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Manual override on both designs

Both designs crank by hand, but differently: Lippert's actuator is manual ready and you just turn it, while the Power Gear brake motor needs its brake lever released first and set again at the end. Either way, kill the power first and stop at the end of travel.

The short version

Kill the power first

Lippert's rule for the actuator system: always disconnect the battery before you crank. Turning the motor by hand with the battery connected can backfeed current through the motor, damage the system and void the warranty.

Power Gear's procedure starts with the slide system's on/off switch or key turned off, because the override won't work with the system on. Then disconnect the control: on version 1 controls, unplug the 6-pin harness; on version 2, remove the motor I or II lead. Lippert's copy of the Power Gear manual also says not to work on the system unless the battery is disconnected.

Careful: With a Power Gear brake released, nothing holds the room but your wrench. Keep people out of the room's path inside and out, and don't walk away with the brake off.

Lippert actuator through-frame

The actuator is manual ready: you don't disengage the motor, you just turn it. Lippert gives two access points depending on the build.

Power Gear brake-motor rack and pinion

Find the motor first. Power Gear's override drawing puts the main room motor in the top of the center storage compartment under the room, and bedroom motors on the rail, in different spots on gas and diesel coaches. You may have to drop an underbelly panel or cover to reach it.

  1. Turn the slide system off and disconnect the control (6-pin harness or the motor lead).
  2. Release the brake: rotate the lever counterclockwise about 30 degrees (Lippert) or about 1/8 turn (Power Gear) to released. Leave the rubber boot on.
  3. Put a 3/4 in wrench or ratchet on the 3/4 in hex override on the gear box. Lippert also allows an adjustable wrench on the square drive shaft. Older Power Gear manuals list 5/8 or 3/4 in, and rooms with the optional override gearbox take a crank handle.
  4. Crank the room completely in or out.
  5. Keep pressure on the wrench and return the brake lever to engaged so the room locks in its sealed position.
  6. Reinstall transit bars if equipped and get the room serviced before it runs again.

Direction, old levers and center drive

Neither Power Gear manual gives a crank direction, because it depends on which side the motor sits. Turn a quarter turn and watch the room before you commit. Motors built before 2009 have no spring lock on the brake lever; Power Gear says to rotate the lever until it stops against the brake's set screw.

Lippert's motor-driven through-frames (center drive, and the motor versions of the 2x3 and 3x3 pivot rail) have their own manual, CCD-0010725 for the center drive, and Lippert lists the D-300 motor with a 3/4 in drive. Pull that manual rather than borrowing the actuator steps: the motor and its access differ by build.

What not to do

Every one of these is in the makers' warnings, and every one of them turns a dead-motor call into a parts call.

On the job

  1. Identify the design: actuator and stop can, or gearmotor with a booted brake lever.
  2. Kill power: battery disconnected on the actuator system; system off and control unplugged on Power Gear.
  3. Walk the room inside and out, clear the path, and remove transit bars if you're extending.
  4. Power Gear only: release the brake lever with the boot left on.
  5. Crank: 3/4 in on the Lippert crank extension or hex (clockwise retracts), or 3/4 in on the Power Gear gear box hex.
  6. Stop at full travel. On Power Gear, keep pressure on the wrench and set the brake.
  7. Reconnect power, reinstall transit bars, and write the room up for repair.

Numbers

Shop tip

On a Power Gear room, set the brake while you're still pulling on the wrench. Let go first and the room relaxes off the seal, and the brake locks it right there.

Where this comes from