Motor problems with roof lifting system

[Sailscalls]

I'll be retiring soon and thought I wanted a Rockwood A213HW. After reading all the problems with the roof lift motors going out I'm not so sure! I contacted Rockwood yesterday about this problem and receive this answer, "water intrusion was the issue that was causing the motors to fail on the HW hard side models. That issue was addressed late last fall by the vendor of the motor and we have since not seen any issues."



Has anyone purchased a new HW a-frame since late last fall and have you had any trouble?
Thanks

[pgandw]

If you like a particular A-frame, don't let the lift motor problem stop you. Can't tell you if it's been fixed or not. Ours has a plastic washer over the top where the strut extends. It has not prevented water/dirt intrusion. We have had less problems than others (only one replacement, second is still working) because we store the A-frame in the garage, and Colorado is almost a desert. The first unit was still working, but very weak, when I replaced it under warranty. I have stronger gas struts on the front to assist the lift motor.

There are fixes to replace the lift motor with gas struts, and there are ways to lengthen the life of the lift motor, all discussed in this forum. And Flagstaff/Rockwood have been pretty good about replacing failures within the warranty period. The lift motor has an outside plug in, and two 14mm nuts retain it. Very simple to remove or put on.

Flagstaff/Rockwood are considerably less expensive, but heavier, than their A-frame competition. We have a 2019 Flagstaff equivalent of the A213HW, and we love it. Even in this year of Covid, we have camped at Trinidad Lake SP (3 times), Chatfield SP (twice), Twin Lakes (Forest Service), Custer SP (SD), Ft Robinson SP (NE), White River Campground (Indiana), Finger Lakes SP (MO), Clinton SP (KS), Sylvan Park (COE KS) for a total of 30+ nights camping.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[OYO]

I agree with what Fred says. It's not a game changer. If it goes out and you can't or don't want to replace/mod it yourself I'm sure you could find someone who will do the work.

We use our ton and love it. Five years, 337 nights, 25,000 miles.

[RobDe]

I was hearing all sorts of stuff about the lift motor before we purchased. Took me a while before I got on the gas strut lift system. So much faster and easier.

[Road King Russ]

We had a 2017 Flagstaff T21QBHW and loved it. It had the old actuator which failed and was replaced under warranty with the upgraded version. Other than the completely shoddy repair/replacement done by the Camping World in Roseville, California (which was redone correctly by the Camping World in Meridian, Idaho) it worked flawlessly.

[Zoinks]

Originally Posted by Sailscalls

I'll be retiring soon and thought I wanted a Rockwood A213HW. After reading all the problems with the roof lift motors going out I'm not so sure! I contacted Rockwood yesterday about this problem and receive this answer, "water intrusion was the issue that was causing the motors to fail on the HW hard side models. That issue was addressed late last fall by the vendor of the motor and we have since not seen any issues."



Has anyone purchased a new HW a-frame since late last fall and have you had any trouble?
Thanks

I have the alleged fixed actuator and it has already failed. I'm now on my third actuator for our A213HW. I agree with others that having the actuator fail should not be a show stopper. I have a new third actuator but I haven't put it on since it was fairly easy for my wife and I to put the roof up and down manually. It's really fast to do it manually. I plan on putting my own fix of the actuator they sent me and see if it helps. But, like others, I'm planning on putting the gas struts on since it's clear the actuator is not fixed.