Brand New GT5 - Slide Electrical Plastic "Chain" Separated

[TominVegas]

Originally Posted by pojoGTH5

Is FR doing anything to correct this issue? The dealer told me to just use the coach and only extend the slide the 1/2 way out. Spent over $100k on a coach that has a slide I can,t use!!!!

I'm no expert, but that seems problematic. The slide needs to be fully extended or you won't have a seal. As to the chain, it seems to only be an issue with a few units from what I can tell. I've talked to several other owners on the road that don't have a problem. The chain pieces are easily replaced if that is the problem and as a whole, they are very strong. Until a permanent fix from the dealer, I suggest you look at ds41crane's post # 33.

As for me, I use my iphone to connect to the system, then babysit the chain as the slide goes out, manually pushing it into the hole if it starts to bunch up. Mine only has an issue when extending, not when bringing it in. IF you are having issues with the dealer or have other concerns, I suggest you talk to Forest River, start with Nick Hoover on the contact page:

https://www.forestriverinc.com/rvs/c...n-5-series-gt5

I have had great luck talking to FR and they have been very responsive. They also sometimes monitor the posts here and offer the same numbers so they can respond.

[Ohmygodfrey]

I agree, if you pay $100K the darn thing better work. Only putting the slide out half way sounds like something my dealer would have said. Hence, I fired them. The dealership across the street is a FR dealer and their service is excellent so I asked FR and got the OK to take it there. FR did fix my chain issue, (the dealer told me it was "supposed to be like that.") The tech at the factory caught it immediately and fixed it and at the end of the day he told me about it. He laughed when I told him my dealer said it was supposed to be exposed the way it was. I have had nothing but great experience with the Warranty Manager the the FR Factory itself. Cheers!

[NXR]

Do you know what they did to fix it? Pictures would be nice in case it's something I can do myself.

Ray

[tjvpga]

Would a flexible conduit work as a replacement?

[NXR]

Thanks for the reminder. I guess a follow-up would be in order...

Our motorhome went back to the factory for some repairs that the dealer could not handle. One of the write-ups was the problem with that slide's plastic electrical wiring chain, which apparently is known as an "e-chain". The attached PDF is an excerpt from all of the feedback I gave the factory rep after we got the motorhome back.

It hasn't gotten cold enough here for us to need to extend the slide below 50 degrees but it's coming. We have retracted the slide in those temps and the e-chain came up through the hole fine.

Previously, even in warm temps the e-chain would "bunch up" just before full extension. You would see the "hump" in the e-chain hit against the slide's SlimRack rack (the thing with the gear teeth) and that seemed to help push the e-chain down through the hole. So far, the e-chain is not bunching up at all on extension so I have my fingers crossed.

The whole problem made no sense to me. Multiple people with the GT5 34H5 had this problem but people with the GT5 36B7 (bunk bed floorplan) generally did not, even though the 36B5 has at least one and maybe two of the e-chains. (One person did report a problem with a non-square floor hole).

Other people on this thread said they had used the same technology at work and never had this issue. That lead me to look for an installation problem on the 34H5 floor plan specifically. Hopefully I found it.

Ray

[pojoGTH5]

Ray, was this your adjustment or did the factory service try this fix? I would like to go out and look to see if there is an alignment issue with the chain. However, our 2019 has been in Elkhart all week getting more warranty work done.

[NXR]

It was mine after it came back from factory warranty repairs.

I don't know what was done at the factory to "adjust and repair" but it sure did not help and appeared to be worse.

It's an easy check so you could send your factory rep that PDF and see what they think. If they do the work it sure would look better than the hack job I had to do on that box.

Ray

[Chuckie]

My 2012 329DS has had e-chain issues in the main slide from day 1. Like others here, it bunches up when extending the slide then snaps apart if not watched carefully. The space between the slide/chain and the wall is too small for my big mitts to reach, so I need to do any maintenance from the storage compartment underneath after all the chain is pushed down into it (slide fully extended).

My jerry-rigged work around includes:

1) Where the first plastic chain connects to the metal bracket inside the motorhome, I put a hand clamp on it to keep the chain and bracket connected. This is always the first chain to fail for me.

2) I heavily sprayed the chain and rectangular hole with dry Teflon lube. This seems to help quite a bit.

3) Several of the tabs on the e-chain links (the underside of the link where the wire is pushed into it) became warped or damaged from the chains unlinking and stuck out at angles. These tabs would then catch the rectangle hole when retracting the slid and break apart. I routinely make sure all the tabs are either pushed back into the links or snip off the damaged pieces if they won't conform correctly.

4) One of the links is an especially weak link. While on an extended trip (no access to new parts), I used a couple zip ties to help keep the links together, making sure the zip tie tabs are inside the chain link to ensure smooth flow. That zip-tied link has stayed together now for several trips.

5) While extending slide, I take my broom handle and help guide the chain down into the hole. Luckily, my e-chain is close to the slide controls, so I can control the slide switch with one hand while using the broom handle to guide the e-chain with my other hand. If the slide switch wasn't close, I would extend the slide a few inches at a time, then go over to check the e-chain.

[NXR]

2) I heavily sprayed the chain and rectangular hole with dry Teflon lube. This seems to help quite a bit.

That's a great thought even though the chain is black and the PTFE Dry Lube I have is white. How often do you have to re-apply the dry lube?

Ray

[Chuckie]

Originally Posted by NXR

That's a great thought even though the chain is black and the PTFE Dry Lube I have is white. How often do you have to re-apply the dry lube?

Ray

About twice a year. More often would probably be better.

[centurion493]

Hello. Well we have joined the broken plastic cable carrier chain group. It happened in very cold weather and based on the comments, that is common. Now, having read all the comments on this issue, it would appear that I need to order some replacement links for the chain as a couple of them have broken and are unable to be snapped back together. The question I have is for those that have replaced broken links. With the wire "inside" the center of the links, how and where did you have to disconnect the wires so you could feed them back into the center of the new links or did you find another way to get the wires back in there?

[NXR]

Hello. Well we have joined the broken plastic cable carrier chain group. It happened in very cold weather and based on the comments, that is common.

It's a little late for you now but I figured I'd mention this anyways.

The Precision Plex Master panel is in that center "closet" and can be used to run most of the touchscreen functions. I now run the bed slide and dinette/recliner slide from that panel on our 2020 34H5 because its central position lets me shine a flashlight on the e-chain and I also can see the bed as it goes in and out.

Press the center button on the panel and the display will light up. Press the down arrow and scroll down to MANUAL CONTROL. Press the center button again.

Scroll to the function you want and press and hold the center button to run it.

For the "Sofa/Dinette" SI means "slide in" and SO means "slide out".

Press the left arrow to exit those functions.

HTH in the future...

Ray

PS: On one of the later models we looked at Forest River had pulled a real "What the heck were they thinking?" and relocated the Precision Plex Master panel over the entry door.

For the vast majority of people they will never use or touch that panel but Forest River stuck it in a prominent location. That also eliminated the small storage area over the door. We keep flashlights, an umbrella, a reflective vest, walkie talkies, and our infrared thermometer in that little cabinet on ours.

I guess you could hang a picture over the thing if yours is there. <sigh>

[TominVegas]

Originally Posted by centurion493

H. With the wire "inside" the center of the links, how and where did you have to disconnect the wires so you could feed them back into the center of the new links or did you find another way to get the wires back in there?

The chain should have a split in the bottom that lets you slide the wires in as I recall.

[centurion493]

Thank you for the info. I run the slides from my ipad if the wife is not available to use the touch screen while I watch the chain. I will look at using the closet controls as an alternative...

[centurion493]

Thank you, I will take a closer look at the broken link. The side of one broke off and I picked it up to see the model number and mfg info but did not take a close look at the remaining somewhat attached part.