Small women closing the tops

[Sandi Tester]

We just bought a 2003 2720SD...and love it. It is not twisted and closes fine for my husband, but I weight 120 pounds. Has anyone come up with a way for a small woman to close the tops? I can get it close, but not snap. I need a last little assist from my husband. But if I take it when he is working with the kids, how can I get it closed?

[mcollect]

My wife can't get it to close by herself; so I use a long steel 3/4 " black
pipe to give her mechanical advantage. It just has to hit the main frame and she stands on it. Done.

[LoveToCamp]

I have found that one side may close more easily than the other. If the first side won't close, try the other, first.

I like the "lever" option. Should be a good choice, if adjusting the torsion bars is not a solution.

[Sandi Tester]

Originally Posted by mcollect

My wife can't get it to close by herself; so I use a long steel 3/4 " black
pipe to give her mechanical advantage. It just has to hit the main frame and she stands on it. Done.

Brilliant! I think this will get it. I can almost get it closed, but cannot get it to snap. Thank you so much for the help.

[countrygirl]

I usually cannot get my side to close when we pack down...I just am not heavy enough or have enough strength for that extra upmh to close it. I just would bounce up and down on it...with nothing happening.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered some parts from the plant in Nebraska. They arrived this past week. We have been doing a lot of work on our TM since we returned from Missoui in November.

Saturday we put on the new Latch hooks and the upper hold downs. We put the TM down yesterday and put it away until after Christmas. Our old latches were wobblely front to back and Tom often had to take it off and adjust it to get the door side to close. We were nervous whether the camper would close etc because all the new parts were bigger than the original ones. It closed with no problem at all and we did a happy dance!! I also was able to close my side.

The new latches are black...we don't care. They match the new black fender skirts which complement our King TV antena and the black roof vent covers.

[Padgett]

Interesting, hard part for most is opening the first 12 inches, not closing. Bar is a good idea, maybe a tripod fulcrum to help opening with the same bar might work. My hard part being alone is lifting the front since hard to lift at the center.

[logcabin]

"so I use a long steel 3/4 " black pipe to give her mechanical advantage. It just has to hit the main frame and she stands on it. "
Love this idea!!
How long is your pipe?
Thanks for posting this!

[mcollect]

4 foot

[scrubjaysnest]

The torsion bars can be adjusted to allow easier closing, but it wii take more effort to open.
When we first got ours it was hard to close and I used a short jump into the stirrup from a short ladder.