Need to adjust (raise) the rollers

[bobbyd557]

Morning, have 2002 Diplomat, Put new flooring down, rollers hitting the new planking when the slide comes back in. We found two bolts in the cabinets one to the right of the sink, the other one left of stove right above the two rollers. Are these were I need to do adjust them from? If not where and can it  done.

 

Appreciate any advise and comments thanks

Bob

[jacwjames]

My floor started to drag a little so I adjusted the back 2 rollers under the kitchen cabinets, which sound similar to what you are describing. 

I also have a 3rd roller in the front which is accessible by removing a plastic cover in the drivers side wheel well, I did not adjust this one. 

[bobbyd557]

Appreciate the reply.

Thanks

 

[Dr4Film]

Hopefully Chris Throgmartin from Talin RV and Brent Ekberg from Texas RV Flooring and Design will chime in with their professional opinions.

[bobbyd557]

Thank you be great, appreciate.

Hope you both are doing well.

[throgmartin]

Each set of rollers has an adjustment bolt. Typically a big kitchen slide will have 3 sets of rollers - 2 standard outside rollers and 1 inverted inside roller. I have seen many kitchen slides with 4 sets of rollers and have run into a few that had 5. The inside roller will ride on the floor of the coach and the exterior rollers will roll on the underside of the slide floor. Access to the external rollers which are mounted to the floor of the coach is sometimes through the bottom slide seal and sometimes through a plastic cover found in a fender well or inside a basement door. Inverted rollers mounted to the underside of the slide are always accessed through a false kitchen cabinet floor or under a couch.

By turning the adjustment bolt you will raise or lower the slide. NEVER adjust a roller with the full weight of the slide sitting on the rollers. Jack each corner up and take the weight of the slide off the roller then adjust it. If you bust a bolt or roller chances are the slide will have to be removed. Current pricing is $ 3,000 to remove a small bedroom slide and over $ 4,000 to remove a large forward slide.

It needs to be said here these adjustments I mentioned do not pertain to flush floor slides. These slides go out, drop and then sit in place. When they come in they tip up towards the ceiling and then level out and come in. I am not going to get into the procedure of adjusting these type slides as you can really screw up these slide mechanisms if you do not know what you are doing. One of the greatest fairy tales told is having someone say " adjust them to where the paint lines line up ". This is a trick tech's use who haven't a clue. Show me a slide adjustment made on an older coach according to paint lines and I will show you our next customer who will be rolling in needing slide work. Adjusting a flush floor slide takes experience and knowing which points to measure and check during the process as well as having a keen ear and being able to hear binds and motor sounds which indicates binding. It can sometimes be a long process of adjusting a flush floor slide to get it to operate perfectly with the correct height and ease of operation.

 

[6Wheels]

So Chris, you would agree with one of my standard recommendations:

If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it.

And in the context of the paragraph about RV technicians who haven't a clue:

What is an Expert?              Someone who says they know more than you do.

What is a Professional:       Someone who charges you for that.

[jacwjames]

6Wheels,

In some ways I agree with you but if I had to pay for all the repairs and upgrades I've done to my coach I wouldn't have been able to own it. 

If I have a problem or preparing to do a repair or upgrade I do lots of research and if I think I can do the job I take a crack at it. 

I am doing this now as I am adding a FASS fuel pump to my rig.  After reading dozens of horror stories of rigs with CAPS injection pump failures being taken advantage of by repair shops I decided to be proactive and add the FASS system and bypass the existing lift pump (which started leaking last year). 

I spent over a month researching reading all the available posts, and creating a folder with all the info and required parts with sources.  I have even corresponded with some Monacoer & IRV2 members asking specific questions and seeking advice.  Pulled the trigger last week and ordered the pump and installed it but am waiting on parts to bypass the OEM lift pump and add a fuel pressure gauge.  Even at that I will have ~$1000 into the install, but wonder what it would have cost to have it done???

That being said, I do have a decent amount of technical background and never too old to learn something new. 

I also read lots of stories of poor results from taking a rig to a service center.  We had some friends visit last week, their rig was in the shop for +4 months. and they had to take it back twice for things that weren't fixed properly and still have a problem with their backup camera. 

So I am willing to take a chance on tackling a repair that I think I can do but will also take it to a shop for something I'm not comfortable with. 

Jim

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by jacwjames

[throgmartin]

18 minutes ago, 6Wheels said:

So Chris, you would agree with one of my standard recommendations:

If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it.

And in the context of the paragraph about RV technicians who haven't a clue:

What is an Expert?              Someone who says they know more than you do.

What is a Professional:       Someone who charges you for that.

George:

Sometimes it gets ridiculous. Being on the front lines and owning a service center I see it all. The hundreds of billable hours we have handed out to customers because of clueless tech's is astounding. I think it is a sad commentary when customers drive 1,000's of miles to our shop to have work done the right way. We recently had a customer come in for a popped belt line. It was the fourth time he has had the same beltline repaired. Twice it was repaired at the same service center in Florida by the supposed " Monaco experts ". Each time they used screws and not stainless rivets.

I cannot count the number of slides my tech Dustin has adjusted after a previous tech got the slide completely out of whack. Even simple repairs go wrong. 2 weeks ago we had a customer come in to have a water leak fixed. It was a simple repair but the previous tech cross threaded a fitting and the water leak not only caused damage in the wall and floor but destroyed his inverter. We supported our customer when he went back and filed a claim against the previous service center. They claimed it wasn't their problem but settled with him after we provided pictures of the fitting as well as the damage done. 

My point is this - When you pay for a repair you should get expert and quality work done. Period. Most service centers are now charging $ 150 per hour. You deserve to get your moneys worth and not have to pay again for the same repair. From where I stand I get frustrated and PO'ed at the horrible work being done these days. Not a day goes by that I do not count my blessings that I have 2 of the best techs money can buy.

Jim:

I have always supported DIY'ers and here is the sad but true fact. I have found that many repairs made by a coach owner turned out better then if they went to a repair center. Dave Pratt and myself have always advocated - Read your manual, research problems, study the issues other have had and the outcome of repairs and try and fix the issue yourself if you are able.

Sadly there are only 4 repair facilities who truly are Monaco experts: Elite Repair and Renovation in Oregon, Elkhart Sales and Service in Elkhart, Executive Motorcoach in Vegas and of course our facility in Florida. Guess what 3 of the 4 have in common ? All are run by former Monaco factory techs and supervisors. 2 of these guys were Monaco's " super techs " meaning they were the ones the factory flew to dealerships to handle Monaco coaches that had serious issues no one could diagnose or fix.

This is why I advocate owners learn anything and everything about their coaches. This is why Dave Pratt holds the gathering every year and why the 419 group puts on the maintenance session. It is all about educational and networking opportunities for Monaco brand coach owners. The more you know - The better off you are. 🙂

 

[6Wheels]

My Grandpa used to say "if you want something done right, you do it yourself".  In modern times we sometimes have to deal with having the proper tools and knowledge that is difficult to acquire, but the saying still holds true.  At best, if you can't perform the job yourself, at least be there as witness to what is being done.

[throgmartin]

14 minutes ago, 6Wheels said:

My Grandpa used to say "if you want something done right, you do it yourself".  In modern times we sometimes have to deal with having the proper tools and knowledge that is difficult to acquire, but the saying still holds true.  At best, if you can't perform the job yourself, at least be there as witness to what is being done.

That is one of the benefits of having a good knowledge base in regards to your coach. You may not be able to do the work but by God you can at least watch and see that the work being done is correct.

Speaking of knowledge, for us old timers we can think back to when we didn't have the internet, we didn't have resources like this forum and there was no Youtube videos to watch to learn how to complete a task. I am sure we all remember the days when workers, including technicians took pride in their work and when companies lived up to higher standards and really cared about quality and customer service. Now it all centers around the dollar - profit for corporations and pay checks for workers. Everything else including standards, quality and pride have taken a back seat.

[jacwjames]

Amen to that!!

 

[bobbyd557]

We truly appreciate all the comments and appreciate everyone's time. Chris you have done work on our coach a few times now with great results. Dave P. is a another great wealth of knowledge, picking his brain and listening to him. The gatherings that he holds are an awesome place to learn while meeting other folks with similar rigs, and stories.

We continue to try to learn what we can and as much as we can about the old girl, and with input , comments from folks like you all we will keep moving in the right direction.

Thanks,