Demco slider owners BEWARE!!!
Don't know if anyone has posted on this issue. Have a Demco Hijacker Autoslide that was bought new in May of 2014. I had about 3,000 mi. on it. A week ago I was moving the camper about 150 mi. when ea...
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My Demco 18K Hijacker Auto Slide failed on a trip in May. I believe it was due to play developing between the slide assemblies (upper and lower) and the slide rails. This allowed the gears to become misaligned and jam up in a 90-degree turn while driving forward. The result of the jammed gears was that the 1/2-inch bolt attaching the capture plate sheared. There was damage to the lower slide assembly gear, the rack gear on one side, the guide roller bearing and the guide plate assembly.
Demco shipped replacement parts for all of the above items plus a new upper slide assembly. They overnighted the parts to me at no cost to me even though the hitch was 3 1/2 years old and out-of-warranty.
Demco was unable to determine why the play developed, but I have a theory. After I completed the repair, Demco told me that I should not be able to rotate the hitch head by hand due to friction between the upper and lower slide assemblies and the slide rails. They said I should need a 6-foot steel bar to generate enough leverage to rotate the head. And after the repair, I was unable to rotate the head.
Since day one with the original hitch, I was always able to rotate the head by hand. Initially it was very difficult, but I could do it. Over time it became easier to rotate, but I did not know that being able to rotate the head was a sign of a problem. (Not mentioned in their owners manual.)
I speculate that the upper and lower slide assemblies were not properly torqued by the vendor that installed the hitch originally. This allowed play to develop over time, eventually resulting in the failure.
I may be wrong about the cause, but if you own a Demco Hijacker and can at any time rotate the head by hand, you should contact Demco right away. It may just mean that you need to replace the teflon wear plates. Or it could mean you have a bigger problem.
Also, if your hitch has ball bearings in the guide roller, know that Demco has a service bulletin to replace it with a solid bearing. The ball bearings are a known problem with the Hijacker hitch.
Demco shipped replacement parts for all of the above items plus a new upper slide assembly. They overnighted the parts to me at no cost to me even though the hitch was 3 1/2 years old and out-of-warranty.
Demco was unable to determine why the play developed, but I have a theory. After I completed the repair, Demco told me that I should not be able to rotate the hitch head by hand due to friction between the upper and lower slide assemblies and the slide rails. They said I should need a 6-foot steel bar to generate enough leverage to rotate the head. And after the repair, I was unable to rotate the head.
Since day one with the original hitch, I was always able to rotate the head by hand. Initially it was very difficult, but I could do it. Over time it became easier to rotate, but I did not know that being able to rotate the head was a sign of a problem. (Not mentioned in their owners manual.)
I speculate that the upper and lower slide assemblies were not properly torqued by the vendor that installed the hitch originally. This allowed play to develop over time, eventually resulting in the failure.
I may be wrong about the cause, but if you own a Demco Hijacker and can at any time rotate the head by hand, you should contact Demco right away. It may just mean that you need to replace the teflon wear plates. Or it could mean you have a bigger problem.
Also, if your hitch has ball bearings in the guide roller, know that Demco has a service bulletin to replace it with a solid bearing. The ball bearings are a known problem with the Hijacker hitch.
