We bought a new 2015 fiver in February and love everything about it except the apparent negligence that went into building it. Its almost as if the factory told the engineers and craftsmen that after they built my unit they were going to be fired and then the factory burnt the build sheets. But I won't bore you with the past.
A week or so ago the long roadside slide, maybe about 20' long, started making lots of noise. I called a local dealer to come out and check it and made an appointment to get the RV in and repaired. Long story short, after about a week of seeing what the next failed part was going to be it turned out that one gear pack was completely stripped with the other two damaged. The weld on the middle rail of three had broken and one of the three rails had twisted. For those who don't know the way this works is that there are three rails with three gear packs that are tied together so that when one is pushed (or pulled) the other two turn with it. The push (and pull) is performed by a hydraulic cylinder.
For all you engineers out there, where would you put the hydraulic cylinder on a slide that is maybe 20' long with a French Door domestic refrigerator and a floor to ceiling pantry next to it and a TV on the other end? If you said that the hydraulic cylinder would be placed at a point determined to be the center of the weight on the slide you would be wrong. If you said that the hydraulic cylinder would be placed at the center of the slide you would be wrong. The hydraulic cylinder was placed about halfway between the rail at the opposite end of the slide from the refrigerator and pantry and the end of the slide. Its not even between the rails. Its about as far towards the end of the slide as it could possibly be installed.
Now am I crazy or would just about any reasonable person think that putting the hydraulic cylinder at the opposite end of the weight is a prescription for problems? Has anyone else had problems with a set up like this? Has anyone else have a similar system that works for them?
Thanks,
