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Old 06-24-2014, 04:51 AM   #1
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Question Leaning Itasca Sunstar 35F

Just bought a new 2014 Itasca Sunstar from dealer. Just noticed it leans 2 inches down on passenger side. It is not the tire inflation.Dealer is calling Winnabego to see if it is a coach or chassis issue. Did I buy a Lemon? What would cause this and is it easily fixed?
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:11 PM   #2
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Sorry that this is not an answer, but you might want to check in the Ford Chassis forum if you don't get an answer here.
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Old 06-25-2014, 02:36 PM   #3
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We had a "lean" issue with ours too.. or so we thought..

We had it at the dealer and they spec'd it out and our lean was in the tolerance of what Ford and Winnebago said was normal..

I will say.. keep in mind, while driving down the road (this is when my GF noticed as she followed in her car), if you are in the right lane, there is a natural crown towards the passenger side on the road for water drainage. It may lean to the drivers side if you're in the left lane because of the same crown... maybe ??

I can tell you we have had ours now for nearly two years and we are still in love with it as much as we were the first day we picked it up.. Its not to say we didn't have a couple growing pains, but nothing major... until just this past weekend.. we had a friend over who had not see our new RV and we were showing him around when he noticed daylight coming from the front floor portion of the drivers side slide.. upon inspection, we found a couple carriage bolts had damaged the rubber seal at the bottom of the slide... the carriage bolts actually made a "groove" and had ripped it causing the damage..

Needless to say.. I immediately took pictures and fired off an email to Winnebago and we are awaiting their response.. I mentioned in my email that I feel the slide needs to be removed, the seal needs to be replaced and when returning the slide, an adjustment needs to be made to raise the slide slightly (1/2") to insure clearance of the carriage bolts.... I also mentioned that I expect this repair to be done at the FC repair facility... I would be willing to make the drive on such an important component of the RV..

Luckily, we live in WI and it wouldn't be a drive across the country like some folks make.. maybe about a 4 hour drive..

Good luck and I hope you get as much enjoyment from yours as we have ours..
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Old 06-25-2014, 06:03 PM   #4
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Leaning Itasca Sunstar 35F

Oakcreekeric:


Is the carriage bolt a seat belt bolt? The seat belt bolts on mine are carriage head bolts, and caused a different slide problem when they were slid over the roller in the floor as the slide opened and closed.
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Old 06-26-2014, 07:20 AM   #5
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khogle2;

To be honest.. I'm not 100% sure... but now that I actually think about it.. they could be the seat belt bolts... I am not going to be near the RV until this weekend.. I will do a bit of investigating and get back to you...

I originally thought it was something structural, as they are large carriage bolt heads.. but there are none at the rear of the slide..
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Old 06-26-2014, 06:08 PM   #6
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Leaning Itasca Sunstar 35F

Quote:
Originally Posted by oakcreekeric View Post
khogle2;

To be honest.. I'm not 100% sure... but now that I actually think about it.. they could be the seat belt bolts... I am not going to be near the RV until this weekend.. I will do a bit of investigating and get back to you...

I originally thought it was something structural, as they are large carriage bolt heads.. but there are none at the rear of the slide..

I will go out to the barn and take a picture of the bolts in mine.

In the auto business, we used to say it was the application engr.'s job to confirm every possible combination of options to avoid what happened on my coach....

I ordered a large booth ( not the very common table, chairs and cabinet) for the dining area and it looks like nobody ever checked to see that front slide roller goes right over this seat belt carriage bolt head. This caused all sorts of cockeyed problems with the big slide as the front roller struggled to go over the large bolt head and the other end didn't have to (no bolt).

Plus this drive system isn't supposed to be pried up out of alignment when extending and retracting over this bolt head anyway. It's a gear in a track.

This, In addition to the pre-existing Schwintek mechanism problems.
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Old 06-26-2014, 07:20 PM   #7
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Leaning Itasca Sunstar 35F

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This is with the carriage head ground off, but still not good enough
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Old 06-26-2014, 07:28 PM   #8
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Leaning Itasca Sunstar 35F

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This is the configuration of the other seat belt bolt. This bolt snags the gasket somewhat, but is not directly in line with a slide roller.

The front bolt runs right over the roller.

I'm going to see if I can find a so called elevator bolt which has a flat head. I just took the carriage bolt out in the interim.

There is no give in this heavy slide and roller running over the carriage head bolt head. It's a bunch of weight concentrated on a small area.
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Old 06-26-2014, 07:33 PM   #9
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The tape shows where the front seatbelt bolt was, and the roller runs right over it.
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Old 06-26-2014, 08:06 PM   #10
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In regards to your leaning situation. I was out visiting the local truck alignment shop and had a very interesting talk with the techs. I won't go into all the details but these guys are sharp. They told me about new semi's that were built with a twisted frame. No amount of blocks under the springs will fix a twisted frame. If the frame is twisted it is twisted. If the frame is not twisted then you have a weak spring which must be replaced. Putting blocks under the the spring levels the frame but does not take care of a weak spring. There's a technical reason why the spring is weak and replacing it is the only way to fix it. Yes they can be re-arched but that does not fix weak (not properly hardened) steel.

Here's what I'd do. Take it to a good truck alignment and frame straightening shop so they can gauge/check and determine the condition of the frame. That might be tough to find a shop that can do it but it's worth a try. You've got a big investment and want it fixed correctly. If the frame is straight I'd expect two new leaf springs.

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Old 06-26-2014, 08:27 PM   #11
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An elevator bolt will be slightly thinner than the ground down bolt in your picture. McMaster Carr will have them


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Old 06-26-2014, 08:52 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Annierufus View Post
An elevator bolt will be slightly thinner than the ground down bolt in your picture. McMaster Carr will have them


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Thanks. I'm not sure that will be enough, but it's worth a try.

The slide roller is really squeezed by this giant slide.
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Old 06-26-2014, 08:58 PM   #13
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I don't know your exact situation but would it be possible to counter bore the slide in order for the elevator bolt to be flush with surrounding surface ?


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Old 06-27-2014, 03:43 PM   #14
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It's an aluminum type slide bottom cover, and probably some sort of bracing underneath to keep the seatbelt bolt from pulling through. From looking under the seat, it's difficult to tell what to do.
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:46 PM   #15
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I am not a motorhome expert, so I don't want to guess. There are however many experts on here, hopefully one of them will jump in


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Old 06-30-2014, 03:11 PM   #16
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I checked... The carriage bolts on mine don't appear to from the seatbelts... Not sure, what they are from, because I didn't spend the time to investigate.

Hope this helps
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