Own A Newmar With Electric Slide Outs... Read THIS!

[wildtoad]

Many threads on here about the electric motor bolt issue and several solutions from adding Loctite, washers, and other solutions. Newmar mostly uses their own design for their slide as they invented the slide mechanisms. I think on the newer high end lines they have partnered with HWH on the FWS’s. So it all depends on what you buy as to what you get.

[stutch]

Just replaced my Kitchen Motor. I tightened the bolts, sent the slide out and in multiple times. All is good and lined up. Then removed the bolts one at a time and used red thread lock. Some say they are a pain to get off but If I have to take them out, I will probably need a new motor. Since the housing is an alloy or aluminum, I wouldn't try to torque them very hard.

[VP Chianese]

Originally Posted by stutch

Just replaced my Kitchen Motor. I tightened the bolts, sent the slide out and in multiple times. All is good and lined up. Then removed the bolts one at a time and used red thread lock. Some say they are a pain to get off but If I have to take them out, I will probably need a new motor. Since the housing is an alloy or aluminum, I wouldn't try to torque them very hard.

BLTN466T SLIDE MOTOR BOLTS.pdf

This is TSB 472 on the bolts. 5/16" torqued to 19 ft lbs and 3/8"33 to ft lbs.

As far as Locktite goes use any color you want but the fact remains that in over six or seven years none of them work. The only way to be sure that they do nor come loose is to wire tie them or use some of the other methods described here. My 2015 had them all wire tied and that was in 2016. I have stayed in touch with the present owner and to date they are right where we wire tied them. Wire ties work for the USAF and the aircraft industry as a whole. Without fail.

[DCBanks]

The Newmar TSB was issued in 2016, for model years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Does that mean the issue is not a concern for 2018+ model years? If it's still an issue, would someone provide some detail on where to find the bolts in question? Underneath the exterior of the slide? I have not yet taken possession of the 2019 Ventana I am buying, so if it's still a potential issue, this will be near the top of my "shakedown" list -- or maybe I can sweet-talk the dealer into providing the service outlined in the bulletin.

[VP Chianese]

Originally Posted by RookieDCB

The Newmar TSB was issued in 2016, for model years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Does that mean the issue is not a concern for 2018+ model years? If it's still an issue, would someone provide some detail on where to find the bolts in question? Underneath the exterior of the slide? I have not yet taken possession of the 2019 Ventana I am buying, so if it's still a potential issue, this will be near the top of my "shakedown" list -- or maybe I can sweet-talk the dealer into providing the service outlined in the bulletin.

Congratulations on the new coach.

I do not have a Newmar coach any more. After seven years of full timing and two Dutch Stars later we now have a house once again. Yes we went a full two years before we got the urge so we now have a 24' Thor Delano on the Mercedes Benz chassis. Do I miss the big rig, yes, but the cost of the investment and the insurance and maintenance out weights the need.

So now onto your question. I have always been a big supporter of Newmars products. I do come down on their personnel at times. On this issue, as they say in Texas, "the first liar doesn't stand a chance".

Both of my Dutch Star were 4569's and I bought the first one, the 2015, off the showroom floor and then in 2017 ordered the second one to be built with some changes I wanted.

The 2015 had tree slides all with electric motors and yes the bolts came loose and were a PIA. There were twenty different fixes out there, some better than others, of which Newmar said none were needed. I had all of mine changed to Aircraft bolts with wire ties and the best I know not one came loose and not one electric motor broke out of it's mount. I stayed in touch with second owner and he just sold the coach this past year. The reason I went with the wire ties was, a tech came out to install, not one but two, of the roof A/C under warranty. He was a retired 25 year Aircraft Maintenance Msgt from the USAF. We talked about the bolt issue and he was the one who suggested doing the wire ties. He said that on the A10 Warthog all the bolts that hold that 30mm gun in the nose are all wire tied. And that gun shakes the hell out of them everytime it fired but they never come loose, ever. Sounds simple to me. Why try and reinvent the wheel.

Newmars answer was of course the big slide was now Hydraulic, so no motors and supposedly from some time in the summer of 2017 all of the electric motors were being installed with Locktite. Well here is where the Texas folks have it right. My 2018 coach as started in the second week of September 2017. Of course there were no issues with the big slide but not one of the three motors, two on the kitchen and one on the bedroom, had any Locktite what so ever. Newmar had no answer for that. I did Locktite them myself and best I know they still are ok. I had all the good intentions of installing aircraft bolts that were wire tied but after the Locktite I never found one loose.

One thing on the Locktite. Once you move them with a wrench the Locktite is broken and of no use. So I would just put the wrench on and try to tighten the bolts, not torque them. If they are coming loose you will be able to get them to turn a bit. If they will not turn then leave sleeping dogs lie.

I still think Newmar would be better served to use wire tied bolts and get it over with. They don't really cost any more and those slide units are built on a seperate line where it could be done with ease. The reason I was given was they were afraid that the techs in the field wouldn't know how to handle the wire ties. I just flew in two different 787 Dreamliners for over 9 hours on each flight. I am glad Boeing doesn't think that way.

Good luck with the new coach.

[stutch]

I find 66 pages of "How to check and tighten bolts" amusing. Simple.. When tighting bolts to assure they do noe wiggle out, use Loctite Thread Lock. Blue Loctite allows you to remove the bolts with some increased effort. Red will require heating before removing the bolts.

Pick your poison. Seriously, if you believe the motors will last forever, OR you will never personally replace them if broken, I would use RED.

Loctite Thread Lock is cheap and meant to prevent bolts from shaking loose.

If your slide is THUMPS LOUDLY coming in or going out at the very end of their journey, you should look into tightining the Trans-Torque Bushings. WHAT? These are connectors that wrap around your solid shaft that attaches to your motors. They are amost impossible to remove without a knowing the tricks but really need to be torqued, if I remember, to 175 ft lbs. If they are not torqued correctly the slip will cause a thump. A 5 minute fix if you have the right tools.

Lastly, Newmar or any MH manufacturer is not going to stand behind anything they sell you after 1 year. You are on your own. If you do not know your way around a wrench or unless you have very deep pockets, you are purchasing, or have purchased, a financial black hole. I will bet if you poll 100 MH owners that are more than 2 years old, 90% of them know of things that are mechanically broken that they need to get fixed. Some minor, some major.

My wife and I dumped our MH because of this. I was spending too much time holding my breath from Campground to Campground. Then, spending too much time in a jumpsuit underneath the beast. Started 2 years from new.

If you are the hobby type that likes this challenge, God Bless!! For the rest, I suggest STRONGLY, you look into purchasing a 3rd party warranty extention package. Worth their weight in solid gold. We spent $6,000 and collected over $30,000 in repairs.

[VP Chianese]

[QUOTE=stutch;6538948]I find 66 pages of "How to check and tighten bolts" amusing. Simple..[QUOTE]

Yet here it is. And the issue is there are 10 or more ways to stop it but Newmar has danced around it for almost 15 years. I don't find that so amusing.

If you are the hobby type that likes this challenge, God Bless!! For the rest, I suggest STRONGLY, you look into purchasing a 3rd party warranty extention package. Worth their weight in solid gold. We spent $6,000 and collected over $30,000 in repairs.

There should be no need to buy, for a new out of the box motorhome, a $6000 warranty on a $400k+ unit to keep ahead of the issues that are really preventable. Or at least not the first day out of the factory. Buying a used coach this might make some sense.

Think about it. What company can collect $6000 and then hand out $30,000 over a 5 year or 7 year period and stay in business? Somewhere there are hundreds who only get $1000 out of the $6000 if that.

These are not cars or your home appliances. These are like boats and aircraft. There is no such thing as drive and not repair to motorhomes. That being said the industry is for the most part an irresponsible lot.

[LK23]

Bravo Vinny!!

I second your comments.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by VP Chianese

Yet here it is. And the issue is there are 10 or more ways to stop it but Newmar has danced around it for almost 15 years. I don't find that so amusing.



There should be no need to buy, for a new out of the box motorhome, a $6000 warranty on a $400k+ unit to keep ahead of the issues that are really preventable. Or at least not the first day out of the factory. Buying a used coach this might make some sense.

Think about it. What company can collect $6000 and then hand out $30,000 over a 5 year or 7 year period and stay in business? Somewhere there are hundreds who only get $1000 out of the $6000 if that.

These are not cars or your home appliances. These are like boats and aircraft. There is no such thing as drive and not repair to motorhomes. That being said the industry is for the most part an irresponsible lot.

From a pure macro economic standpoint, you are absolutely correct. These service contract companies aren't in business to lose money on every contract. So, it's as you say, Many they will pay out zero, or only a small percent of the price paid for the service contract.

However, for any given individual, the fact that more times than not they don't pay back, doesn't matter if a person can afford $6000 added to, and spread, over a 10, 15 or 20 year amort, but would be in a bind if they get hit with a 5 or 10 or $15,000 major breakdown bill.

While it isn't technically insurance, you can look at it that way in the sense that are you willing to pay for something that hopefully never pays for itself, but if it does, you will be glad you have it. Like, fire insurance for instance.

If you can afford to eat a 5 or 15 or $20,000 bill, then the pure math says don't get a service contract, because over the life of your RV, cars, home appliances, etc., that you buy service contracts for, the most likely scenario is you will pay FAR more in the costs of these contracts, then you will ever collect.

But, if the thought of a major breakdown, or home appliance repair, keeps you from sleeping, or will drain your nest egg, it can be money well spent. But, you really need to look at it like insurance, which is something you pay for, but hope you never get to use.

[stutch]

There is no one on Earth that agrees more with the fact that the industry is ripe for a class action suit.

Take a step back and look what it is..

A company purchases a chassis from Freightliner or Spartan. There appears to be no performance agreements between the two. If there is a problem with the chassis (as they define it..normally what you see in a car) then they are the ones that will fix it "CALL THEM."

A company manufactures a house that rides on this chassis and purchases thousands of parts from 3rd party suppliers. Same deal. If it fails "CALL THEM."

It is up to you to figure out what is wrong and which vendor to call. After being on hold and then being bounced around from one support person to another you hear "Never heard of that before" or "It will cost you $xxx to get the part, where do you want it shipped? OH you are on the road (afterall that is what a MH is for) go to your local MH repair shop." The nearest one being 120 miles away and they have a 4 week waiting list.

Then there is the issue of CAN YOU GET THE PART. You would be lucky if the part is not necessary for travel, but then again you need to figure out where you are going to be and have the part shipped there and ray you can get an appointment to fix it.

I can go on and on. Six week trip across country, 6 year old Newmar Dutch Star, broken chassis air (no parts anywhere), 2 broken house Dometic AC units (known quality issues with these units), one cracked support slide making slide not seat into body (known issue but no Newmar responsibility and not a chassis issue), needed to replace the 4th pump on Hydronic Heating system (at $220/pump), constant Christmas Tree display on the dashboard as the error lights seem to come and go, glued griil supports on engine hood coming loose and falling off, OH, my favorite locked door on battery bay where it is against regs to lock the bay at all never mind put a locking latch on the door. Lots more...

Face it, we are used to taking our car back to the dealer and asking to fix it. We don't care where the parts came from. I wouldn't know how to call AC Delco or Mopar, etc...

I realize that these beasts are made in Indiana or Alabama or wherever but there needs to be a network of DEALER APPROVED REPAIR CENTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY. Dealers have proven to be incompetent when repairs are needed. This is just not right as well.

I firmly believe this industry is ripe for a class action suit. We unknowningly spend hundreds of thousands on products that are not adequately suported. They are a great way to see the country and glammorous but a trap.

Again, if you plan to use the product as advertized, you need deep pockets, patience, and be prepared to abandoned your accommodations at any time at any place.

Don't believe me? Get to know a freightliner repair shop manager. Your hair will stand on end. When we left the freightliner after spending $18K, 6 months of downtime and waiting for spare parts "SHOULD BE HERE ANY DAY NOW" to have my chassis AC fixed, they had a Winny MH (13 months old) in the parking lot that they cannot find why there is a bad shimmy in the drive shaft, or the 2 Entegras waiting for parts for 2 months.

Newmar is on the body, Newmar is the model, Newmar is the product I bought, not the 3rd party spare part companies. At the very least, Newmar should champion the fix and help you through your problems. Instead they dropkick you to anyone else but them.