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Richard S. · 04-24-2008, 02:49 AM

Power gear motors have a rubber boot over the open end of the motor and brake lever. Also power gear motors have a lable attached. On my 07 SeaBreeze I got paper work for both RBW and Power Gear but both slides are PG on my coach.
I see on the RBW web page they have a up grade kit for NRV I think it is called a field repair kit.

Bill Davis · 04-24-2008, 07:05 AM

The part I need is a Roll Pin, part # LPS-128. Which is part of assembly LPS-32027. From RBW Industries, who built my slide assembly. When I talked to RBW, they were very helpful, knew just what I needed, and will mail me what I need. Why I thought this was from Power Gear, I'll never know. But when you get no documentation from the RV manufacturer who now is out of business, no identification on the parts in question, mistakes are made. And yes, Richard, it is part of the Field Repair Kit you mention. Thanks to all.

Bill Davis · 05-01-2008, 05:16 AM

The saga continues. Got my Roll Pin(s) from RBW. Guess what. They are the same as the pins I got from Power Gear. Price and service was much better from RBW, though. These are a little shorter than Power Gears, and are obviously the correct length. Taped extras to bottom (inside) of slide compartment. Installed new pin, a little hard to get at due to confined space. Don't know how I'd ever drive it out.
Slide goes in and out, but stutters when fully extended. We will just let it stay a little in, about 6 inches, to avoid the obvious strain on the motor. Have marked the outside of slide as where to stop. Cleaned and lubricated all parts that could rub, good to go. Believe the assembly could have been made a little more robust, but now I know what to do when trouble arises.

noozeyeguy · 09-22-2009, 01:20 PM

I just experienced a similar problem with my bedroom slideout on my '05 Seabreeze LX 8360. Turns out that I need to replace the drive-gear mechanism...

Long story short: The mechanism is the RBW version (RBW, by the way, is now owned by Al-Ko and will be relocating to Elkhart Indiana in the very near future). It used a reduction-geared motor mated to a welded gearbox assembly to drive the mainshaft. A bushing on the worm-gear shaft disintegrated, causing the motor to apply torque off the worm-gear axis... this has damaged the worm gears and bent (!) the mounting plate that connects the motor to the gearbox.

Due to the welded design of the gearbox unit, replacement of the bushing would be next-to-impossible... I'd have to cut the manual-override hex nut off the end of the shaft to install the bushing, then weld a new nut onto the shaft. The bent plate would have to be torched and straightened... which would likely work-harden the plate and (possibly) lead to a failure.

Talking to RBW (Gary in Tech Support has been extremely helpful), it turns out that this design has been superseded by the newer direct-drive "field replacement" unit listed on their website. I'm waiting now to see if it's possible to order just the gearbox assembly minus the motor, since they've used the same unit in the new design and the motor I have is still serviceable (and it's a $350 part). I'll post a followup when I get the info.

Edit: in retrospect, it's likely that the mounting plate bent first. Bench inspection shows that the welds that hold the three layers of the plate together didn't fully penetrate one side of one layer. The torque of the motor forced the plates apart, which changed the axis of the shaft and overloaded the bushing, causing it to disintegrate.

WSRG · 09-22-2009, 02:02 PM

It's very important to make sure that the slide bushings on the underside of the slide are clean and not lubricated with anything. I have found that if you extend the slide and rough up the portions of the bottom of the slide that contact the bushings [you can see the scrape marks] with 600 grit emery paper, and then completely clean and wax these areas, the slide will work faster and with less resistance. I tried all sorts of lubricants before I sanded and waxed this area, and found that the only thing that the lubricants did was attract dirt and ultimately get gummy. It's also important to make sure that the slide rail assembly is properly aligned and not in a bind with the slide in or out.

Good luck.

Bill

noozeyeguy · 09-22-2009, 02:18 PM

Yeah, that's my chore while I wait for the replacement parts... wax on wax off

Thanks for the tip!

WSRG · 09-22-2009, 02:55 PM

Good waxing--Grasshopper!!

Bill

noozeyeguy · 09-28-2009, 11:44 AM

Update: While I haven't heard back from Al-Ko, I did talk with Dale at Myrvpartsplace.com. In a nutshell, the motors are not interchangeable. The old system uses a 1/2" shaft to drive the worm-gear assembly, and the new design uses a 5/8" shaft for the direct-drive. The motors are identical in every other way, but obviously the engineers didn't think the 1/2" shaft was up to the torque demands (I agree).

Dale's quoted price on the unit was around $525 shipped, including CA sales tax. Stated lead time is around two weeks, but that's dependent on Al-Ko having production units available... given their current move to Indiana the supply may be a bit spotty.

Before coughing up $525, I took a stab at repairing the old unit. I'll start a new thread to detail my adventure...