Bedroom Slide Problem

Question

My 2004 Sunnybrook Titan 5th wheel bedroom slide will not close all the way anymore. For nearly a year, this trailer has been used mostly as a place to stay instead of for travel. Now I want to use it as intended and find that the queen bed slide doesn't close. The gap is less than 1/2" on the bottom and more than 1" at the top, which indicates that the slide is not "settling" at the end. At this point, the "gear" starts jumping and won't move the slide any closer. This may have been started by an overly long (standard queen size) mattress that hits the far side cabinetry before the slide closes. My solution has been to lift the mattress so it can slide over the top of the cabinet. This worked before, but not now. Because the mattress is both heavy and flexible, I haven't always got all of it above the cabinet. I can think of several possible causes. One is that trying to push against the mattress has worn down the slide gear teeth or enlarged the slots they push on. The other is that I am shifting the bed weight distribution (unloading the foot of the bed by lifting) in a way that affects the slide operation. And, finally, it might just need lubricating. But before tearing into it, I thought I would ask if anyone had found a solution to a similar situation.

JRMunn

scottg · Answer

It's probably not any of those things.
You will need to get under the rig and look at the gears. It's likely you have broken a shear pin at the gear. This is basically a special bolt that secures the small gear assembly to the shaft. You can replace it with a regular 1/4" bolt but that wont be a true shear pin and will no longer protect the rack and pinion. This pin is designed to break if the slide is jambed.
Your vintage also had a ratcheting safety system that you could have worn out. It looks like a long, brass colored bell laying on its side.

Here's what it looks like.
At the 9:00 position, you can see the bolt on the other side of the metal plate (bolt is over exposed, sorry). It will likely be broken at one end, allowing the shaft to turn slightly in the hollow square tube as it moves.

jrmunn · Answer

Scott,Thank you.  Your post helps a lot, especially the picture, and it sounds like you have been there and fixed it.  I bought this trailer from my father, who travelled a lot, but didn't get much use out of this one.  It is a nice set-up, except that I can't find where mice are getting in - above or below.  Would the slide go out if the shear pin were broken?  It moves, just won't come all the way in before the "ratchet" activates.  Going under the rig doesn't help.  The entire mechanism appears to be above the floor (I can see about half of this floor area from the storage compartment, and the rest is in the raised area toward the hitch pin).  So access must be in a space beneath the bottom of the storage compartment that is under the mattress.  Now that I have some idea of what is involved, I will look when the trailer returns to its parking place on the ranch.  Thanks again.JRMunn

scottg · Answer

Yes, because the shear pin tends to break off at one end but stay in place, the slide still moves. When it starts to move, it will lag on the broken side.
They're normally exposed. Look for the long flat toothed "rack" at each end of the side. Then there will be one of these little round "pinion" gears for each one of those.

Note that the bottom of my pic is towards the outside of my trailer. That assembly is just inside the frame. So if you crawl under there and look behind the frame, you'll see it.

jrmunn · Answer

Scott,Your post has caused me to take a closer look.  The slide mechanism is on the floor under the bed.  It is similar, but not exactly the same as in you picture.  With the bed pulled back into the room, I can actually see a gear that fits into slots in a metal rail under the bed.  But I still can't tell if there is a shear or "ratchet" problem.  With my wife operating the switch, I was able to push the slide tight on the front side, but the other side is still slightly out at the bottom and more than 1" out at the top (it's not settling down). And I found a lable.  It is a room slide manufactured by a company called "Happijac", so I was able to find a users manual with troubleshooting steps.  Thanks for the suggestions and motivation to look closer.JRMunn

jetboater454 · Answer

Might want to check the bolts at the end of the slide on the bottom of the slide at the edge of the slide. Sometimes they loosen a bit. Usually 2 bolts,but on a big super slide there will be four.

You said you can push it in by hand which makes me think the bolts loose.

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Bedroom Slide Problem

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