RV Slide Cable

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DTMiller
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RV Slide Cable

Post by DTMiller » Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:09 pm

So, here's a fun one. One of the cables that pulls one of the room slides in the RV frayed.

No problem, I've replaced one before and it's not that hard. Push the slide room out, cut the fraying cable, connect a new cable to it and pull the new cable through the walls and hook that up where it go and boom, you're done!

BUT! This one has decided to become a tangled rat's nest of frayed and fraying steel cable that prevents the cable from pulling along the cable system. So I have pictures? Oh you betcha. So where you see a bunch of loops there should be like, a straight line of cable. Accordingly it won't pull either direction. It be stuck. I'm pretty sure the answer is just start cutting the nest of cables until everything gets loose and then once the cable is removed entirely feed a new cable into place (which is also not that hard to do).

I can use my VisaWrench and have some dude who does this for a living fix it but screw all that.

Additional difficulties. These pictures were taken on my phone held at arm's length inside a cavity about 10 inches wide; you can't get your head back there to look directly at this. Also, the cables are about 2 inches behind the wall you are reaching back to. Imagine trying to reach a wire that's behind your fridge with your chest pressed against the door of the fridge.

Oh great internet, how would you tackle this problem?
Screenshot_20191111-134609.png
Screenshot_20191111-134621.png
2002 Guards Red Targa, Fister exhaust, H&R Sport Springs, semisolid motor mounts
1997 MX-5 track car
Friday at the Track, Chin Trackdays, SCCA WDCR Novice Classroom Instructor, SCDA, Audi Club Potomac, TrackDaze HPDE Instructor
June 16, 2017 Funland GoKart Champion (6:13 p.m. main event)
Willing to risk life for track time

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32wildbilly
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:30 pm

Sell it as a non slide out room RV!

Seriously, since I'm old and my body does not like contortions I would take it to the pro and let him suffer for his cash. Does this happen often? Seems like it shouldn't.
Never gonna make you cry...

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gnat
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by gnat » Mon Nov 11, 2019 1:18 pm

VisaWrench it!

My parents took a trip in the spring:
1) Slide failed partway closed
2) One leveling jack failed.
3) Macerator failed.
4) Bad power at one RV park blew the inverter.
5) Bad water pressure at another park blew pump on the fresh water tank.
6) Inner rear tire (installed prior to the start of the trip) blew out 80 miles from home.

They had that RV for awhile so decided to sell it and get a new-to-them one and then drove it up here for what was supposed to be a week.
1) Water is leaking from the fridge and damaged the floor and wall.
2) Turns out the driver chair and steering wheel are positioned badly and my mom can't drive it more than to help park it.
3) Has an air compressor, but no port to hook up tools or inflate a tire from.
4) One tire ended up with a slow leak.
5) Not RV's fault, mowing at one RV park threw a rock through the rear window of their tow vehicle and apparently there were no replacements in all of south GA so they wasted 3 days waiting on one to come in.
6) Not RV's fault, hit a pot hole in the park they stayed at up here and blew out a tire in their tow vehicle.
7) Combination of bad grading on their space and the really high bottom step left about 18" from the ground to the bottom step.
8) Dad fell off the steps and spent most of the night in the ER to find out he broke a couple of ribs.
9) Per points 2 and 8 they ended up being here an extra 2 weeks while he hoped to heal enough to drive (he did not and they had to use Good Sam to get it transported home for them).

And that's just this year. Just about every year I hear similar stories from them (this was the first significant injury though).

NFW will I ever consider an RV!

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5chn3ll
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 5chn3ll » Mon Nov 11, 2019 1:46 pm

I borrowed my bro-in-law's RV for the Festival of Speed last year - and it was an amazing lesson in why to always rent/borrow an RV. His was probably a $90,000 purchase; the paint is now all faded, the leather has all flaked off the upholstery, the power stairs are half-busted, the door doesn't latch properly, it's a crap shoot whether the generator will fire, and it's terrifying to drive. Other than that, who wouldn't want one?

I've been half-heartedly musing about a Mercedes Sprinter-based conversion - those look kind of cool and seem less prone to be shitty. Even if the RV part goes to hell, I'd still have a Sprinter...

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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32wildbilly
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:03 pm

Yeah, when we vacation I get pissed off because I have to drive to the airport!
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DTMiller
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by DTMiller » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:10 pm

We've had very few problems all of which I've been able to fix.

Cmon people. Cluster of steel cable in a spot hard to access. Problem solve with me.
2002 Guards Red Targa, Fister exhaust, H&R Sport Springs, semisolid motor mounts
1997 MX-5 track car
Friday at the Track, Chin Trackdays, SCCA WDCR Novice Classroom Instructor, SCDA, Audi Club Potomac, TrackDaze HPDE Instructor
June 16, 2017 Funland GoKart Champion (6:13 p.m. main event)
Willing to risk life for track time

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5chn3ll
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 5chn3ll » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:27 pm

What comes off if you remove those enormous silver retaining clips? It looks like the outside frame (the black stamped metal part) might be removable from the front...
DTMiller wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:09 pm
Oh great internet, how would you tackle this problem?Screenshot_20191111-134609.pngScreenshot_20191111-134621.png

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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32wildbilly
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:28 pm

If there is no way to disassemble something to gain easier access I like gnat's first suggestion...
Never gonna make you cry...

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32wildbilly
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 32wildbilly » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:30 pm

5chn3ll wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:27 pm What comes off if you remove those enormous silver retaining clips? It looks like the outside frame might be removable?
DTMiller wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:09 pm
Oh great internet, how would you tackle this problem?Screenshot_20191111-134609.pngScreenshot_20191111-134621.png
Good luck getting that "hair clip" off when located beyond arm length through a 10" wide opening. That thing is hellish stout!
Never gonna make you cry...

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5chn3ll
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Re: RV Slide Cable

Post by 5chn3ll » Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:58 pm

Plan B: Get a plasma cutter and a CO2 fire extinguisher and dismember those cables.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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