07-19-2023, 08:53 AM
I have good news for anyone with a bedroom slide mechanism like mine. It will over-retract for replacement of the over priced bicycle tube (slide seal). And it is simple to do. It just took me a while to figure out what was stopping the slide from retracting more.
1) You need to follow instructions earlier in this thread for most everything. There are just an extra couple steps for retracting the slide.
2) Other coaches seem to have a couple access panels under the bed. For mine there is an entire piece of plywood that comes out and opens it all up. Remove the screws that are holding this plywood in place and remove it.
3) You will see the hydraulic actuator in the center. I would recommend running the slide in and out a couple times at this point so you can see how it all works.
4) Now, be sure to follow the step about removing the slide stop switch in prior instructions. The mounting is different from the photos on the other coaches, but the switch is the same.
5) There is a long nut 2"-3" long, on the end of the hydraulic actuator. See photo, I have it circled in yellow. This appears to function as a stop for the actuator when it is retracted. You will need to adjust this so that the piston can pull in more (over-retracting the slide). There is a lock nut you will need to loosen in order to turn the long nut. COUNT YOUR TURNS and write this down. It will help you put it back in the same location.
6) This next step took me a while to figure out. Look at the photo with the red circles. At the top of the red circle, do you see the plywood? When retracting, there is a metal flange that the plywood hits to stop it from retracting. This flange is also inside the red circle on the photo if you look closely... it's just a little harder to see because of the shadow.
7) Metal flange is attached to a piece of metal a couple of feet long. It is screwed to the floor with some screws. The yellow dots on the photo attempt to show approximate location of the screws. Remove these (approx 4-6 screws).
8) Now the slide will over-retract. No need to remove the flange. The plywood will just push it back first time the slide comes in. When finished with job, slide flange back into place and put screws in the same holes you removed them from.
**A bonus for anyone with this mechanism is that repair of the hydraulic actuator/cylinder appears to be much more straight forward than on the coaches with the other type of mechanism where the cylinder is enclosed inside a metal box.
Use this opportunity to install the pump-down pump others have installed (I think it was Tom that invented this and shared with everyone.) It is a seal saver.
Alan
1) You need to follow instructions earlier in this thread for most everything. There are just an extra couple steps for retracting the slide.
2) Other coaches seem to have a couple access panels under the bed. For mine there is an entire piece of plywood that comes out and opens it all up. Remove the screws that are holding this plywood in place and remove it.
3) You will see the hydraulic actuator in the center. I would recommend running the slide in and out a couple times at this point so you can see how it all works.
4) Now, be sure to follow the step about removing the slide stop switch in prior instructions. The mounting is different from the photos on the other coaches, but the switch is the same.
5) There is a long nut 2"-3" long, on the end of the hydraulic actuator. See photo, I have it circled in yellow. This appears to function as a stop for the actuator when it is retracted. You will need to adjust this so that the piston can pull in more (over-retracting the slide). There is a lock nut you will need to loosen in order to turn the long nut. COUNT YOUR TURNS and write this down. It will help you put it back in the same location.
6) This next step took me a while to figure out. Look at the photo with the red circles. At the top of the red circle, do you see the plywood? When retracting, there is a metal flange that the plywood hits to stop it from retracting. This flange is also inside the red circle on the photo if you look closely... it's just a little harder to see because of the shadow.
7) Metal flange is attached to a piece of metal a couple of feet long. It is screwed to the floor with some screws. The yellow dots on the photo attempt to show approximate location of the screws. Remove these (approx 4-6 screws).
8) Now the slide will over-retract. No need to remove the flange. The plywood will just push it back first time the slide comes in. When finished with job, slide flange back into place and put screws in the same holes you removed them from.
**A bonus for anyone with this mechanism is that repair of the hydraulic actuator/cylinder appears to be much more straight forward than on the coaches with the other type of mechanism where the cylinder is enclosed inside a metal box.
Use this opportunity to install the pump-down pump others have installed (I think it was Tom that invented this and shared with everyone.) It is a seal saver.
Alan
Alan Johnson
Dallas Tx
Newell #485
1998 2 slides