common cause for slide out binding

[pilford06]

Re: 2018 Cedar Creek 34RL2 passenger side big slide out w/ Liepert through the frame rack and pinion hydraulic system.

History: Slide jammed out of alignment about 4 months after new purchase. Private RV tech found bushing had come out of gear pack assembly. (Note: He and I both tried to contact Forest River to get reimbursed for small repair bill, trailer was still under warrantee. FR never called either of us back. Very sad.) Reinserted busing, aligned slide out, and all worked well until recently. I just found broken teeth on cogs and replaced both 15 tooth gear pack assemblies (Lippert part 281331) and aligned both sides.

Problem: Tested the slide in then out one time. It banged and thumped. Passive side (driven by the cross bar) did not fully open out by about 2 inches. SOMETHING CAUSED IT TO DRAG OR BIND AND COME OUT OF ALIGNMENT. No MORE broken cog teeth though, so ….

Question: Does anyone know a common cause for this binding other than broken cog/gear? Binding or coming out-of-alignment appears to be amazingly common, and likely a source for breaking cogs. I see pages of threads but little mention of what the stress points are. Any Ideas????

[emm-dee]

Is your slide long enough to need the little roller supports? Mine has five rollers and every six months or so need to be cleaned and spray lubed with a graphite based solution.

[ES_FR]

pilford06,

We would be happy to assist you with this question regarding your slide out. Please contact Nick Schrock in our Customer service department through the following personalized and direct link: http://www.forestriverinc.com/Direct...08819161254638.

This direct link is provided for your convenience in order that we may resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. We will strive to respond to you within 24 hours of receiving your correspondence.

Respectfully,
Forest River

[pilford06]

I solved the problem for those interested. I discovered nothing was binding or jamming. Instead, I found that as the slide floor went in and over the Teflon support bar beneath it, the unit is lifted an inch or so. Eventually, the slide teeters over the bar and begins to tilt downward inside the trailer, thus raising or tilting the unit upward for that portion of the slide still outside the trailer as it is moving in. The initial lift plus that caused by the tilting inward was enough to lift the rack/beam (2x2) so that it was no longer making solid contact with rollers and cog of the gear pack assembly. Thus, as the hydraulics pulled the slide in, it would begin to jump gears due to lack of weight or pressure on the assembly package. To fix this, I went to the head of the beam where it attaches to the outer wall and increased the separation or spacing between the beam and the floor underside by about 1.5 inches. An easy fix. Now slides smoother than when it was new. (Note: Kudos to Forest River for getting back to me to offer help. I will discuss minor details/questions with them.)

[cedarcreekbob]

Nice Job! Hopefully Your Topic Thread will help others with similar problems! Creek On,Mate!!

[mbbutler]

Originally Posted by pilford06

Re: 2018 Cedar Creek 34RL2 passenger side big slide out w/ Liepert through the frame rack and pinion hydraulic system.

History: Slide jammed out of alignment about 4 months after new purchase. Private RV tech found bushing had come out of gear pack assembly. (Note: He and I both tried to contact Forest River to get reimbursed for small repair bill, trailer was still under warrantee. FR never called either of us back. Very sad.) Reinserted busing, aligned slide out, and all worked well until recently. I just found broken teeth on cogs and replaced both 15 tooth gear pack assemblies (Lippert part 281331) and aligned both sides.

Problem: Tested the slide in then out one time. It banged and thumped. Passive side (driven by the cross bar) did not fully open out by about 2 inches. SOMETHING CAUSED IT TO DRAG OR BIND AND COME OUT OF ALIGNMENT. No MORE broken cog teeth though, so ….

Question: Does anyone know a common cause for this binding other than broken cog/gear? Binding or coming out-of-alignment appears to be amazingly common, and likely a source for breaking cogs. I see pages of threads but little mention of what the stress points are. Any Ideas????

Yes, I had this exact issue on my 2016 33ik.
There are (were) ceramic bushing on top of the gear wheel housing to keep the slide from jumping gear teeth. These broke and fell out.
RV tech welded metal washer in place of ceramic discs. No more issues...

[mbbutler]

Originally Posted by pilford06

I solved the problem for those interested. I discovered nothing was binding or jamming. Instead, I found that as the slide floor went in and over the Teflon support bar beneath it, the unit is lifted an inch or so. Eventually, the slide teeters over the bar and begins to tilt downward inside the trailer, thus raising or tilting the unit upward for that portion of the slide still outside the trailer as it is moving in. The initial lift plus that caused by the tilting inward was enough to lift the rack/beam (2x2) so that it was no longer making solid contact with rollers and cog of the gear pack assembly. Thus, as the hydraulics pulled the slide in, it would begin to jump gears due to lack of weight or pressure on the assembly package. To fix this, I went to the head of the beam where it attaches to the outer wall and increased the separation or spacing between the beam and the floor underside by about 1.5 inches. An easy fix. Now slides smoother than when it was new. (Note: Kudos to Forest River for getting back to me to offer help. I will discuss minor details/questions with them.)

Make certain you still have enough clearance on top of slide or you will have a ripped roof membrane.

[MOODMAN]

Any chance you could post some pictures. I am having a hard time visualizing the issues...

[mwhalen]

I am not sure where this might end up ,but I hope it might help someone not make the same mistake I made. Please do not buy a forest river camper.they are cheap junk as I found out. Dealer and company work together to screw you once its off the lot. I would love to share the dirty tricks they pulled on me. I fault I should have gone to a police station and turned the crooks in.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by mwhalen

I am not sure where this might end up ,but I hope it might help someone not make the same mistake I made. Please do not buy a forest river camper.they are cheap junk as I found out. Dealer and company work together to screw you once its off the lot. I would love to share the dirty tricks they pulled on me. I fault I should have gone to a police station and turned the crooks in.

mwhalen,
Those are some pretty bold words to post without some documentation backing up your claims. Especially with your post count of 4.

You might want to start your own thread instead of piggybacking onto someone else's thread and let everyone in on what transpired.

My Forest River Flagstaff is not cheap junk so I simply cannot buy into your premise they all are and my dealings with the factory (and my dealer) have simply been the opposite of being screwed.