Curious about finished hole in lower front right of 8314BSS

leigh8314bss · 08-31-2019, 01:38 PM

In July I purchased a 2011 Rockwood 8314BSS. I have a curiosity about the purpose of an aprox. 1" hole in the exterior of the trailer. Seems strange, an obvious means of rain water draining onto the protective underbelly. Pictures attached. I really appreciate this forms assistance in learning about this trailer.

cboss · 08-31-2019, 01:41 PM

It's for manually closing the slide-out.

cboss · 08-31-2019, 02:08 PM

Check-out this post.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...es-105605.html

Aspendog · 08-31-2019, 04:22 PM

Stick your finger in there and see what happens. (Just couldn’t help myself).

5picker · 08-31-2019, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cboss

It's for manually closing the slide-out.

Yep, your manual slide out tool will go through the hole and onto a rod that connects to the slide motor.

The Evil Twin · 08-31-2019, 04:48 PM

Or, like one in mine, an access to lower the spare tire from the side instead of underneath the rig.

**Herk7769** · 08-31-2019, 05:27 PM

As an FYI, that hole gives access to a shaft with a pin through it.

It is the extension shaft on the slide out motor for the slide out OPPOSITE the wall the hole is in.

Turning that shaft one way cranks in the slide; opposite direction opens the slide. This is handy to know if your battery dies while not connected to shore power or the gear box locks up (you can sometimes break it loose with the crank; then use the motor as normal - remember you must remove the crank before trying the electric).

leigh8314bss · 09-01-2019, 02:51 PM

Thank you everyone for you help! I did shine a light in the hole, I can see the end the crank fits in. Does the crank typically come with the trailer?

After learning of what this hole was for I was curious where the access was for the rear slide. I found it in the rear step well (picture included). When I looked in the hole I saw a shaft end pitched upward. I pulled it out, it appears to be the shaft that attaches to the slide motor (picture). I suspect the pin was sheered off. The underside of the trailer is completely closed off with corrugated plastic, I can't see the motor. Any suggestions on what to do? Some ideas.

1. Just hope the slide never needs manual override. I had a 2004 trailer it always worked. We never go to a campground w/o electric. How frequently do these things bind, die, etc?

2. Take down the corrugated plastic and repair the shaft connection. I'm sure the repair is simple, getting to it is the concern. How hard is it to take down the C' plastic?

3. Would it make sense to just cut out a hole in the corrugated plastic in the general area and then somehow seal it back up.

Thanks again for your time and wisdom!

Leigh

cboss · 09-01-2019, 02:55 PM

If you end up cutting a hole I used Flex Tape to seal ours up when it dropped down and dragged on the road for many miles. It's held for a over a year and many more miles.

**Herk7769** · 09-01-2019, 06:57 PM

The shaft is hollow and frankly not very sturdy.

Worse yet, the hole in the shaft is manually drilled and is often "off set" so far off center to be very thin on one side.

The shaft is then "pinned" with a hair clip type retention clip. This can fall out as the hole gets larger in normal use, resulting in the shaft becoming disconnected.

If the end of your shaft is damaged, measure it and you can order a replacement from Lippert. Attaching it is easy once you lower the Coreplast covering.

Here is a 5 3/8" one:

https://store.lci1.com/5375in-slideo...in-119144.html

Here is an 18" one:

https://store.lci1.com/18in-slideout...in-119141.html

Call their Customer service if you can't find the one you need.

Or search their catalog:

https://store.lci1.com/shop-by-depar...out-parts.html

The shaft end on the gearbox is where the tube is attached through the hole.

Your shaft looks in good shape, so I think you just need a clip to re-attach the one you have.

You might even find the old one when you drop the Coreplast cover (but I would NOT reuse it).

leigh8314bss · 09-01-2019, 07:34 PM

Thank you Herk7769 for all the good information. How big a deal is it to take the coreplast down? What is the best technique for doing so.

Thanks!

dbledan · 09-01-2019, 08:53 PM

I would wait for the slide to fail. At that point you need to cut the chloroplast anyway to replace the motor so no harm done. It means to get the slide back in you have more work to do but by then you know what you signed up for.

If you do want to fix it rather than taking it all down just cut it where the motor is and leave a flap (cut 3 sides) towards the front and tape it back up with something strong like gorilla tape.

**Herk7769** · 09-01-2019, 09:35 PM

You don't need to take it completely off; just one side and maybe the cross support. Pull it down far enough to reach in and attach the clip.

I do NOT recommend waiting until it fails.

You would need to crank the slide out in (or out if you are at your vacation destination) and a simple campground fix would be a huge undertaking involving a lot of work when you could be enjoying the campground.

leigh8314bss · 10-03-2019, 01:40 PM

For the good of the forum I thought it would be good to share what I decided to do. First, I appreciate all the help offered for the problem! When I crawled under the trailer and saw all the screws that would need to be removed to take down the coroplast in the rear of the trailer decided to just cut a trapdoor in it under the bump out motor. I used the shaft that had come loose from the motor to space in the appropriate distance from the side of the trailer. I then cut an aprox. 8"X8" trapdoor, slid the shaft on to the stud of the motor, aligned the holes and secured with a cotter hairpin clip. I then use gorilla tape to seal up the trapdoor. In all it was a 20 min. job

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