2015 22RBIWE Slideout fiasco

[Berdan]

I just joined this forum as a new, used TT owner so the title of my first post is a little dramatic. I purchased a 2015 Cougar 22RBIWE from a private party and overall it is in pretty good shape except maintenance needed catching up so I have been slowly doing it. The 22RBIWE has two slideouts, kitchen and dining. I started exploring the slideouts after hearing a noticeable pop toward the end of the travel of both slideouts during extension and retraction. After observing the slideout mechanisms in operation, I noticed that the motor side pulley brackets appeared to be installed too low so that when the cable blocks approach the motor at a visible slant, they run into and then over the motor instead of clearing it. This coincides with the loud pop. This appears to be a production defect. In all of the internet videos I have watched the cables are horizontal and clear the motor. Also in my exploration I noted that the upper and lower screws for the the outside left dining slideout frame were missing (probably fell out over time) and the two screws holding the upper part of the slideout frame where it attaches to body of trailer had sheered off. After installing the upper and lower frame screws (#12 screws that won't fall out) and re-aligning and reattaching the frame (again with #12 screws) I was back to the slideout mechanism. After a couple of days of learning to adjust the cables I thought I had the slideout working pretty well until a cable popped out of the pulley and wedged in between the two pulleys. After inspecting the pulley assembly I noticed that all the pulley assembles on the slideouts are not installed vertically and slant downward so this appears to bias on the cables up the wall of the pulley due to this slant. Needless to say my first impressions of the design and manufacturing quality of my TT is that they are pretty dismal. So it looks like I am going to be modifying the slideout mechanisms probably with mounting plates discussed in this forum. I am wondering if anyone else has had these types of problems with their slideouts? I am comfortable doing my own work and after reading others posts it seems that taking this type of problem to a dealership results in temporary fixes that eventually fail as the underlying design and assembly issues are not addressed. If you have had and fixed these issues I would welcome hearing about your solutions.

[Berdan]

I jacked up the slideout and loosened the cables and took the crooked pulley bracket off the wall. With a little experimentation I decided I could get away with inserting a couple of washers under the lower bracket holes to straighten the pulley out. The screws and their attachment to the frame were still solid. Will see how this holds up. Now to solve the cable block hitting the motor problem.

[curtiscapk]

Nice thinking! Good luck!

[Berdan]

I was able to move the pulleys that were installed too low, up using the two top left holes and drilling three new holes. There is just enough clearance that the cable blocks now just touch the edge of the motor and go over the top without a loud clunk. Although not optimal it is much better and the slide runs smoothly now.

[Berdan]

I am beginning to wonder how can the manufacture of a TT be so bad. I went to install slideout skis on my two slideouts. By the time I installed the third ski this was the collection of sheared off screws from the floor edge bracket. I am not even sure how you do this putting screws into wood.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Berdan

I am beginning to wonder how can the manufacture of a TT be so bad. I went to install slideout skis on my two slideouts. By the time I installed the third ski this was the collection of sheared off screws from the floor edge bracket. I am not even sure how you do this putting screws into wood.

Not to be one that doesn't have compassion but buying a 6 year old trailer subjected to who knows what then complaining about the manufacturer and quality of the trailer when finding problems carries no weight with me. If you bought it and those issues are something you have a problem with.....you might have looked harder.

[Berdan]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Not to be one that doesn't have compassion but buying a 6 year old trailer subjected to who knows what then complaining about the manufacturer and quality of the trailer when finding problems carries no weight with me. If you bought it and those issues are something you have a problem with.....you might have looked harder.

I am not talking about items that are a matter of wear and tear from 6 years of use. If these are manufacturing defects do you think they would have been found in the first year of warranty? When I buy my next trailer maybe the owners will let me disassemble it to find the remaining manufacturing defects

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by Berdan

I am not talking about items that are a matter of wear and tear from 6 years of use. If these are manufacturing defects do you think they would have been found in the first year of warranty? When I buy my next trailer maybe the owners will let me disassemble it to find the remaining manufacturing defects

Having the joy (Ha Ha) of taking things apart to fix stuff, I can tell you that it is amazing (appalling) sometimes what I find from the factory, or worse yet previous/present owners.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Berdan

I am not talking about items that are a matter of wear and tear from 6 years of use. If these are manufacturing defects do you think they would have been found in the first year of warranty? When I buy my next trailer maybe the owners will let me disassemble it to find the remaining manufacturing defects

I have seen owners who "fix things" repeatedly. Some "found a #2 Robertson screwdriver" and have yet to put it down. If there's a screw inside or outside the trailer, the paint is worn off the head where the owner has "insured its tight and won't leak", seemingly on every camping trip while the kids are napping and dad had nothing to do....

Granted, the factory "rushes trailers through the line and not everything is assembled properly"... That said, "Owners break as much as the factory fails to do correctly".... On a 5 or 6 year old trailer, there's not much way anyone can "assign blame".... About all you can do is fix it as you find it.....

[Larryplbg]

What are you using for slideout skis? I think I’m going to need to do something like that as well
Thank you for your help

[Berdan]

Originally Posted by Larryplbg

What are you using for slideout skis? I think I’m going to need to do something like that as well
Thank you for your help

Larry,

I am using the Duo Form RV Slide Out Ski. I ordered them from Specialty Recreation as they had the best price even with their FedEx shipping. I have two slide outs so for two sets it was $118 + $44.24 shipping. A significant savings as compared to Amazon.

https://specrec-com.3dcartstores.com...ki-system.html

[Brentw]

Good on you for taking the time to do quality repairs. We all struggle with the cost vs quality of these rigs. Bought an older motorhome, PO was some proud of the new jack knife sofa he installed. First time I tried to fold it down, I pulled out the 4 drywall screws that he used to secure it to the floor.
LOL, started me on a search for anything that he may have maintained.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Brentw

Good on you for taking the time to do quality repairs. We all struggle with the cost vs quality of these rigs. Bought an older motorhome, PO was some proud of the new jack knife sofa he installed. First time I tried to fold it down, I pulled out the 4 drywall screws that he used to secure it to the floor.
LOL, started me on a search for anything that he may have maintained.

Sounds like my one BIL. He has 3 fasteners in his tool box.
#1 drywall screws,
#2 roofing nails,
If #1 and #2 fail then it's #3....silver cloth duct tape.

[falcondan95705]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Not to be one that doesn't have compassion but buying a 6 year old trailer subjected to who knows what then complaining about the manufacturer and quality of the trailer when finding problems carries no weight with me. If you bought it and those issues are something you have a problem with.....you might have looked harder.

What do you say to guy who bought his new and has these and more problems? I just bought a 26 year old car. The gas tank does not leak, the leaf spring bolts have not broke. The heater and ac still work. I have had the cable slide fixed twice and the large kitchen slide fixed 3 times. My fan in my car has not fallen off. I dont have "extra parts" everywhere. The money i paid for the rv is not defective. I guess I expect too much for an 80k rv..

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by falcondan95705

What do you say to guy who bought his new and has these and more problems? I just bought a 26 year old car. The gas tank does not leak, the leaf spring bolts have not broke. The heater and ac still work. I have had the cable slide fixed twice and the large kitchen slide fixed 3 times. My fan in my car has not fallen off. I dont have "extra parts" everywhere. The money i paid for the rv is not defective. I guess I expect too much for an 80k rv..

My comments you quoted were to the OP's post #5 saying the broken items he found were all manufacturing defects on a 6 year old, used trailer. If the bolded items above in your comment in fact DID fail, would you then consider them manufacturer's defects or age and previous use??

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by falcondan95705

What do you say to guy who bought his new and has these and more problems? I just bought a 26 year old car. The gas tank does not leak, the leaf spring bolts have not broke. The heater and ac still work. I have had the cable slide fixed twice and the large kitchen slide fixed 3 times. My fan in my car has not fallen off. I dont have "extra parts" everywhere. The money i paid for the rv is not defective. I guess I expect too much for an 80k rv..

I would suspect a 26 yr old car to have had some replacements along the way unless it was just stored in a garage. I understand what you are talking about with tha lack of quality in new trailers, it's the comparison that I don’t agree with.

[falcondan95705]

Originally Posted by sourdough

My comments you quoted were to the OP's post #5 saying the broken items he found were all manufacturing defects on a 6 year old, used trailer. If the bolded items above in your comment in fact DID fail, would you then consider them manufacturer's defects or age and previous use??

LEAF SPRING BOLTS SHOULD NEVER SHEAR OFF> Never heard of it. Slide outs should not be a constant ongoing repair. Black Tanks should never separate... Tires should be aligned at the factory or at least checked.. The unit should not leak, a rear wall should never fall off. Just little things like that.. If you expect this, thats okay... I just don't..

[falcondan95705]

Originally Posted by flybouy

I would suspect a 26 yr old car to have had some replacements along the way unless it was just stored in a garage. I understand what you are talking about with tha lack of quality in new trailers, it's the comparison that I don’t agree with.

All Im saying is they can and DID make them better..When a few Comapanies own the Entire industry, there is no intensive to improve the quality.,. Monopolies are bad ....

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by falcondan95705

All Im saying is they can and DID make them better..When a few Comapanies own the Entire industry, there is no intensive to improve the quality.,. Monopolies are bad ....

And I agree with the decline in quality. It's just that comparing the auto industryto the RV industry is apples and oranges. The auto industry is a highly automated well engineered assembly line that's basically fool proof. You can't plug something in backward. You can't install the front door where the back door goes. The assembly line workers typically have one job to do and do that one job for years. The union wages and benefits

In the trailer buisness a "first day on the job" could be anything from installing a water heater to a roof, to a door, to well just about anything. And just about all of it can be done incorrectly. Installing appliances that basically are "downsized " units designed for homes by untrained, underpaid assembly workers so they can be bounced down the road and subjected to less than ideal conditions. What could possibly go wrong? Now I'm not defending the industry. I'm just pointing out the differences.

With that being said can the industry do better? Absolutly! Should they do better? Well I guess that would depend on if you are a customer or a stock holder. Will they do better? Never if people continue to buy them faster than they can make them

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by falcondan95705

LEAF SPRING BOLTS SHOULD NEVER SHEAR OFF> Never heard of it. Slide outs should not be a constant ongoing repair. Black Tanks should never separate... Tires should be aligned at the factory or at least checked.. The unit should not leak, a rear wall should never fall off. Just little things like that.. If you expect this, thats okay... I just don't..

No, I "don't expect this" (examples given) and have never had them....but I don't buy older, used trailers.

Shearing of leaf spring bolts? Never heard of it before an owner bought an RV and then "used" it, how we don't know. Had several RVs; never had an out of alignment problem but then I don't hit curbs, zip 90 degree turns etc. Older trailers had tanks that were 2 piece....they WILL separate given the use/abuse they are subjected to.....what and how a 2nd owner does not know etc.

I expect "new" things to operate like "new" and work to make sure that happens for me as that's all I buy. Once things are owned by "someone" unknown to a later buyer, subjected to things unknown to a later buyer, the window/opportunity to call it a manufacturing defect is long past.

There are manufacturing defects off the line; we see them and hear about them every day and those things the manufacturer needs to be accountable for. Buying a piece of used faulty equipment, then blaming the manufacturer for the faults you encounter after someone else has done who knows what to it just doesn't pass muster is all I'm trying to say.