2005 Dolphin Bedroom Slide Out Problem

[donhaus]

I have a 2005 NRV Dolphin LX 6342. The bedroom slide out is not working. When it stopped working it went out 1/4 of the way and stopped. I closed it and tried again and it did the same thing. When I closed it the second time it quit working completely. The motor runs but the slide out does not move. I lifted the bed platform and remove the drawer over the motor. The motor continues to operate but the gear shaft does not turn. The lead gear on the shaft that should engage and be driven by the motor shows wear with the teeth worn in the center. Can anyone tell me the brand of slide out? From what I can find in other posts it may be a Power Gear. I have seen posts about a shear pin but I could not see a shear pin anywhere. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Don

[donhaus]

I have a 2005 NRV Dolphin LX 6342. The bedroom slide out is not working. When it stopped working it went out 1/4 of the way and stopped. I closed it and tried again and it did the same thing. When I closed it the second time it quit working completely. The motor runs but the slide out does not move. I lifted the bed platform and remove the drawer over the motor. The motor continues to operate but the gear shaft does not turn. The lead gear on the shaft that should engage and be driven by the motor shows wear with the teeth worn in the center. Can anyone tell me the brand of slide out? From what I can find in other posts it may be a Power Gear. I have seen posts about a shear pin but I could not see a shear pin anywhere. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Don

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

You most likely broke a shear pin.

[Richard S.]

In 2005 National RV also used RBW IND. for slide rooms. http://www.rbwindustries.com/

If it is a POWERGEAR system the name should be on the motor. http://www.powergearus.com/
Good Luck

[donhaus]

Thanks, I think it is RBW. I have a one pager in my owners manaual box that has RBW on it. I cannot see anything on the motor or slide that tells me it is either Power Gear or RBW. The info. on the Power Gear website does not look like my configuration. I will try the RBW website. If it is a shear pin, I cannot figure out where it is. It's a puzzle. I like puzzles, but not when I am trying to get out of Dodge to go deer hunting.
Thanks,
Don

[Fred and Bonnie]

Don, contact RBW, they have an upgrade kit for the gear assembly.

Fred

[Bill Davis]

Slides and Shear Pins have been discussed here before. I broke two shear pins myself, and learned a lot in the repair. Go to Find and do a search for Slides, bedroom slides, shear pins, etc. More members will join in. Come back with your questions.

[donhaus]

Here is an update on my endeavor to repair my bedroom slide out.

I removed the motor (not an easy task) and found that the brass gear has three broken teeth. This is the gear that is driven by the worm gear off of the motor. With help from this forum, I determined I have a RBW slide system. I contacted the folks at RBW who are now owned by AL_KO Kober Corp., techsupport@rbwindustries.com, 909-591-5359. They informed me that for certain years those slide systems had a bad brass gear that was not properly heat-treated and failed frequently. Unfortunately 2005's were part of that group. National was aware of the problem and fixed them when the problem occurred. That does not help me now. Anyway, the RBW guy told me there is a replacement part P-731 National Field Service Kit for LPS-32027 for $194.40 and is available now. He also told me there is a new redesigned kit that eliminates the brass gear and simplifies the design. The new design will be available within the next month. I am going to wait for the redesigned service kit. Anyone who has had to go through this knows it is not an easy repair to make and I do not want to have to do it again.

I have the Installation and Service Guide and the replacement part service kit schematic in pdf format if anyone can tell me how to post them on the forum I will do so. They are helpful because they show all of the replacement part numbers.

I am new to the forum and have found it helpful. I hope others can benefit from my experience.
Thanks,
Don

[tropical36]

If it's anything like the powergear assy on my main slide, 4 bolts and 10 mins. removes it. At the end of the shaft, there's a shear pin that fits inside to notches. At any rate, if you can accomplish this, you'll at least know if the pin is sheared and if it is, your local hardware store should have replacements, so get a few spares while you're there.
I'm still at a loss, why so many of these pins shear, which appears to be the symptom and not the cause of the problem. It might be that the current limiting device isn't working and doesn't kill the heavy power, once it reaches the end of it's travel. Thing to do, is to let go quick, once it's home in either direction.

[Richard S.]

donhaus ,
Glad that you are with us and have found this group helpfull. With the info. you got from RBW looks like you will be fixing your problem and have provided information for others.
Good Luck

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

A company that knowingly had bad parts installed in an assembly and now wants to charge you for what should of been done right the first time? Now there's some customer service. I'm sorry you have to go through this. We have an 05 as well. I have built some support under the shelf, under the bed where we store things. If the shelf is allowed to sag, it will ride on top of the mechanism that makes the slide move in and out. Look under the shelf for scratches for the slide mechanism. This might of contributed to the early failure of the knowingly bad part.

[donhaus]

Update as of 11/3/2008
I talked to the parts guy at RBW about the new slide out system retrofit replacement part. The new system is now available and is a total replacement of the old system (including the motor). The only part reused is the gear that drives the rail. The new part # is LPW-32127R-FR and costs $522.95.

The system was redesigned because of the inherent failure in the old system. The parts guy told me that he knows of one person that has to replace the old part four times (the old part cost $238.70 not including installation).

The bad news is that the new part is not available for retail sale to the RV owner/consumer. It must be ordered through a dealer. I put the RV in storage this past weekend. In the spring I plan to go to my dealer and see if they can get the repair covered under my extended warranty.

[donhaus]

I just picked up the MH from the repair shop. They installed the new, redesigned RBW slid out system. The new system replaced the old flawed design that used the brass drive gear assembly. The only old part used is the gear-tooth rail on the slide out frame. The new system is a simpler design that is a more direct drive design versus the old multiple gear system. It inlcuded a new motor and a hardened steel drive gear (as opposed to the inferior brass one).

WOW - what a difference in performance! The new system is much smoother, more powerful, faster and quieter. The old one was noisey, slow and struggled to open/close the bed and closet slide-out unit. Best of all, my extended warranty covered everything but the $50 deductable. The total repair was $997 (the new drive system was $525). I have Easy Care for my extended warranty and they were great to work with. I was very happy when they agreed to cover the additional cost of the new system vs just going the least cost route.

[Richard S.]

Thanks for the follow up. Glad it all worked out for you