If you own a 2003 Beaver Patriot/Marquis I need your help

http://beaveramb.org/
beaver ambassador club members may be able help

That costs $40 to join. I have scanned their forum and it is not worth the money. But, thanks.

Bob&AnnaMarie wrote:
That costs $40 to join. I have scanned their forum and it is not worth the money. But, thanks.

http://beaveramb.org/ is not a waste of money. I am a member and the forum is filled with members that know just about everything you can imagine about Beaver coaches. They are very helpful. There is also a free yahoo group called Monacoers. They also have a document giving parts suppliers for Monaco coaches including Beaver. Follow their directions exactly to join they are particular.

My manual says the manufacturer of the slide motor is Power Gear,
800-344-4712. No idea if they are still doing business.

Good luck with the slide.
Jerry

Bob&AnnaMarie wrote:
I am completely lost. Despite a comprehensive search I cannot dentify the manufacturer of the bedroom slide in our 2003 Beaver Patriot. I have some documentation that suggests it was Power Gear. But, nowhere can I find any Power Gear documents with a slide mechanism similar to ours.

What makes this slide mechanism unique is that it uses a bicycle type chain along the bottom of the outside track (the track that is attached to the slide). All documentation for Power Gear slides shows a rack/pinion arrangement or an electrical or hydraulic ram structure. None have the chain drive I found in my coach.

If anyone has any documentation on the slide, manufacturer or parts I would really appreciate it if you would share that information. I am at my wits end.

(Besides searching the internet I have contacted Beaver Sales in Bend Oregon along with a local dealer and neither has any idea about the part that I am trying to locate or the manufacturer. I feel I am running out of options here. I desperately need to replace a broken bearing structure, but have no idea where to source the part.)

I just re-read your post and had a thought. My coach was made in late 2002 but is a 2003 model. It shares some of the characteristics with SMC Safari coaches. You might want to check into how Safari did it. Just a thought from a pretty new Beaver owner. Again, good luck.

Jerry.

Thank you very much for your input. I am well aware of the Monacoers and am a contributor to the parts list they maintain. I was also an active member/contributor to the feeder group for the Beaver Ambassador forum (a Yahoo group called BeaverOwners) before they tore it down.

What documentation I have from the original owner also says it was Power Gear. But the illustrations in the documentation don't even come close to describing what our slides look like. (I am sure you have the exact same slide mechanism that I do with a chain attached to the underside of the outer rail. What is especially "nice" about this design is that the outer rails -- the ones the slide is attached to -- are welded to heavy duty cross members. Then some genius decided to weld the inner rails to angle iron cross-members so that it is impossible to separate the rails to replace a broken bearing.) Nothing in any Power Gear on-line documentation even comes close to covering this design. If you have a part number or model number I would certainly love to know what it is.

My documentation also makes reference to Fleetwood, which makes it look like they used a Fleetwood product even back then. When a Fleetwood dealer called Power Gear today they hung up on him. Power Gear was bought out by Lippert Componets. I will give them a call in hopes they can help.

Just let me warn you now, if one of your bearings breaks on your bedroom slide like mine did, you are in for one heck of a search for a replacement part if you plan to do the fix yourself. And if you have a dealer fix it, it will cost a bundle (probably thousands) because the dealers remove the slides entirely to fix the undercarriage due to its miserable design. I have figured out an alternative that will still take some time, but can be accomplished with a lot less hassle and will still maintain the structural integrity of the unit. I just need to find a supplier for the bearing assembly I need.

Again, thank you for your input. I just hope I don't sound mean because I don't mean to be. I am just very very frustrated right now that even Beaver Sales in Oregon is stumped on this one. They have been my "go to guys" for everything else I have needed on this coach.

Bob

Bob, no problem, I am new but try to help where I can hopefully without giving people the idea that I know what I'm talking about. I would just hate to ignore a request and later find out I could have helped and didn't. Do me a favor and post where you finally obtained your parts or how you fixed it because sooner or later I may need to know. I will ask on the BAC to see if one of the old timers there happens to know.
Thanks and good luck.

I think mine is the same as yours...at least I think there was a chain when I last looked at it 4 years ago. It's probably a common mechanism in the 2000 to 2004 beavers.

I read you initial post a couple of times but never quite figured out just what part failed or what problem you are having. I've only heard of an occasional problem with the brake/electrical where it wouldn't move but nothing mechanical comes to mind.

There are a lot of resources on the BAC forum so someone will have an answer.

Dick,

I guess I should have elaborated on the exact problem which I did in another forum. The 2003 Beaver Patriot has the slide mechanism that I described above. The inner frame has 6 bearing assemblies that act as casters (or rollers) that the outer slide frame rolls against when the slide moves in and out. One of my casters/rollers (one closest to the outside wall) disintegrated.

My major problem at the moment is trying to locate a supplier for the replacement. I was going to remove a good one on the back of the slide frame to take pictures for the guys at Bend when I discovered that removal of any one of the rollers was impossible without either removing the slide from the coach or coming up with some other solution. (I have worked out the other solution, but, don't want to implement it until I can find the replacement roller/bearing because it involves cutting a cross-member.) This is where getting some information about a source for this roller becomes important.

I would post a picture, but I do not have a photo account right now to reference. I doubt it is appropriate to reference another forum, but they allow you to add pictures without having a separate account so I posted a picture there.

Thanks for your input,
Bob

Bob, according to one of the experienced owners and mechanics on the BAC Forum you can take the old bearing out and go to the local Napa parts store, and match it up by the part number that is on the old bearing race. The bearings are just off the self automotive bearings.
good luck
Jerry

Jerry,

Thank you very much for the information. I will check with my local NAPA guys tomorrow.

Here is a photo of the bearing assembly from the end of the slideout. Note that the part to the right of the actual bearing appears to have an integral relationship with the bearing itself. There is a threaded shaft that protrudes from the right side of the part to the right that attaches to a nut on the other side of the rail.


Bob