I have a 2008 Carriage Cameo. The Kitchen slide will not retract. It is an electric gear driven system. When activated the slide moves about 1" and the motor starts to "chatter" (clutch slipping). Carriage is out of business but through a contact I was told that Alko is the manufacture of the Motor and brake mechanism. After searching without any result for a repair shop I was told that I can release the brake and the slide can be manually pushed in. My problem is that the owners manual has little to no information on how to disconnect the motor/brake assembly. Also I have had little to no luck online trying to find any directions or how to videos or drawings. We are stuck until I can retract the slide and get it to a repair shop probably in Indiana. We had planned to leave for Florida in the morning now I am STUCK!

if you can get to it, look it over ,you should be able to take the motor off ,or the drive and push in, question what keeps the slide from rolling out while driving? might ask a buddy for some help..

Do you have access to the slide motor thru an access port under the trailer?Chatter sound more like a gear skipping than a motor brake.SENDING YOU PM

Here is the company that made the slideout actuator for my 2003 Laredo.Venture ManufacturingI had the motor on my slide go bad. They were very helpful in getting me a new motor at a price much better than any other retailer.Based on my experience, there is no way you will be able to push your slide in with the actuator still connected. I think you need to investigate what is jamming the slide as you try to bring it in. It appears your actuator is still working - it just can't overcome a jam or binding situation in the slide and that is why the clutch disengages. Even if you disconnect the actuator from the slide you may not be able to push it in due to the jam. If you do get it in, you will need a way to hold it in while you travel otherwise it will come back out on its own.Can you manually crank in your slide? My trailer has a hole in the side opposite the slide where you can use the manual landing gear crank to manually turn the actuator. If you are able to do this be very careful. I applied too much force in the wrong direction and broke a shear pin in the acutator. I had to take the actuator out of the trailer and disassemble it to repair the broken pin.Good luck in your repairs

Not a Carriage owner but thought this might help, Carriage Forum. Good luck and hope you find a solution quickly. Tim

Get several people to push on it from the outside while trying to put it in. This may get it in so you can leave. Cut two boards to lay on the top to keep it from wanting to go back out once you get it in.

Slide Out will not retract/NW Ohio | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

Traveler_II
Explorer
Nov 22, 2013
bear6200 wrote:
I have a 2008 Carriage Cameo. The Kitchen slide will not retract. It is an electric gear driven system. When activated the slide moves about 1" and the motor starts to "chatter" (clutch slipping). Carriage is out of business but through a contact I was told that Alko is the manufacture of the Motor and brake mechanism. After searching without any result for a repair shop I was told that I can release the brake and the slide can be manually pushed in. My problem is that the owners manual has little to no information on how to disconnect the motor/brake assembly. Also I have had little to no luck online trying to find any directions or how to videos or drawings. We are stuck until I can retract the slide and get it to a repair shop probably in Indiana. We had planned to leave for Florida in the morning now I am STUCK!

The Room expansion systems for your Carriage was made by: RBW Industries, Inc, slide out model GSO-46391.
Deb_and_Ed_M
Explorer II
Nov 22, 2013
Memphisdoug wrote:
Here is the company that made the slideout actuator for my 2003 Laredo.

Venture Manufacturing

Thank you for that link!! We're just learning about our new-to-us '03 Laredo - I printed the Venture info to keep as a reference. Just in case....
SuperDutyFiver
Explorer
Nov 22, 2013
I'm new to Carriage-but this is a common problem-I am of the opinion that part of the reason these bolts loosen up is because the rest of the tolerances on the Carriage slides are so close-most slide assemblies have a little play-the Carriage slide mechanism is impressively tight, and it seems to me that the three bolts that hold the motor adapter to the gear bracket are the weakest link.

If you're gonna replace the gear I think that putting blue Loctite is essential to protecting it in the future-and keeping an eye on it. The pillow bearing assembly is a great solution but may be excessive for someone that doesn't run the slide in and out continuously. Remember to check any other big slides you may have-probably due to be tightened up too!
Traveler_II
Explorer
Nov 22, 2013
hone eagle wrote:

found it

many have had this slide out motor fail ,here is the fix.
A friend is having to do this mod to his .

There is a note in the back of our Cameo’s manual that when using a Carriage slide you bring it in about ¼” after you extend it to take the stress off the gears. I think the other problem is the motor is mounted on the end of the slide and it puts a lot of torque on the assembly, it would have been better if the motor had been mounted in the center, but that is where Carriage put the waste tanks.

The Carriage Lifestyle owner’s forum that you have in the above post is a great source of information.
hone_eagle
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013

found it

many have had this slide out motor fail ,here is the fix.
A friend is having to do this mod to his .
hone_eagle
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
There is a 'fix for that' on the carriage /lifestyle forum ,happened to a friends just like you said .
I can't remember the details but it involved a pillow block support or the problem will reoccur.
dave14117
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
We have an 07 Cameo and had the same problem. The chatter is likely indicative of trouble -- the motor has come loose and no longer engages the gear box tightly, which leads to gears partly meshing. The result is no movement, or not much movement, of the slide, and worse, gear damage. Solution was new motor and gearbox. I have noticed that the gearbox has more holes for mounting than the builder provided motor bolts for; three or four vs two or three, I can't recall. I found this out by buying a gearbox from a third party -- not Alko -- and saw the difference.

It seems the motor comes loose under stress because the manufacturer cut a corner.
powderman426
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
Check the motor for high amp draw. If its ok, you can probably save several hundred dollars by just buying a new pinion.
bear6200
Explorer
Nov 20, 2013
So after reading the advice that you all were kind to give me. I found that the bolts holding the motor were really lose. The gears haven't been meshing and after dropping the motor and looking at the gear it really needed replaced. So I am off the Elkhart Indiana in the morning to pickup new motor and gear. Thanks for all of your help and advice! 0
Tin_Pusher
Explorer II
Nov 19, 2013
Ivylog wrote:
Get several people to push on it from the outside while trying to put it in. This may get it in so you can leave.

This has worked for me in the past, worth a try. Only a small shove may be needed.

On my Wilderness, the motor (underneath) has a lever on the back end that disengages the brake. The wiring harness needs to be disconnected from the circuit board as well, else it is REALLY hard to move. There is a hex on the drive you can turn with a wrench.

Yours may or may not be similar. Good luck.