Jayco Qwest8 Top of door won't install

[joecitizen]

Hi,

Just bought a 1999 Jayco Qwest8 tent trailer and am having a terrible time trying to set it up.

First, I made sure it was level east to west and north to south and then cranked up the roof. I made sure not to put too much tension on that safety wire (I stopped short of making it tight, there is still a crank or two of tension left). I completed the rest of the installation (canvas is too tight on one corner each side, but that is another problem).

When I tried to install the top half of the door, the hinge won't straighten out to complete the door installation. Naturally, I thought the roof wasn't high enough so I cranked it one more crank. The hinge was still not straightening out, but I forced it in because I knew the safety cable was now already tight and I could not go any higher with the roof.

Is that normal for this trailer? It seems there is a VERY fine line between getting the roof high enough to install the door vs. snapping that safety cable.

Strange thing is, the guy I bought it from didn't have the cable nearly that tight and he had the door installed just fine.

Sorry, one more thing.... this trailer does not have any safety bars to put on the roof-riser bars (in case the cable snaps so the roof won't fall on your head). Is that normal too?

Thanks for any help.