Georgia must be bad luck for me! The last time we went to Stone Mountain, my front bedroom slide wouldn't work when we got there. This time, our main living room slide wouldn't work! It's 10:30 at night when we got there, I checked all of the breakers and switches, etc. Nothing, just a buzzing and the lights go dim when I hit the slide switch. I crawled up under the trailer and noticed what looks like oil coming out of the motor on the gear end. I think great, looks like I have to break out the elbow grease and ratchet and crank it out. Well, that didn't work since there isn't a spot for the ratchet to go! There is a long tube on the passenger side of the trailer that looks like it might work, but I don't have any type of handle to go in it. So, long story short, I found a small pipe wrench that I usually keep in my toolbox and proceeded to crank on the shaft coming out of the motor. While I was smart enough to turn the slide switch to manual, it still took about 30-45 minutes of lying on the ground with a flashlight in my mouth to get the slide open. At least when we left yesterday, I didn't have to use the flashlight! The motor is a Von Weise Model # V05726AP88.

So, my questions are:
1. Do you think the motor is shot?
2. If so, do I replace it with the same or is there another good one?
3. Finally, the trailer is a Coachmen, where could I find a handle to fit into the tube so I'm not becoming more accquainted with the underside of my trailer?

All in all, had a fun weekend and will be back there soon! Thanks for any help!

 

I found mine in the bottom of the main bedroom closet..... try looking around! Oh yeah, I found it a year after I bought a new one.... of course.

 

Really not enough info and motors fail infrequently, however, since the light dim when you hit the switch and the battery is fully charged (right?), it may well have gone to heaven. To test the motor, disconnect the leads and using a fused lead and a battery booster see how it does. Ideally you would take an amp draw.

The handles to run the slides in and out manually are not too hard to come by as there are only a couple of different ones, but I would need a picture of the shaft you are trying to couple to.

You would use the same motor brand and type. They are not interchangeable. Some of the older ones are really tough to find, so you may have to search the internet or have the one you have rebuilt.

Good luck,

Steve

 

Steve, yes the battery was charged. I tested it before anything else and I was showing about 12.8 volt if I remember. The reason I asked about the motor replacement was I found an Adacel that claims to be a direct replacement for the Von Weise. What led me to believe that the motoris bad, other than the lights dimming inside the trailer is that I could hear and feel the relays clicking behind the switch. Also, there is a little "wheel" on the end of the motor when you take the rubber cover off that was spinning, but nothing else was happening. As for the crank, from what I can see inside the hole, it looks like a round rod with a pin through it about a 1/2" down.
BP, I tore the trailer apart and upset the better half looking for that crank, including under the sink! She waan't happy about the pots and pans being relocated.
Thanks,
Ben

 

Certainly sounds like the motor. I always jump to test. As long as the replacement is a drop-in, you should be fine. Sounds like ordinary manual crank. I think you are looking for part number 95-1243 or 014119226 standard slide-out and landing gear crank. I carry one on my truck and have never seen anything it doesn't work with (but there is always an exception when dealing with RVs). Just stop by an RV dealer and see what they have.

Steve

 

Steve, as always-THANK YOU!!

 

If the little wheel on the end of the motor was spinning it appears the motor was running, you may have sheared pin connecting the motor to the slide mechanism. I have one slide on my Cameo that used to shear often, finally found problem and no more sheared pins.

 

This is an excellent point, although I would not expect the lights to dim with a motor running under no load. I am also unsure how it would be possible to run the slide in and out manually if the pin were sheared to the gear. Certainly a possibility that should be checked and eliminated regardless. The motor is "pinned" the gear with a shear pin or a bolt. I try to use a hardened allen bolt if I have to replace them.

Normally this is a pretty simple diagnosis once you get to the motor and directly observe what is happening. That is why I always disconnect the wires to the motor and use my booster box to see exactly what is going on.

As suggested, a sheared pin is a common occurrence and importance consideration.

Steve

 

Most of those motors have a clutch built into them in case of a stuck rail, don't they?

If the resistence of the slide rails to movement is too much they make a noise like a gear tooth skipping - I notice there is no mention of that.

Also be careful when greasing slide rails - you may find a pair of grease tracks across the carpets inside the trailer. But that's a poor design issue

 

Lipperts have a clutch, others don't, but the slide just stops. No gears break and some have a control board that opens based on amp draw (some Power Gear). It just depends!

 

Would you recommend lubing the slide rails and checking for binding?

I remember a lot of issues being fixed by greasing slides, but that may have been a short sighted halfway measure.

 

I seldom have lubed rails on anything. If you want to do that, use a dry lube. Usually when I find slides binding someone has attempted to adjust them and not understood how to do it. The drag is more often not on the rails, but between the bottom of the slide and the ramp.

You can determine a lot just by trying to push the slide manually or helping it with the motor engaged.

Steve

 

(?)

Is most of the weight supported by the floor at the sides of the trailer or coach, ideally? Rather than the rails themselves?

I had not thought of it like that - but it seems reasonable to spread out the weight in that way.

In thinking about it more - if I were to design a thing like it, I would want a wide "Bearing Surface" at the edge of the slide opening (such as a kevlar strip) to provide a slick surface impervious to wear, and able to 'Scrub Off' any dirt or crud from outside the coach.

 

Sorry, I've been out of town due to work since my last post. I'll definitely check the pin, but I don't think it's that. I was turning the shaft on the motor to get the slide out. The motor shaft comes out of the other side of the gear box, so that is what I was grabbing on to with the pipe wrench. I got the Adacel motor ordered and it was delivered on Monday. I'm going to try and put it in this weekend and see how it works. Hopefully, this will fix it and that's the end of it. I have noticed the last couple of times that we were able to put the slide out, it seemed like the motor was having a hard time. While I was under there cranking, I didn't notice anything that seemed like it was binding and it seemed to go in and out smoothly, albeit slowly.

I'll keep this updated after I install the new motor. Again, thanks for all the suggestions and ideas!

 

Take a good look at your wire connections while you are at it.

Sometimes it doesn't take much crud to really degrade the current flow that a motor like that needs to work right.


*Just another idea. I've been playing with electricity too much in my life not to suspect the power source.