Bedroom slide breaking shear pins

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

I have a 2005 GB cruise air with 3 slides. Livingroom, kitchen and bedroom.

When bringing in the slides I hold down two switches. When the slide is completely in or out it stops automatically and I let go of the switches. All three slides operate in this manner.

Awhile ago I brought in the bedroom slide and when it reached its limit instead of stopping it sheared the pin. First time in 10 years. Thinking it was an obstruction I had it checked, all good. Replaced the pin (not an easy task as it’s behind the motor). This worked for approx 10 in and outs and once again I sheared the pin. My dad watch the motor that drives the rod and gears as it came in and when it gets to the full out or in position he could actually see it torque.

If I carefully bring in the slid and stop it just prior to it reaching its limit I save the shear pin. But if I don’t stop it quickly enough I break the pin.

This is a picture of the slide out controller. There are two. I’m assuming 1 operates 2 slides the other 1 slide. (There was a 4 slide option on this MH)



I contacted the company who makes this part and they say it does not control the stopping of the slide. That the motor does using a thermal break.

Now I’m really confused because my RV person said this module controls the stopping using current.

Any ideas?
Doug Rainer?

[JoeH]

Diplomat_St_Poodles wrote:

JoeH wrote:
I have 7 - 1 1/2 x 3/16 coil pins left over from a MH I sold several years ago. PM your mailing address and I'll send them to you. You can buy me a beer if we ever meet up in our travels !

Thanks very much Joe. Received the shear pins in the mail today. Next time I have one of the old ones break I will replace them with the ones you sent.
Will let you know 🙂

Cheers
Tempest

Glad they made it there, hopefully they will help.

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

Rick Jay wrote:
I will concur, there are no limit switches used in the system. I examined the PC board of the slideout controller and see no circuitry that will remove current to the motor when it stalls. The motor apparently will stay powered until you release the switch. IF there is any type of limiting, it's done at the motor (internally, as there is no external component/circuit used), but I don't think that is likely.

A GBM slide operation manual specifically states:

"Press the Switch labeled ‘OUT’, and hold it until the room seals against the inside wall. The slide-out can also be stopped at any time during its travel cycle by releasing the switch. Caution: do not over-extend the slide-out to the point that the wood trim around the edge begins to flex."

So that doesn't sound like any limiting is being used.

Again, I have the same system on my rig and never had a problem with shear pins. In fact, until I had to replace a motor (due to a broken mounting boss), I didn't even know there were shear pins on the gear.

It really sounds like the OP's problem stems from an improperly spec'd shear pin.

~Rick

Hi Rick.
Thanks for sending all the manuals. I will post back next time I shear a pin. Hopefully Joe has solved my problem with the ones he sent.

Thanks All

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

JoeH wrote:
I have 7 - 1 1/2 x 3/16 coil pins left over from a MH I sold several years ago. PM your mailing address and I'll send them to you. You can buy me a beer if we ever meet up in our travels !

Thanks very much Joe. Received the shear pins in the mail today. Next time I have one of the old ones break I will replace them with the ones you sent.
Will let you know 🙂

Cheers
Tempest

[Rick_Jay]

I will concur, there are no limit switches used in the system. I examined the PC board of the slideout controller and see no circuitry that will remove current to the motor when it stalls. The motor apparently will stay powered until you release the switch. IF there is any type of limiting, it's done at the motor (internally, as there is no external component/circuit used), but I don't think that is likely.

A GBM slide operation manual specifically states:

"Press the Switch labeled ‘OUT’, and hold it until the room seals against the inside wall. The slide-out can also be stopped at any time during its travel cycle by releasing the switch. Caution: do not over-extend the slide-out to the point that the wood trim around the edge begins to flex."

So that doesn't sound like any limiting is being used.

Again, I have the same system on my rig and never had a problem with shear pins. In fact, until I had to replace a motor (due to a broken mounting boss), I didn't even know there were shear pins on the gear.

It really sounds like the OP's problem stems from an improperly spec'd shear pin.

~Rick

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

msmith1199 wrote:
I'm not an electrician so I don't know the part names, but odds are you have a bad electronic part that stops the slides. (maybe somebody knows the name) The part acts as a limiting switch, but it isn't a limiting switch. Is a self contained piece that senses a power surge when the slide is fully open or fully closed. Basically when the motor starts to draw more power when the slide hits the stops the device senses that power draw and cuts off the power stopping the slide. Your power steps have the same device that stops the steps when they are fully up or fully out. This device would also stop the slide if you opened the slide into a tree or wall.

I would have thought there was a limit switch of some sort but it would appear that there isn’t one. We thought the controller would sense a higher power draw and stop the slide. According to the builder of the controller it does not do this.

Tempest.

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

Rick Jay wrote:
Diplomat_St_Poodles,

Sorry it took so long to respond. Between work and actually getting out to enjoy the RV the last couple of weekends, I haven't been on the forums much.

OK, so, I have the same slide out controller you do. I examined it physically and observed it's operation. It DOES NOT have a circuit built into it to cut power to the slide out motors when they reach the end of their travel. (There is a PIC chip (microprocessor) that's wearing a bogus part number so it can't be ID'd, but I really don't think that is working as a current limiter, just simple logic for the switches.) The relays on the board stay engaged until I release the IN/OUT button. That said, neither of my slides has ever broken a shear pin.

The slides will activate until the end of their travel, then slow down and ultimately stop. That's when I let go of the button. If I hold the button past that, the motor's apparently stall as I don't hear anything. When I release the IN/OUT button, I can hear the slide controller relays click to disconnect the power.

I did see in a pdf document I have on GBM slide operation where they specifically state to release the IN/OUT button once the slide reaches the end of it's travel to prevent damage to the wood molding. If you want me to send you the pdf, PM me with a real email address and I'll be happy to send it to you.

I'm guessing & hoping that installing the proper shear pins on your slide out should solve the problem.

If you continue to have this problem and everything appears to be in proper alignment, the only other thing I can think of is that the motor was changed for one with more torque than the original. The motor has a gear box built into it, and perhaps someone changed out an original one for one with a different gear ratio. When I bought my replacement motor, I believe I saw different gear ratios available.

My main front slideout and rear (queen bed) slideout use the same motor and my rear slide goes out noticeably quicker than my front slide due to the lighter weight. If you don't notice that difference in speed, perhaps that motor has a lower gear ratio and therefore is applying more torque once it reaches the end of the travel.

That's just a wild guess. I'm hoping for your sake it's just the shear pins.

Good Luck,

~Rick

Thanks for all the information. I will PM you my email addresse for the PDF.

The motor on all three slides are the same. I have owned the MH since basically new so they should be the original ones.

Hopefully the shear pins are the issue and the ones Joe is sending from Florida will solve the problem.

[msmith1199]

I'm not an electrician so I don't know the part names, but odds are you have a bad electronic part that stops the slides. (maybe somebody knows the name) The part acts as a limiting switch, but it isn't a limiting switch. Is a self contained piece that senses a power surge when the slide is fully open or fully closed. Basically when the motor starts to draw more power when the slide hits the stops the device senses that power draw and cuts off the power stopping the slide. Your power steps have the same device that stops the steps when they are fully up or fully out. This device would also stop the slide if you opened the slide into a tree or wall.

[Rick_Jay]

Diplomat_St_Poodles,

Sorry it took so long to respond. Between work and actually getting out to enjoy the RV the last couple of weekends, I haven't been on the forums much.

OK, so, I have the same slide out controller you do. I examined it physically and observed it's operation. It DOES NOT have a circuit built into it to cut power to the slide out motors when they reach the end of their travel. (There is a PIC chip (microprocessor) that's wearing a bogus part number so it can't be ID'd, but I really don't think that is working as a current limiter, just simple logic for the switches.) The relays on the board stay engaged until I release the IN/OUT button. That said, neither of my slides has ever broken a shear pin.

The slides will activate until the end of their travel, then slow down and ultimately stop. That's when I let go of the button. If I hold the button past that, the motor's apparently stall as I don't hear anything. When I release the IN/OUT button, I can hear the slide controller relays click to disconnect the power.

I did see in a pdf document I have on GBM slide operation where they specifically state to release the IN/OUT button once the slide reaches the end of it's travel to prevent damage to the wood molding. If you want me to send you the pdf, PM me with a real email address and I'll be happy to send it to you.

I'm guessing & hoping that installing the proper shear pins on your slide out should solve the problem.

If you continue to have this problem and everything appears to be in proper alignment, the only other thing I can think of is that the motor was changed for one with more torque than the original. The motor has a gear box built into it, and perhaps someone changed out an original one for one with a different gear ratio. When I bought my replacement motor, I believe I saw different gear ratios available.

My main front slideout and rear (queen bed) slideout use the same motor and my rear slide goes out noticeably quicker than my front slide due to the lighter weight. If you don't notice that difference in speed, perhaps that motor has a lower gear ratio and therefore is applying more torque once it reaches the end of the travel.

That's just a wild guess. I'm hoping for your sake it's just the shear pins.

Good Luck,

~Rick

[JoeH]

I dropped it at the post office about 10:00 am ET Friday---- I saw one post that it takes 8 -14 calendar days-- since I'm about as far as you can get from BC, I'd guess it will be on the upper end of that range.

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

JoeH wrote:
I'll drop it at the post office this morning.... let's see how long it takes to get there

I will do that.
Thanks again. 🙂

[JoeH]

I'll drop it at the post office this morning.... let's see how long it takes to get there

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

JoeH wrote:
I have 7 - 1 1/2 x 3/16 coil pins left over from a MH I sold several years ago. PM your mailing address and I'll send them to you. You can buy me a beer if we ever meet up in our travels !

Thanks Joe, that would be great. I have sent you a PM with my address.
Beer is on me 🙂

[JoeH]

I have 7 - 1 1/2 x 3/16 coil pins left over from a MH I sold several years ago. PM your mailing address and I'll send them to you. You can buy me a beer if we ever meet up in our travels !

[Diplomat_St_Poo]

tiffy2000 wrote:
I got 10 1/4x 1 1/2 coil pins here for about $17 including shipping, a coil pin is what you want for the slides

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/11121595;jsessionid=r4tJLq-TWzmSQlFgD97fHWSn.38536438-9c19-3947-9017-bf77ad0514fd

Thanks for the link. I will check them out. Mine are 3/16 X 1 1/2.