Thor Forums

[Judge]

Houston...... we have a functioning slide once again!

I learned a few things that I thought I would pass along in case it can help anyone down the road.

First.... Lippert Support is great. I called them and got a live person after only a minute or so on hold. They are very helpful so I highly recommend using them for any LCI related issues like slides, leveling, etc.

Next, the retaining screw is a bit of a joke. I wasn't entirely sure how the screw secured the motor because it is a bear to see inside and how it works. They used a short self-tapping machine screw to hold the motor in place. I'm not sure it even went through any metal because it does not tightern very well. It either is screwing into the plastic part of the wipe seal or there is some sheet metal on the other side that is very thin that it can barely bite into.

Basically the end of the screw just fits into a large slot in the top of the motor and keep it from spinning in place or lifting out of the gear block (see the attached picture with the arrow pointing to where the end of the scew goes). I ended up having a screw with the same threads that was a little longer but not too long to go too far into the motor and cause damage. I am going to keep an eye on it to make sure it does not lossen up.

As far as trying to move a slide with the 500:1 motor with the wiring harness unplugged from the Controller to release the electric brake goes....... forget it! I took a crecent wrench and tried to spin the shaft of the new motor so it was aligned in the same position as the damaged motor. I could move it maybe a 1/16"! I held the motor with one hand and tried to spin the shaft with the crescent wrench in the other hand and it would not budge. There is no way you are going to push a slide in or out if the motor is engaged in the gear block.

If a slide is stuck open and the motor is completely dead, the best thing to do is to remove both motors and with a little help you should probably be able to push the slide in. Then you can reinstall the motors to keep the slide locked in place or use some slide locks to keep it in place until you can get it home or to a shop. I use slide locks on my coach because I think going around bends just puts too much force on the motors alone to hold a full wall slide in place and slide locks help take the strain off the motors.

If the slide is closed and a motor is dead, I think you are SOL and it is going to be next to impossible to push the slide out an inch or two to get the retaining screw out. Fortunately, my motor would still spin and was only damaged at the sensors that count the revolutions used to keep the motors in sync.

Either there should be an access hole on the outside trim of the slide so you can get to the retaining screw when the slide is stuck in (this would be very easy to do during assembly) or they should mount the retaining screw inside the coach. Then you would never need a ladder and could do it all from inside the coach fairly easily. I may take another good look at the inside and see if I can move the retaining screw there and then permanentaly remove the ones on the outside of the slide.

The Controller was defintely out of whack after the revolution sensors got put out of service from the screw sticking out of the slide. Lippert Support had me move the DIP switches in the Controller and then go back into override mode to get the slide all the way out. Then I reset the Controller back to normal mode. It took about 7 or 8 cycles (instead of the typical 3 or 4) with the slide fully extended and then retracting about 6 inches but I finally got the motors to sync properly.

I have had the slide in and out a couple times now and it seems to be working normally.

If Thor gets back to me, I am going to let them know a screw improperly installed at the factory took out the new motor they installed and probably the orginal motor. I am going to ask if they will send me a new slide motor to replace my spare.

I can't blame the tech at the Service Center in Wakarusa who installed the new motor. If the first motor failed with the slide open when they were doing my warranty work, he would have never saw the screw sticking out of the slide. He would have just saw the top of the motor damaged and think it was a freak thing. I only saw it was the screw damaging the motor because the slide was stuck in and I could easily see how the screw was sticking out ~1/3" or so and at an angle that was a perfect postion to keep hitting the top of the motor everytime the slide went in and out until it damaged the top of the motor.

I'm just relieved I don't have to take it back to Wakarusa or try to find a local shop given how backed up service is everywhere. There are not any mobile RV techs in the immediate area but with the slide stuck in I could have at least drove it somewhere if i had to. The DW is thrilled that I "did it again" and fixed something else to keep us up an running and away from the dealers.

I have lost count of how many times we thought we were sunk and I managed to fix things on our last two coaches. I just don't know how someone owns a motorhome these days if they are not mechanically inclined and willing to roll up their sleeves and tackle problems on their own.

Now I just have to increase my list of spare parts to carry when we do our 7 week trip out to Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas later in the summer and early fall.

I'm going to carry a spare slide Controller and motor. I have a spare mainboard and exhaust fan motore for the tankless water heater (I may look for a used control panel to have as well). The list keeps growing!