Last week, my husband was closing the slide on the TC, it got about 18" in and then went "clunk". The motor still runs, but the slide doesn't move, nor will it move when trying to close manually. He and our son were able to push it back out to full extension to try to get access to the underside.he says:"The motor turns, but there is no connection to the drive line. The ratchet tool fits into the gearbox, so the effect is the same: no movement of the drive line. Something has broken that I cannot see. There is mention of a drive pin and that makes sense, but it is hidden. It could also be the gearbox drive shaft has sheared. I think I can release the slide box from the tracks and jack it upward If set to mid position. There appears to be clearance to angle the room box upward and get maybe 8-12” of access. That is all I need to get tools in and pull the motor. The motor / gear box R&R should be straightforward, if you had access which I can’t figure out yet.I can put a ratchet on the non-motor side (forward end of the camper) and move the entire slide as both drive gears are solidly connected to the drive line. The problem is that you cannot close the room from that location as access is only from underneath and that closes up. I am way too large to slide in or out under the slide floor."He was able to access the roll pin, as he thought that it might have sheared, but he can run a wire through it, so it seems to still be intact. He is loathe to bring it in to pay to have it fixed, as he can pretty much fix anything, he just needs to access the motor, which he hasn't figured out how to do yet.Any ideas? It's a 2007 Bigfoot 3000 30C1002 with a Happijack Secur-Track system.

He needs to start taking things apart until he finds the problem. I would suspect the gear box on the motor or one of the drive gears. Yea, they all have pins holding them on the different shafts. It aint rocket science. You have a motor, a gear reduction box of some sort, a gear and a gear rack. Broken tooth on a gear, or a broken gear box or pin is about all it can be.

Sorry, apparently my question wasn't clear, he is trying to figure out how to get ACCESS to the motor/ gears, he is having an issue reaching anything in the space below the slide from the inside of the TC, there is a very small access port to get to the manual ratchet, but that is just about enough to get the tool into, and not much more.

I don't have the Bigfoot. On my Arctic Fox there is a switch that engages the motor. On my manufacturer it's accessible from a small access door on the outside of the camper. My switch is a lever.

Your question was plenty clear, and the answer is still the same: He needs to start taking things apart until he finds the problem. That includes the camper itself.Frankly, though, life's too short. Take it in and pay to have it fixed. It's only money.

I am looking for information on how to access the motor without dissassembling the dinette, or cutting holes into the body. One can't take things apart that one cannot reach. I would rather my husband fix it than pay someone, since I know that he will do it right, and not in some half baked manner. I know life is short, but I would rather not run out of money paying others to do what we can do (better) ourselves. Thanks.

Slide not working (motor runs but slide doesn't move)

23 Replies

Sue_Bee
Explorer
Jun 30, 2013
He finished fixing it yesterday, again, while I was out. He fashioned his own replacement part, as he was totally dissatisfied with the original part being tapped out to almost half of the original in order to run the roll pin through it.
devildog1971
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
I had problems with mine no one in californ or nevada could fix it got a hold of the factory they said it should have never left the factory in the condition it was in they fixed the slide in about 6 hours they put parts on it that were not put on at the factory spent the rest of that day and the next fixing other things they did not think were built right gave me four sets of new jacks and motors and lots of other things, the final bill was $0.00 and the camper was three years out of warranty real nice people if you want to p.m. me I will describe the fix they did to the slide they were right it should have not left the factory not fixed and not put together properly and with wrong parts but when it left the factory it was first class and NO CHARGE it was out of warranty by 3 years
Butch50
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
With having a Canadian built camper. I would suggest buying some Robertson bits to work on it if he hasn't already done so. Almost everything in my Northern Lite is Robertson screws, kind of interesting story about them also.

Robertson screw

Good luck on a resolution to your problem
Sue_Bee
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
I went out this morning to run some errands, and when I returned, I found that Mr. Bee had already gotten a whole bunch of stuff done on the slide, and therefore, I did not get to take pictures of some of this.

He loosened the bolts which hold the securetrac brackets to the floor of the dinette, and used a bottle jack to jack the slide up a bit. This allowed him to then get to the motor and remove the bolt that holds the motor to the slide assemblage. Once that was done, the motor came clear, and the problem was revealed. The end of the drive shaft that goes into the motor has sheared off right at the weakest point, where the roll pin goes through it.

I need to download the pictures of the actual broken bit, but he got it all out, and now we just need to talk to Happijac (Lippert) again to determine what the part is that we need. Basically, it looks something like the part on the right (not exactly, but close):

That metal piece is about 8-9" long, it goes into the motor, through the gear assembly, and into the drive shaft.
54suds
Explorer
Jun 20, 2013
My Bigfoot 30c1001 had a carpeted access panel covering a inspection/repair port cut into the floor area under the front dinette seat.
Sue_Bee
Explorer
Jun 19, 2013
thanks Mike, I think that it was Grant that my husband spoke with. We're not in any huge hurry to fix this, so if there is a warp, I'll PM with you when you get back. Have fun, wish I were going somewhere too!
MikeJinCO
Explorer
Jun 19, 2013
If you still have the Bigfoot 30C 1002 like we do, I'd do this. Call Grant up at Bigfoot for some advice, he has been very helpful when we have had a couple of problems. I think you are going to have to remove the carpet covered vertical panel at the base of the slide to get into the motor. I was digging around there once and found it held on with the normal square drive screws. You may need a magnet to locate the screws as they are well hidden in the carpet.

While there get a 8' long straight edge and make sure that the floor isn't warped. If so PM me as it could be binding the slide and I have a potential solution. I'll be out of touch for 8-9 days, leaving for a Montana river trip in an hour or so.
Sue_Bee
Explorer
Jun 19, 2013
Absolutely, we will, and I thank you all for the suggestions. It is a good thing that the husband is pretty much able to fix anything, because these things are so complex, and stuff goes wrong. We had to fix some pretty boneheaded build issues, like the wiring to the A/C, whoever installed it connected white to gray and gray to white, and so the A/C would turn on, run for about a minute, then stop running.

One of my husband's coworkers bought a new to them class C with a large slide. The first time they took it camping, they got to the campsite, and when they tried to roll out the slide a fuse blew. This guy is not mechanically inclined, he didn't know to check fuses, and he didn't know how to manually open the slide. So, they got back into the camper and went back home. Seriously.

Anyway, I think I know what we are doing this weekend.
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
Good to have answers....

My one slide mechanisum makes me glad that we only have one slide... not three. It is a pain... but yours may be worse.

I'm sure glad that you have some quality advice... we gave you quanity (many ideas)

Phone Happijac as soon as you identify the gears... they took a few days to get here and I paid $10/set... I bought 3 sets (2 spare sets... I have used one of them. I think they may be in the $15/set for the last few years.

As I mentioned earlier... we have had problems with the gears shearing about every 3 year.

Many others have had my problem... they usually buy extras too.

Please take pictures and share your solutions and experience with us... they need to be on TC University...

There aren't that many Bigfoots with slides... but like our Lances they are very nice... and they'll all have the problem eventually.

Sleepy
Sue_Bee
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
Basically, what Bigfoot (or service departments familiar with the slide system in the Bigfoot) would do is, with the slide about 3/4 extended, remove the 4 bolts from the front (the "front" being the innermost edge of the slide inside the camper) of the "securetrac" system that go into the floor of the slide, then jack the front of the slide up so that it pivots on the rollers, this affords about 4"-5" additional space (totalling about 7" of access) to access the motor and drive bar assembly. The top lip will keep the slide from going further. We had thought about doing this, but Bigfoot confirmed that this is the first step before they would remove the slide, which is not an easy task. Once we've done this, we can the assess better what the problem is.