Frozen Actuator and Revival

[bruc33ef]

Sunny and cold New Mexico. 27F degrees in am when time to leave RV park. Actuator had froze overnight and locked up.

I removed it and lowered the roof manually. Put the actuator in the vehicle to thaw.

Two hours later, at a highway rest stop, I plug it in without installing to test whether it would work. It did. Also noticed that moisture had seeped out of the motor. This despite the fact that I seal the motor and arm from rain and only remove the wrap to raise and lower the roof.

Lesson learned: condensation from the air in the motor will occur regardless of how well you protect the outside of the apparatus. (The lubricant also may freeze or thicken.) When that occurs the motor will lock up. I'm sure it also must cause rust over time.

I am now storing the actuator in my vehicle and only installing it to raise and lower. Pain in the ass but don't see another solution in the winter at least.

[SeaDog]

your work a round seems to work for the temporary. Does that motor get so hot that there is condensation when it cools down? I think I would check that maybe the motor is pulling more amps then normal and heating up then cooling down with condensation just something to check good luck

[bruc33ef]

[QUOTE=SeaDog;2682168]your work a round seems to work for the temporary. Does that motor get so hot that there is condensation when it cools down? I think I would check that maybe the motor is pulling more amps then normal and heating up then cooling down with condensation just something to check good luck[/QUOTE

Rapid outside temp drop would do it; I don't think it has to be that hot on the inside. In addition, no existing moisture could ever evaporate because I sealed the housing. I should've known. At least I got it working again... for now at least.

[EandR]

I am now a member of the Linear Actuator Failure club.
I read a lot of the posts about the actuator so when I was using mine it seems not to be able to open my camper all the way without help. So I contacted my seller and was sent a new one under warranty. I put it in my storage box.
Sure enough two camping trips later the actuator failed. Glad I had a spare.
After returning home I decided to take the thing apart. Found water inside and the gear grease was also retaining water.
I cleaned up the water and grease. I installed new grease and sprayed the inside with WD40. Put it back together and tried it out.
I operated the actuator 10 times and it worked great. Even seemed to work better than ever.
I have had three more camping trips since then and no problem.
Camper is now winterized and waiting for next spring.
I forgot to tell you what camper I have.
It is an Rockwood A213HW. 2019 model.
Happy camping to all.