2014 Sunseeker 3170DS Bedroom Slide Inop

[wingunder]

A little background. Bought the M.H. used in Dec. last. Slides operated initially but after a couple uses, the front Lippert motor went out on the above titled slide. Had that repaired (motor replaced). Then over the weekend we were going to take the M.H. out for our first adventure. Upon arrival at the campground, the slide refused to extend. This time the rear Lippert motor failed to operate, soooo, we spent a very cramped 3 day weekend in a down sized bedroom.....very uncomfortable. Finally decided to look at the problem today. The interior slide trim had to be removed to access the slide motor area. Got that off and I could see 2 of the 5 wires in the motor harness were pulled out of the motor, hence the reason for inop! My question (finally) is how do I move the slide out enough to access the screw that mounts the slide motor? The slide is closed all the way and I can't even see that screw let alone access it. Is there some way to turn the rack/pinion shaft on that end of the slide to move the slide out 4-5 inches? I'm stumped.....Help. Thanks in advance.

[SeaDog]

Check in your manual (If you have one) for manual slide operation. I have no idea of which slide you have but maybe this link will help. Let the forum know what you find and how you fix it.

[Awilson]

There is always a manual way to move the slide in or out I’ve found, it just takes some looking and the proper tools. Pretty much every camper or MH I’ve owned that has slides I have had to deal with this problem at least once and sometimes four and five times. After the last one one with slides I vowed I would never buy another unit that had slides on it. My current MH we just returned from a three month trip, around 6,000 miles and not one issue with slide-outs cause it doesn’t have any. The extra room slide-outs give is nice but just not worth the cost in money to buy and repair not to mention the mental abuse from the other half when you really need to be on the road and the main slide is out and won’t move. Lol!

[kbro]

Had the exact same issue on my 2013 about a month ago, except mine was stuck out. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.

To move it manually without recruiting an army of helpers, you need to pop out the motor. There's a screw on the outside under the bulb seal you need to remove . . . Oh. You can't get to that if you're stuck in.

The instructions I found online said you could unplug the motors from the control box (mounted on top of the compartment with the water pump) and get a bunch of helpers to push the slide. I could only get to three people, and that wasn't enough. Good luck!

[wingunder]

Originally Posted by kbro

Had the exact same issue on my 2013 about a month ago, except mine was stuck out. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.

To move it manually without recruiting an army of helpers, you need to pop out the motor. There's a screw on the outside under the bulb seal you need to remove . . . Oh. You can't get to that if you're stuck in.

The instructions I found online said you could unplug the motors from the control box (mounted on top of the compartment with the water pump) and get a bunch of helpers to push the slide. I could only get to three people, and that wasn't enough. Good luck!

IMHO, it’s better stuck out than in. With it in, there’s no way to access the screw you mention. If and when I get the slide out and repaired, I’m thinking about locating the screw exactly on the outside of the slide flange and using a forsner bit, drill a hole right over the screw. Fill the hole with a hole plug and I’ll always have access in the future. Back to the slide, I’m going to try jacking it out tomorrow since finding 3-4 warm bodies is tough😝 I called Lippert today and the customer service tech says you can disconnect the motor harness and then push the slide out with help. I can’t imagine pushing it out against the gearing of motor gear box???

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by Awilson

There is always a manual way to move the slide in or out I’ve found, it just takes some looking and the proper tools. Pretty much every camper or MH I’ve owned that has slides I have had to deal with this problem at least once and sometimes four and five times. After the last one one with slides I vowed I would never buy another unit that had slides on it. My current MH we just returned from a three month trip, around 6,000 miles and not one issue with slide-outs cause it doesn’t have any. The extra room slide-outs give is nice but just not worth the cost in money to buy and repair not to mention the mental abuse from the other half when you really need to be on the road and the main slide is out and won’t move. Lol!

Ah, yes. Prior to our Sunseeker, we had no experience with slides. We asked the sales rep about the durability and reliability and were told that there really were no problems with slides. Wasn't quite ready to believe that, but we took a chance. Well, we have not had a problem, so he was right---so far. But DW and I often reminisce about our first new 22' Class C with no slides. For a family of 4, it had everything we needed. Never caused us a problem in 13 years except for a brake caliper. If that floor plan were available today, we would go for it in a heart beat.