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Old 12-17-2004, 10:04 AM   #1
ols1932
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Broken Slideout

Want to pass on a problem that developed in our 2000 3555RL Montana. Our living room slideout has given us a little trouble from the time the rig was purchased new. Twice the "T" connector in the hydraulic line broke and it was first replaced under extended warranty and the second time I replaced it myself (learned from watching).

Then, on December 13, 2004, in Blythe, CA my wife was extending the slideouts and she heard a loud cracking sound. When she went outside and looked, she found that the bolts holding the slideout room to the slideout mechanism had pulled out of the flooring and the slideout mechanism was all the way out while the room had only gone out about six inches.

Needless to say we were quite dismayed. Keystone directed us to take it to Beaudry RV in Tucson, AZ. So I purchased some 2x4's and braced the room so it wouldn't fall out and made our way to Tucson where we are presently. It is being repaired now. We've been quoted at about $1500. Hopefully the metal siding stuff will be repaired well enough so that it will still look pretty good.

Thanks to Beaudry RV for getting us in without an appointment. We've been treated very well -- possibly because they'd like to sell us a new one. But, we like the one we have and we have it modified to our liking and don't want to start over again.
 
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Old 12-17-2004, 10:21 AM   #2
Montana_2694
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Sorry to hear about that.

We had our kitchen slide bolt shear causing one end to track and not the other. The slide topper began to roll out with the functioning end of the slide until I heard a POP either from the bolt underneath or from the billow stop hitting the camper. It only traveled about 6 inches and happened in a split second. Luckily I was able to push the non functioning end back into place where it stayed locked (Thank God!) until I got it to our dealership. That would of been bad stuff if we were on the road.
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Old 12-17-2004, 10:33 AM   #3
lightningjack11
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Wow. Sorry about the problem but thanks for sharing.

My slideout mechanism should be the same as yours. It sounds like your slide was sticking and the hydralics just continued to push out. The additional load from the slideout probably assisted in the connectors breaking in the hydraulic lines.

Please keep us informed of the repairs.
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Old 12-17-2004, 10:37 AM   #4
Montana_657
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I know I'm a heritic...but oil those pinion bearings...get an oil can with a pump and slop it on... if a pinion bearing siezes the bolt in the shaft breaks, and then the slide is out of registration. Forget the silicon spray... keep the pinion bearings wet with oil.
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Old 12-17-2004, 01:16 PM   #5
lightningjack11
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Dont't see any bearings on mine. I has a hydralic cylinder with guide wire system. Not like the new ones. It does have two steel slide rails that should be lubed properly but no gears. At least not on the main slide.
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Old 12-17-2004, 03:29 PM   #6
Montana_2694
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Gruffy,

Where is the pinion bearing at and how do I get to them? I did grease the "teeth" under the slides.
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Old 12-17-2004, 04:54 PM   #7
ols1932
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Good news! When we went to check out at the Beaudry RV cashier, they said, "No charge, Keystone RV called and took care of the entire repair." I think the charge was around $3200, so this was a great Christmas present for us.

The slideout is huge in our rig thus it takes more power to run it in. It also is a flush floor slideout. This makes it a little more difficult because it has to rise up on the inside edge in order to come in.

It has always seemed to have difficulty coming in. The Beaudry technician said it was because it was misaligned just enough to make it "drag." When we checked it out in their repair facility, the slideout runs in and out very smooth.

There was nothing wrong with the hydraulics. The piston is fine, there are no readily seen bearings. I think that the misalignment was what caused the problem, plus the fact that the original connection between the slideout and the mechanism wasn't the best. It should have had a steel plate through which the bolts pass. This prevents the bolt heads from pulling through. It is now that way and should last as long as we want it to. My wife and I are very happy with this rig and the modifications we've put into it. We don't want to get rid of it and go into debt again.
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Old 12-18-2004, 04:18 AM   #8
Montana_657
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Sorry to take so long to get back but I had to wait for daylight. Below is the pinion gear. You can see the square torque tube that connects to the other slide rail. Note the oil stain darkens the rust.

The silver rod is the hydraulic cylinder. In my case, I wrapped a bit of paper around it to keep the foam from sticking, then foamed the hole shut to keep heat in the belly. That paper has been ther over a year, so I guess the area stays dry.


The neighbor here has a Holiday Rambler. His pinion gear is inside the frame. To lube it, he has to open the underbelly. I don't suppose Montana has done such a thing to later models??? The photo is an /03 3670
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Old 12-18-2004, 08:10 AM   #9
lightningjack11
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Good Pix Gruffy and that explains it. But the 99-2000-and some 2001 models did not have the pinion system. It has two rails with guide wires and a hydraulic piston.

I llke your foam idea. May take advantage of it.
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Old 12-19-2004, 12:14 PM   #10
sreigle
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Me, too. That's one area I didn't think to foam.

Today when trying to thaw out our low point drains I chiseled out as much of the foam as I could get to but couldn't get it all. My thinking is by foaming that opening close I shut off a source of heat that might help just a little in keeping those drains from freezing.
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