Forum Discussion

retiredcamper20's avatar
retiredcamper20
Explorer
May 30, 2013

Manual Crank Slide

My TT is a 2007 Surveyor with rear slide. I bought it 2 months ago and immediately wondered if there were a motor failure how you would bring in/out the rear slide. Finding the "manual" crank was an intense project - very little info out there on this issue. Owner manual no help and each trailer is different on where/how to find. ANYWAY, finally found crank on motor but had very limited space to use socket/ratchet set to turn motor. Had to cut hole in wall directly in front of said crank area and now can easily insert 3/4 socket and turn crank manually or with help of a power drill. Here is the most IMPORTANT part of my post. I used a cordless drill to turn crank and move slide in and out. I was very happy having found the crank and the solution to any future issues with dead motor. However, it turns out I ran the slide in/out faster than I should have with my power drill and ended up stripping some motor gear. Keep in mind I didn't full trigger the drill, just went faster than the slide does with the 12v motor. Mechanic tech said they are not designed for that and I stripped the motor gear and now it needs replaced to the tune of $500.00. If you have to manually bring your slide in or out, use the hand crank or turn it in slowly with socket set and DON"T use a power drill like some of the forum people have said they use on their slide and jacks. Just my opinion!

5 Replies

  • Aluminum_Siding's avatar
    Aluminum_Siding
    Explorer
    Jun 01, 2013
    I have a Keystone Passport and the slide motor is way back on top of the slide on the inside. I purchased 6, 12” bit extenders from Harbor Freight to reach the motor shaft. I have a 12 V Black N Decker cordless drill. I tested out the set up to make sure it all worked in the event that my slide motor broke or we lost total power somehow. I ran the drill full speed and the slide went halfway in and then I ran it back out. It went at the same speed as it normally does so coincidentally I think my drill runs at the same speed as the motor. It has a ¼ in shaft. On the video link below, they show using a drill for my style and warn about over torque once the slide is fully in or out. On your style (I believe) they show only using a ratchet. Again thanks for post. It will potentially save us all a big headache.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ETwE3SrCM
  • DB2BRMI's avatar
    DB2BRMI
    Explorer
    Jun 01, 2013
    Thank you to the OP and the other posters. I have never had to manually move the slide and your comments have made the dance a little clearer. When I first got the TT I drilled an access hole and covered the hole w/ a plastic cover from the hardware store. I wrote the socket size and "CW-out/CCW-in" on the cover based on info from the owners manual. Hopefully I won't have to fumble around if I need to ratchett the slide sometime in the future.
    DRB
  • retiredcamper20's avatar
    retiredcamper20
    Explorer
    Jun 01, 2013
    I don't need to and won't use the power drill again either. Before I cut a hole in wall to expose the crank, it was a bear to get socket on crank and u could only move 1/4 turn at a time. This would take about 4 days to get slide in/out. After hole cut I could turn crank much easier and full revolutions. Had cordless drill handy so decided to give that a try as per other users mentioning they use this method for their jacks, etc. I will in the future take the time to do the 200 or so revolutions!
  • RedRocket204's avatar
    RedRocket204
    Explorer
    May 31, 2013
    skipnchar wrote:
    Only thing about it is the 200 revolutions it takes to fully open or close the slide.


    Just think of it as a free workout ;)

    BTW OP, I replaced my motor as it would periodically fail. Found the part online and replaced it myself...was not too time consuming and not very difficult. Part --> http://www.lippertrepairparts.com/lippert-venture-motor.aspx Of course, this may not be the part for your slide but a quick search may result in the proper motor for your slide.
  • skipnchar's avatar
    skipnchar
    Explorer
    May 30, 2013
    Don't know about YOURS but my slide is so easy to crank that I really don't NEED power assist to hand crank it. Only thing about it is the 200 revolutions it takes to fully open or close the slide. One of the disadvantages of deep slide rooms.

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