Different slide problem

lorendn · 05-09-2011, 06:20 PM

Friday we just got settled in a remote state park in western North Carolina and while putting out the rear slide on our 2007 Surfside heard an awful grinding sound and the slide froze in the out position. Climbed under the bed to find the motor and manual control. The gearbox had disintegrated and was in about 7 pieces. Bottom line is after only about 60 openings the pot-metal gearbox housing failed. Power gear said "too bad - that will be $500 for a new unit." The motor is swaged onto the gearbox so it gets trashed. Now the really bad news - it could take up to 3 weeks to assemble and ship the part. We are enroute to Newfoundland for the summer.

Has anyone had a good encounter with Power gear?

tom77hmstd · 05-10-2011, 07:54 AM

That would be a NO.
Try Visone used parts in Ky.606-843-6272. I just got a gear to fix mine from them.

two2go · 05-10-2011, 08:32 AM

Not happy with Power Gear here either. I am about $1000 into a replacement drive unit because of their original defective design and construction. Also had a failure of a PG drive on our former RV.

Richard S. · 05-10-2011, 08:44 AM

See if this helps, link below
rv power gear | eBay

lorendn · 05-12-2011, 06:36 AM

Thanks for the good ideas. Sounds like PowerGear has a monopoly and is engineering some marginal products and providing little warranty. I am going to push for a partial refund for the defective gear housing. I'll post the results of my effort.

lorendn · 05-12-2011, 04:47 PM

Well the final cost of the slide motor/gearbox was $760! PowerGear delivered on time at a cost of $210 for over night shipping about 300 miles. I had fun calculating the cost of the motor at about 30 seconds to open and close the slide - worked out to $2,280 / hour!

I called PowerGear and after 4 unreturned calls finally got a technician who told me that they do not speak with customers and tell the dealers that they bear no responsibility for their products after the stated warranty. They did not want the defective parts returned and told me that I should not call again since the line was reserved for dealers.

Anyone wanting to call PowerGear and speak their minds about their lack of customer service should call 866-574-1688. I think it is time that owners speak their minds and receive some consideration from suppliers.

Elkhartjim · 05-12-2011, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorendn

Anyone wanting to call PowerGear and speak their minds about their lack of customer service should call 866-574-1688. I think it is time that owners speak their minds and receive some consideration from suppliers.

Sorry for your problems. I would suggest that asking folks to flood PG with phone calls will not resolve much. While we have their phone line tied up, some repair facility won't be able to get through to order a part.

Power Gear has been very responsive to email communications.

lorendn · 05-13-2011, 06:21 AM

I don't advocate for flooding lines with unnecessry calls but I do advocate for owners expressing their opinions when design, construction, or service is poor. PowerGear has chosen as company policy to exclude customers from having any input to their people.

We deserve better from those we buy from.

two2go · 05-13-2011, 10:39 AM

There are no perfect vendors, but the better ones are responsible and responsive and understand that they need to provide good products and satisfy customer needs. I don't understand Power Gear's anti-consumer attitude and demonstrated product deficiencies. If there are any readers here who influence part and material selection for a RV manufacturer, I would urge them to prefer suppliers that support their products and appreciate customers.