Author Topic: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?  (Read 4009 times)

Mike Shumack

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Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« on: December 31, 2019, 03:09:32 PM »
I thought I was done with all the maintenance and repairs for a while.

I just finished servicing the Generator and went to slide it back in when it hung up.
Turns out the front (vertical) rollers in the slide tray are broken so the sliding tray frame is now hitting the stationary frame. Looks like one or two (horizontal) side rollers are bad too.

Has anyone replaced these roller? Where can I get them?


Bill Lampkin

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2019, 03:48:45 PM »
Might be made by Kwikee Steps, from Oregon, but I think they've been swallowed up by Lippert. For anything mechanical, check McMaster-Carr, they will have the individual rollers, if you can get all the dimensions.
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Mike Shumack

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2019, 03:54:28 PM »
i found a source for the bearings https://www.vxb.com/6201RS-Bearing-12mm-x-32mm-x-10mm-p/6201RS.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIycCIop3g5gIVU5JbCh3PDAEbEAQYASABEgJ5IvD_BwE
I was able to remove the rear most bearing and read the name/part-number.

Unfortunately the front bearings and top bearings were installed with the head of the bolt in the frame and the nut on the outside, so you can't remove the bolt/bearing as it is inside of the inner frame.
I need to replace that front bearing (both sides) so I'm going to drill a hole in the inner frame then run the slide in so the bolt/bearing (on the outer side) lines up with the hole and I can then remove the bolt and bearing. It would have been nice, and made the job much easier, if beaver-Monaco put the nut on the inside.

Mike Shumack

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2019, 10:44:27 PM »
I replaced the two vertical support bearings at the front of the Gen slide (using bearings fron the rear of the slide track). That allowed the generator to slide back in fully.
I ordered some new bearings and will replace those when they arrive.

Also one of the (horizontal) alignment bearings (the one on the opposite side of the one shown in photo) is also completely disintegrated. So the slide frame was shifted to the left.
I had to use a pry bar to shift generator to the right some in order for it to fully retract, as the frame was hitting on the left.

I'm surprised these bearings were in such bad shape. Even thought this coach is 15 years old now, I doubt the generator was slide in/out more than 40 or 50 times in it's life. Maybe just normal driving (bouncing, etc.)  puts some load on these bearings.

Lee Welbanks

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2019, 11:24:40 PM »
Mike,  McMaster-Carr.com has a big selection of "Track Rollers" to choose from. Yeah hard to believe yours are in that bad of condition, mine are still in good shape and i run my genie out fairly often.

Fred Brooks

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2019, 11:53:30 PM »
   These bearings are pretty tough Mike, you may want to investigate for repaired front end damage from a previous accident from the former owner. I have never seen a failure like that. Fred
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Mike Shumack

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2020, 12:01:42 AM »
I suppose the bearings could have been damaged previously, but I have owned this coach for two years now and have run the gen in/out many times without a problem. But maybe the bearings were cracked and this last "run out" was it's last straw.

The frustrating part is that the guy who installed the generator put the bolt heads "in the track", rather than putting the nut in the track, so it's next to impossible to replace a bearing since you cant remove the bolt (without resorting to drilling holes or pulling the whole gen out). I spend two or three hours just replacing two bearings in what should have been a 15 minute job.

Lee Welbanks

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2020, 02:13:49 AM »
After really looking at what is left of the rollers, I cannot see that happening form just wear and tear. Usually track rollers lock up from lack of lube. Broken up like that I have never seen, Fred may be on to a cause in this case.

Fred Brooks

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2020, 01:03:42 PM »
    Mike, Sorry about the ass-backwards engineering, what are these guys thinking? When I was an engineer back in the 80's for Vogue, we had a sign on the wall in the Engineering department that said " There is nothing too simple that we can't complicate".  Ha Ha (inside joke!)
   Another thought on your track issue, because the bearing casings are so brittle due to the hardening process. Is there enough clearance that they could hammer in place because of the weight balance of the genny inside the track when closed?
  it's just weird that both would break. Fred
   
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Lee Welbanks

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2020, 03:26:17 PM »
Fred, That's funny about engineers, my role with BOC for the last six years was engineering analyst, because our engineers could really complicate a very easy cryo installation.
That is pretty stupid to make the bolts hard to get at, the guys at the Monaco factory didn't have to fix any of the equipment they installed on these coaches.
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Mike Shumack

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Re: Generator Slide Tray Rollers - where to get?
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2020, 05:41:53 PM »
   
   Another thought on your track issue, because the bearing casings are so brittle due to the hardening process. Is there enough clearance that they could hammer in place because of the weight balance of the genny inside the track when closed?
  it's just weird that both would break. Fred
   
BTW, I've got three broken bearings; the two that support the front of track (vertical support) and one of the two in the front that keep the track aligned side-to-side (horizontal guidance).
 
Sure that's possible that the bearings are getting hammered, but there is really not any clearance between the bearing and the frame it slides in. When I installed the bearings in the front I had to wrap some painter's tape around it to keep the inner and outer washers in place while I slide in down the track into position. With the tape it was a tight fit, so I imagine without the tape there would only be a few thousands clearance.
Also, if there was a hammering going on from just normal driving, I think a lot of other '04 - '05 PT owners with front generators would be having this issue.

I does look like some front end damage occurred at some point. The fiberglass "front bumper/fascia" that attaches to the generator slide was repaired or replaced at some point.