Slide not working...leaving for Spring Break on Friday

[rad_jr]

I posted this in the "slide outs" section of Tech and Repair. Meant to put it here, now I can't figure out how to remove the other post...I apologize for the duplication.

I have a 2015 Sunseeker 3100SS with a Lippert above floor dual rail slide. I've never had any issues with it. This morning I extended it to do some cleaning before we leave for spring break with the kids on Friday. When it was fully extended, instead of the usual clicks it made a different sound. Now it doesn't move in or out with either the motor or the manual crank. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated....

[fobagbob]

Does the motor make noise but the slide doesn't move?


When you try the manual crank does it turn but the side doesn't move or is the crank too hard to turn?

[JLeising]

The black hollow rod coming out of the gear box to the right in your picture - and another similar one on the other side (on our Solera) actually turn the gear which moves the slide. These hollow rods are connected on both ends with bolts or pins which can shear and stop turning the gear that moves the slide. This is where I would look.

[rad_jr]

Originally Posted by fobagbob

Does the motor make noise but the slide doesn't move?


When you try the manual crank does it turn but the side doesn't move or is the crank too hard to turn?

Yes...motor makes noise, but the slide doesn't move. Looking at the manual crank...it spins when the motor is turning. When I try to turn it with a wrench, it just spins.

[rad_jr]

Originally Posted by JLeising

The black hollow rod coming out of the gear box to the right in your picture - and another similar one on the other side (on our Solera) actually turn the gear which moves the slide. These hollow rods are connected on both ends with bolts or pins which can shear and stop turning the gear that moves the slide. This is where I would look.

Hard to get a good pic, but my setup sounds slightly different. My slide has 2 gears. In the pic I posted, the hollow shaft that goes off to the right goes to the gear toward the front of the slide. The solid shaft that it is attached to in the pic goes through what seems to be some type of a gearbox, and on to the gear toward the rear of the slide. Problem I'm having is that the solid shaft that turns the rear gear and the shaft to the front gear isn't moving.

[fobagbob]

Originally Posted by rad_jr

Yes...motor makes noise, but the slide doesn't move. Looking at the manual crank...it spins when the motor is turning. When I try to turn it with a wrench, it just spins.

OK, so it is not an electrical problem. In your photo, does the horizontal shaft move when the motor makes noise? If not, can you manually rotate the horizontal shaft by hand reaching under with the motor off?

[fobagbob]

Originally Posted by rad_jr

Hard to get a good pic, but my setup sounds slightly different. My slide has 2 gears. In the pic I posted, the hollow shaft that goes off to the right goes to the gear toward the front of the slide. The solid shaft that it is attached to in the pic goes through what seems to be some type of a gearbox, and on to the gear toward the rear of the slide. Problem I'm having is that the solid shaft that turns the rear gear and the shaft to the front gear isn't moving.

If the solid shaft does not turn when the motor is running then you have a problem with the gear box. Also, that is why the manual shaft just spins.


with a stripped gear box, you could probably push the slide in from the outside, that won't help your upcoming trip but the slide will be in.

[rad_jr]

OK...so I was able to get the slide to come in...not sure how. I was messing with the button...motor spins and something "ticks", like the clicking at the end of the run, but not as loud.

Anyway, it moved in a little. Made it go back out, then back in...it went about half way. Out again, then in again, and it came all the way in.

Sounds like whatever "clicks" at the end of the run isn't "catching" if that makes sense...I don't know what makes that noise or how it works. Maybe someone here can shed some light?

[fobagbob]

I don't know what the design looks like, but I think the clicking noise is some sort of clutch mechanism that slips at some load greater than the normal working load to move the slide. Sounds like your "clutch" stuck in the slip mode and is now working again.

[rad_jr]

Originally Posted by fobagbob

I don't know what the design looks like, but I think the clicking noise is some sort of clutch mechanism that slips at some load greater than the normal working load to move the slide. Sounds like your "clutch" stuck in the slip mode and is now working again.

The plan it to leave it until we get to where were going and cross my fingers! I've never used the safety braces before, but thinking it's a good idea for this trip. Since I don't really know what's wrong, I don't know how confident I am that the slide won't come out going down the road....

[fobagbob]

Good idea to use the braces. Good luck on the trip and if the clutch fails again you can probably push the slide in with some help.

[RFLLambert]

I had a similar problem on my 2014 Lexington last fall. It was a sheared pin at the entrance of the gear box. As the pin is still inside, it's parts may move and make the system work from time to time but not reliably. As the motor and gear box assembly are far away under the slide, we had to cut an access through the top panel in the storage compartment under the gear box. Easier to access if the slide is out but mine was stuck in and as the gears were still engaged we didn't succeed to push it out before we had to open the gear box and disengage the gears. Very difficult and time consuming job due to the presence of a beam just beside the gear box. Ended up with a costly bill just to replace a small pin.

[BOENCARLE]

2015 2350 Sunseeker with Lippert slide & had a somewhat similar situation during make-ready for last summer. Sitting in driveway, slide went out on it's own!!!
Couldn't figure out why, but found out later that the control module (that was stupidly mounted directly beneath the water pump) had shorted to the extend position. It came in OK, but when we got to our destination, it wouldn't come back in. Had to manually\electrically power the drive motor to get it retracted. Module had fully smoked! In looking online at Lippert, found that as you stated, when the module is replaced or faults out, the limits are not set, so, you have to cycle it in and out until the left and right sides sync. Once it comes all the way in, evenly, then it is in sync. This technique is also useful if your slide gets out of sync for any reason. Good Luck, and Safe Travels!

[Garrette]

I had a sheared a pin couple of years ago and the tech went in from the bottom of the gear box to replace the pin, located in the roof of the outside storage compartment under the couch.
There is no clutch per se but more like a slip gear. These are the pics I captured some time ago. Not sure how much help they are. You might want to search YouTube.

[Gidyupgo]

RadJr, I don't know if this is relevant, but since you mentioned you are getting ready for a trip, did you perhaps recently add a bunch of extra weight for the slideout drive to move? Just curious.

[Garrette]

Did the OP solve his problem?

[rad_jr]

OK...sorry for the radio silence...just got back on Saturday night.

When we got to the campground, I tried to extend the slide...hit the button and the motor spun, but nothing moved, so I tried pushing. I was able to push the slide out, no problem...had a nice week at the beach. We were scheduled to head home on Saturday, but since Friday was forecast to be a complete washout, we decided to hit the road a day early...glad we did. When I hit the button for the slide to come in, I didn't expect it to move, but I did expect to be able to push it in...wouldn't budge no matter what I tried.

I called the tech support number on the Forest River website and got a call back in about an hour...about the same time that the gentlemen from Coast RV showed up. Both of the guys from Coast used to work for Lippert and were very familiar with the system, so between them and Jim & Dennis from Forest River, there was lots of knowledge, but we still were not able to get the slide to move.

First, they removed the set screw from both of the drive gears, figuring that would disengage the motor. Problem is that there are two set screws on the gear nearest to the motor, and we couldn't access the one that's keyed, so no dice.

Next, they removed the motor and reduction gears from the assembly, figuring that once the motor was disconnected, we'd be able to move the slide. This was quite the process, since there's no access to remove the two bolts on either side of the upper gearbox. After cutting a bigger hole in the bottom from the outside storage box to get to one bolt and cutting the wood away from the other side, the motor and reduction gears fell out into the storage box...still wouldn't budge.

The only thing left was the upper gearbox...clearly those gears were jammed with whatever broke off inside. Problem is that there is no way to access this part of the assembly without either cutting a very large hole in the floor under the dinette, or removing the slide room from the vehicle...neither of which were going to happen, especially with the Tornado Warnings going off every few minutes!

We decided the best way to disengage the gear from the track was to get the gear to move sideways. Since the motor/gearbox comes as an assembly and was clearly already toast, and we couldn't access the set screw that would allow it to slide out of the way, this was done with a hammer. Once the gear was disengaged from the track, we had no problem pushing the slide in and bracing it for the trip home.

The upshot is that, while this is a relatively simple system, there is absolutely no access to work on any of it without removing the slide room. The motor/gearbox assembly is a Lippert 890 series with an 18:1 reduction. That will need to be replaced and the driveshaft to the forward gear re-installed, but I'll need to find somewhere that I feel comfortable removing the slide so that the work can be done. I've reached back out to the guys at Forest River for suggestions...hopefully they can point me in the right direction.

Thank you to everyone who weighed in to help!

[Garrette]

I am sorry that you had so much problems. I am glad you had a support system to aid in getting you home. Please keep the saga going to completion. My suggestion at this point is to ask the shop for some sort of coupling that can be disengaged in the event it happens again.
Thank you for sharing as it takes time to do so but we all learn from your experience. I will be looking for a way to disengage the gear rack from the gearbox on mine.
Thank you again for responding.

[rad_jr]

No problem. I looked at the pics that you posted...you were able to move that shaft up and down because the metal cover was off. There's a brass bushing built into that cover that keeps everything engaged. The other end of that shaft ends in a "T" that turns the upper gearbox. I'll post some pics of mine when I get a chance (since it's in pieces now!)

[rad_jr]

My first inclination was to call the local shop that has done work for me in the past, but thought (given the scope of the job) I should find out if the factory had any recommendations.

The guys at Forest River sent me a list of places in my area that are authorized to perform repair work, so I started with them, even though I'm out of warranty. None of them even called me back once I told them that the slide had to come out!

I gave the local shop a call...they're not on "the list", but they've done work for me in the past, and they're just a few minutes away. I dropped it off yesterday and got a call with an estimate this morning...$5,200 in parts and labor (the part is $693). I knew I had a big repair bill coming, but that's bigger than I anticipated....

Bottom line...the Lippert mechanism is fine...there's not much too it, and the parts seem to be pretty robust. Unfortunately, the application sucks, since there is "zero" room to work on it in the event that there's a problem. If the failure were my fault (lack of maintenance, operator error, etc.), that's one thing, but this is really frustrating since this was a random failure of a maintenance free part that is completely inaccessible without removing the entire slide room from the coach body.

Hope everyone's day is going better than mine is!