,so it didn't crash on top of them.

Does anyone know of any solutions to these issues?
Is there a Procedure to resetting the Rail/Track?
If not,is it possible to switch the lifting System out for a different system? The current system hinges/pivot bars are on the left and right sides, not the front and rear and you have to crank from a center rail.

Thank you for any Advice. John

 

[LuckyDan]

I’ll offer what little I know.

Viking hasn’t produced a truck camper in a long time. Viking camp trailers are still made. A call to them may help, but I doubt it.

Here is a schematic if that helps:
https://rvworkshop.com/sc_images/Heco%20Truck%20Camper%20LIFT-SYSTEM%20Model%20(1).pdf

Parts are still advertised through some RV parts suppliers. I don’t know if the HECO system is still made, so they may be new old stock. Point is if you need parts, buy as soon as you know what you need before your part is gone.

The HECO system has been discussed here a few times over the years. A search of the threads may provide you some help.

They were popular on several brands of campers of days past, including some high endish brands. A call to Hallmark may get you some information and maybe a manual and/or parts. I know years ago they used the system. Here is their contact info:
http://www.hallmarkrv.com/

And finally, this is the contact info for the original manufacturer of the HECO system. I don’t know if they are still in business or not, but maybe:
HARMONY ENTERPRISES. 704 Main Avenue N., MN 55939; (507) 886-6666.

And finally finally, as to converting the lift system question, FWC uses a kinda bi-fold spring loaded panel system fore and aft. Mechanically the system is simple and the top goes up literally in 30 seconds. There are a few threads on here where people have built their own using wood, metal conduit, aluminum diamond plate and so on. I don’t know the specifics of your roofs construction, but maybe something like that will work.

Good luck with yours.

 

[Ghetto Johnny]

LuckyDan
Thanks for the response.
I don't know what the PDF was but it isn't available, my luck. ha ha
I'll try calling Hallmark when they're open.
Looks like the Heco Info is not a Composting Site, oh well
Thanks again.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Heco Parts

 

[LuckyDan]

This is the full link, it doesn’t seem to work for me either. Maybe it will for you.

https://rvworkshop.com/sc_images/Heco%20Truck%20Camper%20LIFT-SYSTEM%20Model%20(1).pdf

What did work for me was to google all “heco roof lift system manual”. The first entry was from RV Workshop, the link I copied and pasted. It has the schematic attached. I could tap and expand it to full size.

Maybe that helps.

 

[Ghetto Johnny]

Thanks for the Link.
i've gotten the Part List PDF but still no info on how to adjust the Lift System or replacing parts.
The more I look at others Truck Camper, the more I want to swap out the roof/lift system to an easy one. Ha Ha

 

[Callumayers]

I can provide you with some info that may help. If the rear torsion rods are not assisting you when cranking up the front, then the torsion rods were either incorrectly "clocked" when mounted or they have lost their torsion which is unlikely (The camper i bought remained spring loaded for years while in the closed position and lost very little torsion force). Remounting process: lift the camper lid fully. Brace the lid at this height securely. Unscrew rear mounting brackets and pull them towards the rear to they slide off the torsion rods (this may require hitting it with a hammer). Once they are removed, orient them how they should be mounted, and then slide them on to the torsion rods, and rescrew to the ceiling (while camper lid is in fully lifted position). Now when you lower the camper lid it will cock the torsion rods so that when the lid is in the lower resting position, the spring force of the torsion rods will assist you when you subsequently lift. Hope this helps.

I would appreciate if you could follow up on my next post which addresses my own issue with the Heco lift system. Hoping that someone can spare a couple minutes to provide me with a few measurements.

 

[Callumayers]

I rebuilt my 2001 Palomino Bronco 1200 entirely. I have rebuilt the roof, and remounted the Heco rack and pinion lift system with torsion bars in the rear. I am running into issues with my mounting position for the front two mounting brackets. When the pop-top roof is lowered and in the resting position, the slider system on the Heco lift system is not travelling to its resting position (Image 1: http://postimg.cc/BX0xR5pk right click on link to open image in new tab.)

This leaves the weight of the roof resting on the mounting points, instead of the lower half of the camper. MY QUESTION IS THIS: can somebody please provide me with the dimensions for the position of the front two mounting points? Most importantly; the distance between the two mounting points (from center of rod to center of rod).

I am at wits end with this contraption and would would really appreciate if someone could take the time to share some measurements, as there are no resources online and I have sunk alot of money into this project.

 

[goshawk]

Callumayers, did you get your dimensions? I can measure my old Northstar for you, if that would help. But looking at your picture, my sliders look the same. That is, the sliders end up about 2 inches from the gear housing with the roof fully down.

Question for you: your description of setting the torsion strength is much simpler than others posted here. Does it really work to simply remove the rear mounting bracket (torsion bar pivot) and re-orient? It seems to me, not having disassembled anything yet, that re-orienting must somehow involve re-torsioning (re-loading the torsion bars) which would be hard to do with just that rear bracket. Please correct my thinking?

JS

 

[2Z Bundok]

Our 97 Shadow Cruiser has this system. I don't believe it has torsion bars. The first several cranks are very difficult! We used strap iron to prop the rack plumb and fixed the latch with a spacer busing rather than the lash rope the previous owner used. I agree about the crank popping out ¼" and getting bonked on head! If you get a Mod / hack for that I would love to see it. Glad to see the posts above for parts and geometry.

 

[Indycheez]

I'm glad I stumbled on this thread. I am having problems too with my lift system.
I have an older (86-89)sun lite eagle with the torsion system. I had to make a roof repaire where the mounting bracket twisted itself from the rotten wood it was attached to. Having made the repair and dismantling the lift system and re attaching it, my roof is now pulling too far to the side I repaired. It pulls the canvas too tight and the roof hangs too far to one side.
I have the bent U shaped tube and the other tube that attaches to the torsion bar tube unbolted from one another and unbolted the front of the torsion tube and i can pull it towards the camper cab over area to pull the tube off of the rear bracket and expose the spring bar. Where I am confused as what orientation do I start the down tube(that connects to the torsion tube) I can only get the torsion tube over the spring bar in 2 positions. One is where the down tub is aligned with the roof and the other is pointing down Towards the floor at maybe 45 degrees from the roof. Do I crank downwards from the roof to tension and reconnect the tubes? That seems like that would be way too Much tension. I hope I made things as clear as possible. It's hard to describe. Has anyone made a video of how to tension the system? That would be great if there is one out there.

 

[_puregravy]

I have just gone through the process of installing a new Heco gear housing kit and new crank sourced from canvasreplacements.com. Way tighter. Was previously sloppy leading to worn teeth on crank and idler gear. Have since been told to stay away from grease and use a dry lubricant as grease traps grit and contributes to wear.

I have a 2004 Hallmark with torsion bars and have been told that by disassembly and reversal of torsion bars you can can get a number of years of service. I have not been able to source new torsion bars.

 

[dgknows]

Ok picked up a 2012 Northstar tc650. Seller opened and closed few times. I just tried to open my self. I don’t think I had the crank inserted all the way and realized one corner was stuck. Walked out and freed the corner and started to crank. Seemed hard. Lifted few inches and crank gears sheared of. And roof is a few inches up. It’s in the backyard
NOW WHAT!!!
HELP:/
i had tent trailers for years.
slide in camper
Camp trailer
But
first pop up truck camper

thanks for your help
Don