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Old 05-26-2014, 08:42 PM   #21
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Forest river sent me a letter when I first registered the FR3 that said if there was ever a problem that took over 5 business days I should call the rep at the factory that handles them and they would get on it. Unfortunately I had waited 12 days before I found and read the letter but they overnight end the part to the dealer and called the service desk to be sure they got me right in and immediately fixed it.
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Old 05-26-2014, 08:45 PM   #22
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More useful info from Encon. Thanks. I'll call the dealer and the FR rep in the morning!
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Old 05-26-2014, 08:47 PM   #23
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Is this something that should be kept on hand? Anyone know how much the new gears cost?
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Old 05-27-2014, 08:20 AM   #24
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The 5 day letter

When we checked our mail on the way home yesterday, our "5 day" letter has arrived. I'll post news of the repair work as it progresses.

Alos, I've attached a picture taken by a friend we camped with this weekend, in Prescott, AZ.
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Old 05-27-2014, 12:12 PM   #25
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Just came back from Hamilton, Ontario Travels. At first the dealer told us they could not fix the slide out as they has no spare motors. After telling them that we drove 6 hours, we had an appointment and my wife had explained the slide out issue....I was not coming back and they would have to take one out of another they had on site...they finally agreed. Told me FR would not fedex a motor and I would have to manually bring it in and out.....we are leaving for a 6 week holiday and I did not buy this MH to manually bring the bedroom slide in.....in the end,after a 5 hour wait, we were on our way home.
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Old 05-27-2014, 12:21 PM   #26
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OK...Slide Problems

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Originally Posted by jbutch View Post
Has anyone experienced slide out issues? We just returned from a trip and the main slide out will not expand, it makes a grinding/clicking noise. I did not find any obstructions.

Jesse
b
Now...Please Guide The Bed Fold Up by Hand... because it Hooks behind the bed in a 90 degrees angle, that will damage the gearbox One pushes the button, On guides the fold up. Or Back..

Also make sure that the cabinets over the bed (Who are installed Upside Down?!?!?) are closed. If the doors fall open the slide hooks too. Have the doors installed right (HINGES ON TOP).
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Old 05-29-2014, 12:27 PM   #27
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My bedroom just did this...bad noise failure to slide in/out. I used the wife on switch/ i push method to get it open again.

Noticed one if the cables is more slack then the other 3....will get in depth with it this weekend as it is in my climate controlled garage. Not thrilled but will either get it fixed or will go heavier duty on motors. Cannot stand engineeri to just enough...i prefer over engineered/robust systems.

Still love the RV but loving how they go cheap on some items. Damn bean counters...
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Old 05-29-2014, 12:54 PM   #28
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Yep... Short cuts... It's not the Motor ... it's the Gearbox

Anyone knows a more heavy Duty version????
Too many failures already....
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Old 05-31-2014, 05:42 PM   #29
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ok after checking all the cables and not finding an issue there. I had the wife operate the switch while i pushed it in or out. It appears it is a dental problem in the gear. It would stall and make a bad noise at regular intervals. As long as i pushed it was quiet but i could feel when it was on the bad spot. about 4 spots per traverse. So ill make an appointment to get it into the dealer and have them fix it.

Sure seems like a bad gearbox design or at the least a bad batch of them.
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Old 06-10-2014, 08:22 AM   #30
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Update on slide out and other repair issues

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Originally Posted by auntieshoes View Post
Well it happened us too this weekend. When we went to put the rear slide out it resisted and made some noise. Fortunately due to the forum posts I was prepared for some resistance with it going in as well. We were able to get it in with some pushing from the outside that we can hear the missing tooth skipping.
I'll be calling the dealer in the morning to make sure they get the part ordered.
We have a list of things that they need to take care of so this is just one more, but it's the biggest.

I took it in to the dealer on 5/31 to have the slide out and some other problems fixed. When we were doing the walk through with the service guy he cringed and stopped us as soon as we pressed the slide button, because of the awful racket it was making, so he didn't get to hear what we thought was a missing tooth on the gear.

I spoke to him yesterday and the tech has told him that it's a problem with the motor, not the gear box, and that they are waiting for FR to approve the warranty work and the request for parts. (I'm slightly frustrated as they have had it for over a week and I made it clear that this was my #1 concern, and when I called to let them know about the issue, I asked them to read the forums and call FR right away as FR is aware of the problem - but of course they have to do it their way.)

For the benefit of others here is some info on a few of the other larger issues we are working on getting resolved:

You should give your coach AC a test run. We did not use it while dry camping as it was very cool, but during our test run the fuse/circuit blew after just a few minutes, so we asked our dealer to look at that as well. Good thing, as the tech has determined that there is faulty wiring and they are going to need to replace the AC. Again, they are waiting for approval from the manufacturer.

Also, they are not able to recreate the problem while they have had it in the shop, but while dry camping, our fridge stopped working. I know that it cycles, like any fridge, but it was not able to get the gas lit again to get it running. It also did it when we did the walk through with the service guy, but his explanation is that perhaps when the tech went through it to see if there was a problem, he made whatever minute adjustment was needed to correct the problem.

Finally, has anyone had a chance to use the outdoor shower? We had ours set up as a hand washing station on our last dry camping trip, and the water stopped flowing once we down to about ¼ of a tank. We ran out of water entirely more quickly than we expected, so I wonder if we didn't get the tank completely full (although there was a lot of water spilling out from the overflow (?) as we drove off) or if there could be air in the line? I'm not sure if the dealership has looked at this yet.

Fortunately the FR rep is coming to our dealership next week to train them on the FR3 line, and he's offered to meet with us while he's in town. Hopefully the problems will be resolved by then, and we just say hello, get some pictures and tell him how much we love our new fancy tent on wheels.
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Old 06-10-2014, 08:44 AM   #31
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When you fully fill the water tank it can cause a siphon condition and you can loose a lot of water. It happened to me once. Then I found a thread on it, and how to fix. So sort of moving a hose to loop? I didn't do anything but no longer fill to top. Have not had a repeat.

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Old 06-10-2014, 08:53 AM   #32
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I'll bet Money that it's the Gear Box...

I'll bet if they used the drill motor and flexible attachment to run it, there would have been the tooth skipping, popping noise that way too many of us have already heard. If the motor run, it runs. If it's over loaded, it pops fuses. If they think that this is a motor, it will be the first one. All the problems so far have been the "Weak" gear box.

Maybe Forest River will make them replace the gear box first. Both are a pain to change, so its not a "I'll change the easy one first" fix. I tend to lean towards the tec's inability to look at the whole problem.
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Old 06-10-2014, 09:32 AM   #33
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We have a 30DS. Where is the motor? I have not been able to find it. I must be looking in the wrong place. I see nothing in the cabinets above the bed.
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Old 06-10-2014, 09:36 AM   #34
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Auntie...I know my AC and fridge work well as they have been on since we bought the unit. It is either on plug power or running the generator.

As for the fresh water tank....one of the first things i did was to remove the silly black panel (with the two white access plugs). I cant see it does anything except block your view of the tank and plumbing. I had same issue was only 2/3rd full when i though it was full. Now i can actually check it and have easy access to the plumbing. The black plastic board is not insulated or even enclosing anything but blocking the view of whats going on.

Will be taking my FR3 in for the rear bedroom slide after July 4th. I can manually assist it to get it in/out and am worried it wont be done from service in time for the July 4th trip....so it will wait...but it does seem the bedroom slide has issues.

Also getting a list of other minor issues together for the dealer (ours is 2.5 hours away and is the closest FR dealer around us.)
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Old 06-10-2014, 09:37 AM   #35
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We have a 30DS. Where is the motor? I have not been able to find it. I must be looking in the wrong place. I see nothing in the cabinets above the bed.
Remove the read panel of the cabinets (5 or 9 screws) and it is all there.
Looked fine and cables looked properly tightened and all based on the slide manufacturers manuals. Definitely a motor or gear issue.
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Old 06-10-2014, 09:39 AM   #36
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When you fully fill the water tank it can cause a siphon condition and you can loose a lot of water. It happened to me once. Then I found a thread on it, and how to fix. So sort of moving a hose to loop? I didn't do anything but no longer fill to top. Have not had a repeat.

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Had this happened...after getting the black panel outta the way figured out what was going on. Stuck my thumb into the overflow and cut off the out pour long enough to break the suction. Hasnt been a problem since.
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Old 06-10-2014, 12:22 PM   #37
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This is what I see. No screws in the back of the cabinets.

I can see the cables and pulleys from the side of the slide. What am I missing?
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Old 06-10-2014, 12:40 PM   #38
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Mine is the 25DS so a little different. In your second photo it looks like the cupboards i have above my rear slide. On mine the motor is behind that cupboards back wall.

On the first photo can you remove the paneling that the pulley is going through? It may be in that area.

If its not at the top then it maybe at the bottom.

Maybe somebody with a 30DS can post some pics.
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Old 06-10-2014, 06:14 PM   #39
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Also, they are not able to recreate the problem while they have had it in the shop, but while dry camping, our fridge stopped working. I know that it cycles, like any fridge, but it was not able to get the gas lit again to get it running. It also did it when we did the walk through with the service guy, but his explanation is that perhaps when the tech went through it to see if there was a problem, he made whatever minute adjustment was needed to correct the problem.
I had this issue after sitting over the winter. Its been 100% since, so I assume it was air in the propane line.
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Old 06-10-2014, 08:19 PM   #40
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Finally, after 2 weeks, the dealer got the warranty authorization to get the part, but FR does not have any, must get the gearbox from the manufacture, BAL.
We'll see how long this takes...........
what a PITA
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