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Gyrene6891 · 03-15-2014, 01:19 AM

I have a 2004 Sea Breeze that has eaten the brass gear for the bedroom slide. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have had to get this repaired. This time nobody seems to be able to find the gear anywhere. Any ideas/help would be appreciated. Replacing the entire drive assembly is cost prohibitive at the moment.

87Rockwood · 03-15-2014, 01:50 PM

If you know the size/teeth pitch numbers you can try a McMasters catalog or even Graingers.

wb7auk · 03-15-2014, 01:55 PM

Who made the slide Power Gear?

Karlos · 03-15-2014, 08:26 PM

Hey Ken,

Sorry to hear about your slide problems. I can't provide you a source for your part, but as a mechanical engineer (retired), it looks like you have a problem somewhere in that slide system that is causing a much higher load than the system was designed for.

The brass gear is acting like a fuse, failing when the load required to extend/retract exceeds the design load. I'm surprised the electrical fuse on the motor circuit didn't fail first. Three or four failures in a few years is unacceptable to the user. You may want to have someone look at why the slide takes so much force to move.

best wishes on the troubleshooting.

Gyrene6891 · 03-15-2014, 11:46 PM

Thanks to all for the help. The coach is at the repair shop so I do not know any information on the gear tooth count nor do I kinow the manufacturer of the gear drive. The repair shop is a reputable company and they have kept in touch with me on this issue from the very beginning. They seem to agree with your assesment Karlos in that there was discussion of machining a steel gear but that could create issues if things got in a bind. So now we are looking at having one, or two, machined out of bronze to not loose the fuse link you mentioned. As I was reflecting on the times the slide went gunnybag on me it was always after my exwife had been the one to bring the slide in at teh end of a trip... In either case, hopefully when it gets repaired this time I will no longer have this issue and if I do I will have the repair part at my disposal. Once money becomes more available I will look into replacing the entire drive system with another system...

Karlos · 03-16-2014, 08:47 AM

Hey Ken,

You mentioned the slide failed AFTER the wife brought the slide in. I would expect there are some type of limit switches to indicate when the slide is fully extended and fully retracted. When the limit switch is hit, power to the drive motor stops. When I retract my slides, they really pull in to compress the seals. If the limit switch was faulty, one could continue to pull the slide in until something failed... a motor fuse or gear. Just a thought to have the shop check.

good luck.

Gyrene6891 · 03-16-2014, 09:00 AM

Had not given that concept much thought. I will now have two thing to discuss with them on Monday. Thanks again for the input.
Ken

two2go · 03-16-2014, 12:49 PM

There is some info on this forum if you research. I replaced my brass gear with a cast iron gear that I got on Amazon.com. Martin W1220 link . This is all assuming you have the Power Gear right angle drive unit.
With cast iron, you will have to keep it greased as it is not self-lubricating like a bronze gear. If you want to use bronze again, I think the number is WB1220, but check. Also, the stock gear has to be machined to enlarge the bore to match the drive shaft and also have a cross hole drilled for the pin. Not a big deal for any machine shop or someone with a good drill press.
I did rebuild my original stock drive unit and it was fairly easy to disassemble, change out the gear, and put back together. I was told by two shops that it couldn't be done. Honestly, I haven't used it because my replacement direct drive unit (my third overall) is still working well. I keep my rebuilt one as a spare just in case... I just wish I had figured out the solution before investing over $2k on replacements and labor.
Links to other threads here and here . Hope you get 'er done.

Gyrene6891 · 03-16-2014, 01:03 PM

Thank you so much for the insight. I have many things to discuss on Monday...
Ken

Gyrene6891 · 03-17-2014, 07:55 PM

Thank you to all of you who have been trying to help me with this situation. I contacted teh repair shop and told them about the Martin W1220. They checked it out and said that is just what they have been looking for. Hopefully we will have our MH back on teh road by teh end of the week. Again thank you all so very much!

Gyrene6891 · 03-29-2014, 12:01 AM

Well the W1220 can in & was installed. Snapped first time through the process! RBW gas been contacted and replacement parts are on the way...

two2go · 03-29-2014, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gyrene6891

Well the W1220 can in & was installed. Snapped first time through the process! RBW gas been contacted and replacement parts are on the way...

Whoa, that's discouraging. I guess by the part number that you did try the cast iron gear. I would have thought that it would have been much stronger than the bronze gear. It just shows that the right-angle drive unit that National RV selected for this application was wrong, given all the problems and failures that have been reported.

I have kept my old drive with the replacement iron gear as a backup just in case, but this report has me wondering... I apologize if I gave you any false hopes. One thing is that your repair shop makes very sure the slide box itself can move in and out without any undue force. If this is your third or fourth repair, is there some other issue? Make sure the rollers or glide pads that it moves on are working properly and that the whole unit itself is aligned properly. On my first replacement, the repair folks did not align the slide correctly which probably caused that drive to fail, although AlKo apparently used an undersized motor for some of their first new design drives. Hope your next step works out better although your wallet is taking a beating. Mine sure did.

Gyrene6891 · 03-29-2014, 11:04 AM

Thank you for all the help, yes the wallet is indeed taking a beating similar to what Rocky Balboa always got... I have talked to the shop, at great length on multiple days, about my concerns. I have mentioned alignment, limit switches etc etc. The mechanic currently working on the slide has experience with the National slide issue. This repair should, in theory at least, should end this merry go round... Time will tell. At this point we are still about a week away from getting the MH back, soooo. Again thank you to all that offered assistance, it is appreciated much more than I can express in words alone.

Samflhomes · 04-05-2014, 01:21 AM

Why has no one mentioned to keep the slides waxed on bottom and sides? This is important plus be sure you get wax at bottom past the seal to the very edge. Put some on the plastic slides at bottom as well. Wax removes a lot of the stress.

Also, I use dry lube to lubricate the gears and moving parts twice a year