Slide topper spring drag

[Martinvz]

I have Carefree SOK3 toppers and the one seems to have a binding spring. As a result there is a lot of strain on the slide motor and the top of the slide is being restrained by the topper. Everything else seems to be OK and this is a very recent development (just in the last week).

I asked one reference I have and he said do not lubricate.

I also called Carefree Customer Support and they said that I could spray the spring from the right side with Silicone lubricant. I have not seen obvious signs of rust and I am not too eager to disassemble the spring from the tube.

What is the group experience and recommendation about this drag and the best way to resolve this? 

 

[jacwjames]

@throgmartin might chime in

But as I recall he suggests using a lubricant.   I know when I had a spring break and replaced I lubricated it. 

[Rikadoo]

right now i have my large topper layin on my back patio, earlie this year the spring broke while it was fully extended. Now several months later i am preparing to reassemble it, i dont see where lubricating anything would be any help. How the spring works is one arm holds the spring retainer, the arm on the other side is just holding the wieght and allows it to rotate. 

[jacwjames]

I think the right lubricant might help prevent rust

[Martinvz]

Jim / Rik, I am suspicious of the spring and need to disassemble. Any recommendations based on past experience? 

[Rikadoo]

I will say im fearfull of putting this back on the coach, like garage door springs there is a lot of tension on them! But like alot of what we do with our coaches is self motivated, cause frankly, these are our hobbies. I do for myself an from that i share what i learn, mostly cause as someone who has worked in the vehicle trades i learn with my hands, an these coaches keep me learning alot😎

i believe rust does in fact play a factor with these springs… but i got to say if lubing them will make them last then im gonna have to be satisfied with replacing them when they break, cause i dont belive i will put greasing the springs on my maintence list🙀

There to hard to access, as well as dangerous to handle…

[Martinvz]

Today’s update: I removed the topper and the slide moved easily by comparison. I looked at possible causes but nothing was obvious. I then sprayed some Silicon lubricant in through the holes to lubricate the spring but it would not take a lot. 
I did not remove the spring as I do not have a replacement spring. For that I need to call Carefree on Monday. 
I then reinstalled the topper and put 7 rotations onto the spring. Extending the slide was no better with the topper screeching and dragging the top of the slide. I am of opinion that I need to do serious surgery and replace the spring. 
We are heading to the sea shore for Labor Day weekend in next week and we will help the slide to extend. Retracting does not seem to be a problem. 

Well, that is why we in this group, have coaches ….. how else would we keep ourselves occupied? Lol

[Steve P]

12 hours ago, Martinvz said:

Well, that is why we in this group, have coaches ….. how else would we keep ourselves occupied? Lol

The downside is we may be shortening our lifespan from the frustration.  Oh well.

There are previous posts about the spring tensioning (number of winds) and using a thin screwdriver or drill bit inserted in the hole on the end of the roller to stabilize it.  Also, I found Carefree to be very helpful in identifying the correct spring and how many turns exactly were needed for proper operation.  And I purchased the spring from them directly to be sure.

Useful files, SOK III directly from Carefree, are attached (which may be in our Files section, didn't check).

SOK III-Summit spring tension-change.pdf Tapatalk-Download-539551653CAREFREE SPRING CHART.pdf

[Martinvz]

Thanks Steve. I missed those file on their site. 

[Steve P]

3 minutes ago, Martinvz said:

Thanks Steve. I missed those file on their site. 

They may have emailed me the file/s after talking to them.  No worries.  Hope one of them is helpful. 

[throgmartin]

Martin, I apologize for being late with a response.

What you are experiencing is what I have labeled in the past as Carefree spring bind. It happens quite frequently and is more common in SOKIII models. I have had mixed results by removing the spring and greasing it. Alot has to do with the condition of the spring and if the spring coils memory was altered. Spraying a lubricant into the end of the assembly will not do much of anything as the lube will never reach the entire spring, especially where the bind is occurring. The surest way to eliminate the bind is to replace the spring.

In the past I instructed my technicians when installing a new spring to always coat it with wheel bearing grease before slipping it into the roller tube. If memory serves me correctly, the spring wind for an SOK III is 13. 

[Martinvz]

I just wanted to add to the following to this post for the benefit of the members.

Previously I could only get about 5 instead of the required 15 windings of the spring. I decided to order a new spring from Carefree and was able to get it at the old price just as the price increase took effect last month. Well, I was pretty shocked at all the rust on the spring when I disassembled the spring from the tube,  as can be seen below.

The new spring does have a thin wax coating on it and time will tell how good it is. The spring is supplied with new rivets and a cotter pin. Drilling out the rivets (2) and removing the spring was easy. The same with the reassembly. I opted to also replace the idler pully (on the left side of the tube) and in retrospect believe this was not needed. There were no unexpected issues in the rest of the re-installation procedure, although a strong grip is needed to do the 15 rotations of the spring.

I did not add grease to the spring even though Chris Throgmorton suggested this to me in a PM. 

The topper is working as expected and better but it did not solve the real problem.  The slide-out roller issue will be discussed in a separate topic.