Heco Manual Lift System Help

1998 Starcraft pop-up truck camper, HECO lift manual lift system, nothing on the roof.

I had to do some work on the Heco Manual Lift System in my camper (stripped the gears on the crank) and need a little help re-installing the system. I have not been able to find exactly how much to preload the bars in the tubes. I have the top supported in the up position and the canvas uninstalled. I have read where the down tubes should point out towards the outside of the camper and then draw then in to re-attach. That seems to be a lot of preload. On the other hand the next notch in seems to put very little preload on the torsion bars. I know the torsion bars will develop more assist as the top lowers but just wanted to see if anyone has experience with this system and could steer me in the right direction.

When I disassembled the bars, they were in the notch with very little preload, and the top was fairly difficult to lift. And don't even think about letting go of the handle, it would crash down. I think it was worked on before I owned it.

Thank you for any advice, knowledge and experience you can offer.

I have little to offer other than some information. The following is the link to the post, IIRC, from the last time this subject came up. Over the years this topic has come up a time or two.

https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/20462-heco-lifting-system-help/

Ghetto Johnny mentioned the schematic link no longer works. The source for it, RV Workshop is in business. I’ve sourced a couple parts from them for my tent trailer recently. They were both knowledgeable and prompt. If you’re unaware, Starcraft is still in business. Maybe a call to one of them will help.

Good luck with your repair.

These folks were a help when I had some questions:
http://www.canvasreplacements.com/index.php

Thank you for the resources. I will give RV Workshop a try. Canvas Replacements I have left messages but no return call yet. I plan on writing a nice detailed summary of this project when completed with a few pictures to maybe help someone in the future. Thanks.

Doug

here's a copy of the Lift Parts Drawings

Ghetto Johnny said:

here's a copy of the Lift Parts Drawings

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Thanks. RV Workshop just sent me that as well as the directions to assemble and disassemble the bars. That helped a lot. I will post that as well as a summary of the project after the weekend.

dodean said:

Thanks. RV Workshop just sent me that as well as the directions to assemble and disassemble the bars. That helped a lot. I will post that as well as a summary of the project after the weekend.

Click to expand...

oh, i totally forgot to attache the rest instructions. sorry

Ghetto Johnny said:

oh, i totally forgot to attache the rest instructions. sorry

Click to expand...

No worries. I worked on it yesterday and got it back together. Seems to be working better than it ever has for me. I clocked the down tubes with very little preload (like it was when I removed them) and then reassembled. It was very hard to lift and the torsion bars did not seem to be making much of a difference, if at all. I then disassembled each side and clocked them so they were pointing towards the outside of the camper like the instructions say (needed to remove the canvas for clearance). Once both sides were assembled, what a difference!! Now when lifting I can stop at any point and the top does not come down at all, and I can easily lift the top with one hand on the crank. The kicker was when I asked my wife to give it a try and she did it no problem at all. She was unable to do it before the project. Thanks for all the help, I am going to write up everything to help others who want to keep their campers functioning well.

Doug

It's good to hear there are experts out there. I'm just starting the process of getting this Heco system to work properly. First off, I ordered a new crank (old one's gears stripped, which I figure is why it keeps popping out). Second, I want to adjust the torsion as described by Ghetto Johnny.

- Johnny, I'd sure like to see the instructions you mentioned. NEVER MIND, just found dodean's tutorial on the subject, but I'd still welcome any of your hard-earned advice.
- dodean, I haven't looked yet at removing the canvas for clearance. Is that a challenge? Any tips for the newer newbie?

Thanks in advance,

JS

goshawk,

Taking the canvas off (on my particular model, I would assume many are the same) is a piece of cake. I was a little worried the first time but found it to be super easy, we replaced the canvas a couple years ago. I can remove the entire canvas in 10 minutes. There is a metal track above the top of the canvas with some screws in it. Remove the screws and the metal track will come down. Mine has three tracks down each side so they are not full length. Once that metal track is out, just lift the canvas out of the slot in a second metal track hidden under the top edge of the canvas. You may not have to remove the whole canvas to do the job, just a section or two to create clearance when pivoting the down tubes towards the outside of the camper.

Keep in mind the torsion bars were an option. A friend of mine was trying to adjust his to find out there were no torsion bars in his tubes.

Good Luck.

Hello everyone I have a 1988 sunlite skyhawk and am having the same issues. I rebuilt my roof but must have installed it back on wrong because I have no torsion to help lift the roof on. Also I reinforced my roof along the back with a piece of flat bar about an 1/8th thick and it seems that may have cause the roof to misalign not letting the roof close completely any help would be appreciated on how to retorsion the bars.

dodean said:

No worries. I worked on it yesterday and got it back together. Seems to be working better than it ever has for me. I clocked the down tubes with very little preload (like it was when I removed them) and then reassembled. It was very hard to lift and the torsion bars did not seem to be making much of a difference, if at all. I then disassembled each side and clocked them so they were pointing towards the outside of the camper like the instructions say (needed to remove the canvas for clearance). Once both sides were assembled, what a difference!! Now when lifting I can stop at any point and the top does not come down at all, and I can easily lift the top with one hand on the crank. The kicker was when I asked my wife to give it a try and she did it no problem at all. She was unable to do it before the project. Thanks for all the help, I am going to write up everything to help others who want to keep their campers functioning well.

Doug

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Hey Doug Im having the same issue with my truck camper Im hoping to get some advice on how to get the torsion bars tensioned properly. Thanks Oscar

Varelao95 said:

Hey Doug Im having the same issue with my truck camper Im hoping to get some advice on how to get the torsion bars tensioned properly. Thanks Oscar

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Hi Oscar,

Have you read my other post about the entire project and details about each step? That should really help you. Just search Heco and i think the title is something like "Heco rebuild project". That will tell you about everything I learned.

Doug

Varelao95 said:

Hello everyone I have a 1988 sunlite skyhawk and am having the same issues. I rebuilt my roof but must have installed it back on wrong because I have no torsion to help lift the roof on. Also I reinforced my roof along the back with a piece of flat bar about an 1/8th thick and it seems that may have cause the roof to misalign not letting the roof close completely any help would be appreciated on how to retorsion the bars.

Click to expand...

Hi there.

I created a post titled "Heco rebuild project" search Heco and it will be one of those posts. It is very detailed and will tell you everything I learned about these lift systems and the torsion.

Doug

Here ya go...

Heco Manual Lift Complete (with torsion bars) - Summary

dodean,

Thanks much. I charged ahead, fortified by all this good advice. I'm pleased to say I can now crank the roof up and down one-handed. A new crank handle (old one had mangled teeth) also helps -- it doesn't constantly pop out.

Cheers