Getting some long overdue repairs done

[norty1]

We have had very little problems with our 2011 Eagle but a few weeks ago we came home from a trip and a week later one of the slides would not move without a helping hand from me pushing it. Long story short, I could not pin point the problem and took it to my original dealer. They said the gear box/motor was bad. This is a old Dexter Center drive in floor slide. They ordered a replacement from Jayco and it was in in less than a week. They replaced the part and we are back in business. Next time, I can get it from Amazon at a fraction of the cost.
We also ordered 2 slide out covers from Tough Top Awnings and one is done and the other is on the way here.

I had a small crack on my other side that was caused by the slide out binding. I had a brochure and got familiar enough with it to adjust the side to side and up/down to prevent the binding. It works great now. Now to repair the stress crack and get back on the road.

[Marcm157]

It is such an advantage to be able to handle repairs on these rigs ourselves. I am about 99% self sufficient when it comes to repairs and maintenance. I have even spent a bit of money to avoid going back to a dealer for warranty repairs. I have also been fortunate that none of my trailers ever needed major work. RV dealers are a love / hate type relationship and for many it's either one or the other!

I have a full auto shop at my house and have maintained my family and friends vehicles for decades. I am also very fortunate in my second career to manage operations and a maintenance shop for a fleet of motorcoaches and school buses so I have access to tools and equipment at work that allow me to what I need to do.

Glad you were able to resolve your issues Norty!

[kirkelli]

Last Summer I picked up a slide motor on Amazon for $140 just to have for stand-bye.. The same motor from the dealer is twice that amount,. Hopefully i'll never have to use it, but now i have a little comfort knowing i can deal with a slide problem on the fly.

[norty1]

I have the old motor and plan to take it apart and see what is inside.

If not, I may get a new spare gearbox or at least carry what I need to manually bring it in. My old motor/ gearbox would just slip when the manual crank bolt was turned. I do see gears advertised abut am not sure which one is bad yet.

It did not make any strange noises, just did not have the torque to get it in the last 6 inches or so.