Height, stops, timing and square

Most seal leaks and binds on under-floor rooms are adjustment, not parts: the room's height on the rails, where the in and out stops sit, and whether both rails are in time. Each design has its own bolts, so match the procedure to the system and work in order.

The short version

• Height first, room fully out. Power Gear standard: floor-to-rail equal at both ends, or the rail end up to 1/8 in more.
• Measure room to wall at both ends. More than 1/8 in difference on Power Gear: re-time the rail.
• Lippert actuator: stop can sets the in position, 1 in nuts set the out position, passive tube bracket evens the sides.
• Power Gear drive shaft bolts: 168 ± 12 in-lb (14 ± 1 ft-lb), Grade 8, after any timing work.
• Small moves, then cycle the room. Stops last.

Set height first

Height is how the room floor sits on the rails, and Power Gear ties several complaints to it: a room that's slow near full in or full out, rails that pinch, a loud chatter. Check it with the room fully out.

• Power Gear standard (TIP #82): measure from the bottom of the room floor to the top of the inner rail, inside near the coach (A) and at the end of the rail (B). B equals A, or B can be up to 1/8 in more.
• Power Gear flat floor (TIP #124): B equals A plus the room floor thickness plus 1/4 in. With A at 3-1/4 in and a 1 in floor, B is 4-1/2 in. Get the floor thickness from the coach maker and check each rail on its own.
• Power Gear low-profile (TIP #137): loosen the three bolts in the vertical slots, turn the vertical adjustment bolts with an Allen wrench (clockwise raises, counterclockwise lowers), recheck, then tighten the three bolts.
• Lippert actuator through-frame: at the bracket on the end of each guide tube, loosen carriage bolts A and the jam nut, turn vertical adjustment bolt B to set height, then retighten bolts A and the jam nut.

Careful: Loosen the bracket bolts, don't pull them. The room hangs on those brackets, and you're standing next to it.

Side to side

On the Lippert actuator system, loosen the two carriage bolts A on each bracket at the end of each guide tube. Move the room by pushing on its sidewall, or pry carefully in the gap between room and coach without tearing the seals, then retighten. Lippert says room adjustments are for certified service technicians, and adjustments by anyone else can void warranty claims.

Power Gear rooms on the coach builder's bracket (TIP #149) work the same way: loosen the carriage bolt nuts to slide the heads left or right. Loosening the other bracket bolts lets the head slide in or out, which changes seal compression and the out position.

In and out stops

The target is the same on both designs: outside seals compressed with the room in, inside seals compressed with the room out. Make small moves and cycle the room after each one.

• Lippert actuator, in position: loosen the 3/4 in jam nut on the outside of the stop can, screw the can in or out, retighten.
• Lippert actuator, out position: move one of the 1 in nuts (Jam Nut-2 or the nylock) along the shaft, then make sure all three nuts are tight.
• Power Gear low-profile, out stop: room extended, loosen the 9/16 in jam nut, screw the stop bolt out until it contacts the inner rail, retighten.
• Power Gear low-profile, in stop: check the seal first, then adjust the two in-stop bolts with a 9/16 in wrench and test the seal again.

When one side leads

A room that seals on one end and not the other, or comes in crooked, has rails out of time. Measure from the coach wall to the room wall at both ends. Power Gear says to realign if the two measurements differ by more than 1/8 in. Lippert's hydraulic through-frame manual, which uses the same tube hardware, measures from the T-molding to the coach wall on each side at about half extension.

Power Gear two-rail rooms (TIP #134) re-time like this:

1. Run the room about halfway out and release the motor brake.
2. Pull the clip pin and slide the drive shaft assembly in to disengage the gear from the gear rack.
3. Move that inner rail in or out until both ends measure the same.
4. Slide the drive shaft back so the gear engages the rack, and push the clip pin back in.
5. Return the brake lever to engaged, then cycle the room and check the seals.

Other shaft styles and the Lippert sync bracket

Low-profile Power Gear rooms (TIP #135) use a roll pin you drive out and back in with a drift punch. On a collared drive shaft (TIP #136), unbolt the collar, rotate the shaft with an adjustable wrench, line up the collar hole with the motor shaft hole and reinstall the bolt; the room should end up within 1/4 in of even. Torque drive shaft bolts to 168 ± 12 in-lb (14 ± 1 ft-lb) with Grade 8 hardware and one washer on the head side (TIP #73). Power Gear systems built before July 2001 need the newer hardware.

On the Lippert actuator system, the synchronizing bracket on the passive tube does this job. Loosen the bolts on top of the passive tube, push or pull that side of the room until it matches the active side, and retighten.

Square: room versus opening

Power Gear's chart lists a room or opening that isn't square as a reason a room won't seal, right next to height. Neither maker publishes a diagonal spec for the room box. If height and timing are right and one corner still won't seal, compare the room and the opening to each other before you keep chasing the mechanism. A racked room box is a coach-builder problem, not a slide adjustment.

On the job

1. Check the seals all the way around, in and out, and write down where they don't touch.
2. Measure room to coach wall at both ends at half travel.
3. Set height at each rail with the room fully out.
4. Set side to side.
5. Re-time the rails if the ends differ by more than 1/8 in (Power Gear) or one side won't seal (Lippert).
6. Set the stops last, in small moves, cycling the room after each.
7. Torque anything you loosened: Power Gear drive shaft bolts 168 ± 12 in-lb.
8. Cycle full in and full out twice and recheck the seals and measurements.

Numbers

• Room height, Power Gear standard: rail end equal to inside, or up to 1/8 in more (TIP #82)
• Room height, Power Gear flat floor: B = A + floor thickness + 1/4 in (TIP #124)
• Rail timing tolerance: realign over 1/8 in difference (Power Gear); collared shaft within 1/4 in of even (TIP #136)
• Drive shaft bolts: 168 ± 12 in-lb (14 ± 1 ft-lb), Grade 8, 7/16 in (Power Gear TIP #73)
• Low-profile stop jam nuts: 9/16 in (Power Gear)
• Lippert actuator stop nuts: 3/4 in jam nut at the stop can; 1 in nuts for out position

Shop tip

Work in order: height, side to side, timing, then stops. Stops set while the room rides at the wrong height usually have to be done again.

Where this comes from

• Power Gear TIP #82 (81-1299 rev 2), #124 (82-S0295), #137 (82-S0308-T)
• Power Gear TIP #70 (81-1274) and #134 (82-S0304); TIP #135, #136, #73, #149 and low-profile stop sheets in the Power Gear service manual
• Lippert, Electric Slideout System Operation and Service Manual rev B, pp. 9-14, Figs. 6-9
• Lippert, Hydraulic Through Frame Slide-out Owner's Manual, CCD-0001616, p. 9 (sync measuring point)
• Lippert, Electric Through Frame Slide-out Owner's Manual, CCD-0001613, p. 5 (inspection standard)