Hydraulics Are Okay, But Top Isn't Coming Up Level.....?

[Grrlartist]

I finally got a chance to really check out the hydraulics on my 1969 8 ft NCO. As suspected, it needed hydraulic fluid (quite a bit). Once the main cylinder was filled, the top section lifted up pretty well, and there was no sign of leakage anywhere. We took it up and down 4 or 5 times, and each time it operated more smoothly than before. My friend (a very experienced mechanic) who was helping me expressed the belief that the cylinder/rams should bleed themselves as the roof was let back down. He also went around the camper lubricating every friction point we could find to keep the slides, etc from binding. However, the roof continued to come up first in the front and we had to stop every few inches and manually push up the back to keep it level. My friend said it seemed to him there should be some mechanism for keeping the top section level as it goes up, but he couldn't find anything and I don't know enough about Alaskans to be sure. Is this uneven lifting normal, or is there something we can do to make it go up more smoothly?

The concrete floor it was parked on is perfectly level and now the fluid level is correct. There is no leaking we could see anywhere.

What else can we adjust or check????


Thanks!

 

[thisoldcamper]

The back of the camper (at the door) may be out of alignment. Some people need to shim the outer edges of the camper to true up the opening and that'll straighten up the glides.

 

[PackRat]

I too have a problem in lowering my 8 ft. C/O. I confirmed that by opening the top door out of the way and looked at how the lower door is closed against the bottom frame. I can see that there is a good 3/16" of splay so I need to sort out a "shim" method for my Alaskan as well.

I think I will try to anchor some 2" x 2" using the three stake pockets on each of the truck side walls. I first have to get mine jacked up so I can remove the spacer I put in there when I picked it up and I probably will remove the bed liner at the same time. I will secure the Alaskan with the Reico-Titan jack mounts and some Happijacs.

However...can anyone confirm if I can get away with the "shims" only in the last two to four feet or should I run them all the way to the front of the Alaskan and tie into all three stake pockets?

 

[Grrlartist]

Hmmm ~ this does make sense, thisoldcamper... I also noticed, when we were jacking up the top, that where the lower end of the slides on the rear of the camper attach to the body has some play in it (not right to left, but popping out from the wall of the camper a little as it goes higher) ~ less than 1/2 inch, but I did wonder if that was the issue. My friend who was helping thought it was NOT the issue because he said it was not binding up there. Since I was getting his help for free, I didn't push the issue, but wondering now if cinching those down might help..... I'm completely comfortable doing the work, I just need to figure out what to do (and what not to do!). Thanks for the feedback....

 

[PackRat]

Here is what I can see as evidence of the lower section having some "splay" to it. Notice where the edge of the door is WIDER at the top of the jamb than at even where the tailgate is located.

 

[Grrlartist]

Thanks for the visual, Packrat ~ I don't have that extreme of a problem, but I did notice that after lifting the entire camper to reposition in the truck bed, on the lower half of the door, the latch did not quite catch anymore (variance of less than a quarter inch). So, is the fix to shim the bottom half below the level of the top (when it's in the lowered position)? I can't quite think how to put a shim above the level of the top when it is down. Am I thinking about this right? Should I tighten down those glides on the back or is that likely to make the problem worse?

 

[PackRat]

Here is what I did....I made a 5/8" plywood and 2" x 6" riser to go pick up my 8 ft CO. I didn't want to get there and find out it was sitting on the rails on the truck bed and not on the floor. Kinda like insurance I didn't have to make two trips. Now I will jack up the camper and remove that riser and the plastic Bed-Liner in there (to deter sliding) and then put down a simpler frame using the 2" x 6"s as that will be plenty to clear the cab of the truck and the truck bed side rails. ( you MUST support it using a perimeter board and then several cross braces to carry the weight to the sides of the camper and not just to the plywood floor)

OK...that will be the install.
I cleaned the rear lower angle iron and discovered the cracks mentioned near the doorway that allows the floor and the lower section of the camper to sag and pull apart as evidenced in my photo of the door/door jamb.

Then I will measure the distance from the bed rail to the bottom of the part of the lower that extends out over the rails and make a "shim" on each side to give an equalized lift to both sides to close the gap as seen in the photo.

I too can barely get the lower door to latch. I just have to figure if I make the shims long enough to reach from the rear of the bed rail forward to the middle stake pocket, then I can anchor the shims using them.

There are several good posts here about "shims" and I think the consensus is you make them a tad taller and try lowering the camper down onto them....you only need a LITTLE lift to close the gap....you MUST NOT support the whole rear of the camper on the bed rails as the camper was not designed to do this and damage will occur...

Another "Goldilocks" moment....not too much lift, not too little....just right.

I'm contemplating using some rubber matting...the thin stuff with ridges on it and flat on the other side along the bed rail/bottom of the shim.

Hopefully others who have done this will chime in here with some info on how they did it too!

 

[thisoldcamper]

Try shimming at the bottom where the camper rests in the truckbed.

 

[Happyjax]

I was wondering if this is just an issue with the older Alaskans or if it could be an issue with the newer ones also.

That is assuming it is properly installed

Thanks!

 

[PackRat]

I'll grab a couple cedar shingles which are wider than just the 1 1/2" normally used to install a door jamb and see if that solves the problem before digging in deeper! Maybe it won't compress them more than the amount of realigning the rear panel needs to relieve the splay on the guides and the door locks.

Thanks for the post Bob!

Happijax....if your rear panel is the same as the ole ones, meaning that the angle iron is "notched" for the door then look for the tiny cracks at the corners of the door notch and that will be the "smoking gun" for splay. It occurs due to the floor at the rear not being evenly supported across the entire floor thereby allowing it to sag and crack in the above noted locations when out on the happy highway bouncing around.

One doesn't always know how the previous owner(s) installed it so it may very well be an issue exacerbated by use and not the best support across the rear rather than a symptom ALL Alaskans are subject to. My old Alaskan (maybe mid 1960s?) went up and down smooth as silk and that was older than 20 something years at the time.

 

[nixfwc]

I had to shim both the bottom outside edges of the rear of the camper and between the top f the pick up bed and camper outer box to get my door to almost align. I also had to progressively shim the door hinges. This is on a 2014 eight foot cab over. So spread seems to be a part of normal wear and tear on Alaskans. I hope it stops at this point.

 

[Happyjax]

I don't have an Alaskan but they were on the short list. Not liking the fact that this issue has not been addressed and a 2014 is having the same issues as a 1969 model. That's a tick in the con department.....

Thanks all

 

[Grrlartist]

Thanks so much for the post, Bob! I see exactly what you mean and it looks like a pretty easy fix too~

 

[PackRat]

I finally got around to working on the alignment issue....I tried Bob's method and got a few wooden shims, the ones about 8" long and 2" wide. I raised up the left rear corner of the camper enough to slide two of them in side-by-side coming in from the "east/west" side of the truck and then after experimenting with lowering and raising that corner, I went to the pass side and raised it just a bit....all in all, the left corner got about 3/16" of lift and the pass side even less.

Now the lower door seemed to be in better alignment and the latch would catch it much better.

Then I got in some time replacing Pirelli seals. The weatherman called for rain last night/today so I let the top DOWN and by golly it came down easier than any of the times previously which indicated to me that the splay put a LOT of friction on the slides as the top came down which made me have to PULL it down to get it to drop down previously!

So....if the rear comes down slow and binds and you have eliminated air in the reservoir, then it may be an alignment issue on your rig as well....shimming the lower rear corners was a great idea, Bob!

Thanks!

Now, when it stops raining I can get back to the Pirelli seals and then move on to the rest of the butyl tape sealing that needs to be done!