BedWedgies

[tfischer]

...and then there's the cost! My opinion, it is price gouging...pure and simple.

Of the bed wedgies? Price out low-volume cast metal part production sometime and then tell us what you think.

 

[ChocoChock01]

I have never been convinced that the OEM part was under engineered I believe it was a sacrificial part cheaper and easier to replace the a worn bed rail as for the rail end pieces they absorb the shook of the bed instead of it being transfered to the bolt holes and elongating them.

From a design perspective, they do seem to be "sacrificial" being that they were the cheapest, lightest, replaceable and possibly most expedient method to finish this design (possibly finished the design on Friday on a camping weekend).[emoji1]
I have seen personally what a "non sacrificial" part does while traveling, with these light, flexible trailers.

 

[Bowman3d]

I think it is both operator and alignment issues. On the curb side, the front bunk end goes into the the rear bunk rail housing bracket. I see a lot of black rubbing marks on the under side of the front bunk end as well as inside the rear railing housing bracket. It takes just one strong push to crack the wedge if they are not align perfectly.
On the street side, both railings share the same one continuous bracket. They can hit each other if pushing too hard causing a crack of the wedges. There may be a proper way to push the bunks in. For example, push both bunks half way in and finish one bunk then the other. If you have a partner, have him or her push up the wedge of the front bunk while you slowly push the railing into the housing.

It appears that way, but not by design I don't think. It was under engineered for sure or we would not have this issue.
I wonder if a piece of hard wood is a good replacement material for the plastic wedge. I can do that on a scroll saw.

just read this whole thread and it got me thinking I should check mine. Opened up door and looked from what I can see there is a 1" gap between the end caps when closed. The bunks are pushed all the way in to the stops. Is it possible to push them past the stops causing them to hit? Fortunately for me mine appear to be in perfect shape, but I will be keeping an eye on them.

 

[swordfish]

just read this whole thread and it got me thinking I should check mine. Opened up door and looked from what I can see there is a 1" gap between the end caps when closed. The bunks are pushed all the way in to the stops. Is it possible to push them past the stops causing them to hit? Fortunately for me mine appear to be in perfect shape, but I will be keeping an eye on them.

You are correct. The 2 wedgies do not touch each other. Then I can't explain how they break on the street side. Both of mine broke at different times. The wedge of the front bunk rail will hit the rear bunk bracket for sure, especially when the bunk is pushed with substantial amount of flex.
The material should be a solid piece of Darin or Teflon. I am getting a quote for a set of wedgies made from a 3-D CNC machine.

 

[Camp-N-Nuts]

The material should be a solid piece of Darin or Teflon. I am getting a quote for a set of wedgies made from a 3-D CNC machine.

Possibly "Delrin"?

 

[swordfish]

Possibly "Delrin"?

Yes, Delrin. Thanks for the correction

 

[Heartman_wa]

From a cost per unit injected mold or as compared to cnc, the mold is a lot cheaper with less wast. these parts used to cost $4-$5 when the prodution rate were higher. I would prefer to replace the wedges ever 8-9 yrs then the bed rail.

 

[swordfish]

I hear you. I am afraid that injection molding will produce the same junk as the OEM due to limited plastic materials they can use.
Now the cost. eBay replacement part is $8/ea plus shipping. colemanpopupparts.com charges $11.95/ea plus shipping. Both will break eventually. Aluminum parts from popupmods.com are $80 for 4 or $25/ea plus shipping. If the CNC Delrin part (solid, not hollow like the OEM) is $12-15/ea, will anyone be interested?

 

[swordfish]

popupmods.com described the problem well with the OEM wedgies.

Once the beds are extended and supports are installed, some of the weight of the bed (and its occupants) is transferred to the rail ends. The result is that the OEM rail end eventually fails.

That explains why the wedgies on the street side break. I still like to have a strong, solid piece of plastic slide on metal.

 

[smit1088]

I thought of using a CNC and high density plastic to make a solid replacement. Would be easy, but as I have said before, I don't have them break. When one breaks I will replace mine with a better plastic and not metal. Hopefully by then a CNC machine may be in my price range.

 

[RSH]

I need to replace a couple of the old plastic "bedwedgies" on a 2008 Fleetwood Utah, but I have no idea how difficult the process might be. I know it's probably simple provided you can get wrenches around the nuts and bolts.... but how complicated is it to get there? Once I'm sure I can do it I will order from this site. Any help would be most appreciated.

Robert

 

[EV2]

One method is in the FAQ here:

http://www.popupmods.com/index.php/faqs/

 

[jerbear]

on my jaco I have a simular problem only with the canvas attaches the rail with plastic .It is sown on the plastic and fastend to the bed rail .My platic is broke and its about a 3 inch tear so that part of the bed wood is showing. Wonder if I can get that repaired.

 

[friartuck]

I need to replace a couple of the old plastic "bedwedgies" on a 2008 Fleetwood Utah

With a Utah, or any Coleman/Fleetwood with a dinette slide, it is super easy to replace 3 of the 4 wedgies. Slide out the bunks, slide out the dinette, slide the bunks part way in till the ends clear the dinette (or door) and replace away! Plenty of room to get to the nuts and bolts. The hardest one to get is the curb side back bunk wedgie because there just isn't a great way to get to it. It is accessible to a wrench, but you do have to pry the slide a bit. See the link to popupmods EV2 listed for a description of how to get to the nuts and bolts on that one.

I replaced the wedgies on my Bayside and it was just that easy.
You may want to look at the bunk end stops also. I know the ones on my '08 Bayside are getting bad. I bought the wedgies and stops together and have been replacing the stops as they fail. (Two down, two to go. )

As a note: on the link you will see some people have had to modify the wedgies to minimize scrapping on the rail supports. I took a file to mine before I started, to smooth the casting marks and reduce the width. After a couple of years of use, I think I may have to shim or grind the wedgies down a bit more because I'm starting to see more wear on the rail supports. Even with that, I believe it is worth the effort. I replaced the plastic wedgies with OEM plastic on one slide twice and a wedgie on the other bunk once before I bought the BedWedgies. No more broken plastic!

 

[EV2]

Thanks for the comments. Just a note that your modifications do not in any way effect the lifetime warranty of the part and also, some have added a strip of teflon tape to the lower surface to assist in any wear from the vibration going down the road on the models that are not suspended in air, but instead ride on the lower metal surface.

 

[yakfisher]

Just installed bed wedgies and shorts from popupmods.com on my 2008 Fleetwood Yuma. Installed the shorts first, all four were defective on my trailer and took about 45 minutes to install, had to modify the mounting holes with a step drill to fit the bed rails. The wedgie installed in about the same time, used a file and wire wheel to smooth the aluminum castings before installing.

 

[Kutseena]

I have had my wedgies in place for a year now. Over all I like them. The only problem I have had is that they rub my rails and have begun to wear away the metal. I am working on a solution for this problem.

 

[ChocoChock01]

I have had my wedgies in place for a year now. Over all I like them. The only problem I have had is that they rub my rails and have begun to wear away the metal. I am working on a solution for this problem.

I don't think this was a design defect, but a best cost effective solution for materials at the time. It looks like it was intended to be a replaceable part, and as we have seen using a metal part causes wear on the metal railings (a much more expensive replacement part).


As I tried to "cushion" the metal bed wedgies from doing more damage the stress was transferred to other parts.

 

[Kutseena]

I have had the same issue. I polished down the wedgies a little but the problem persist. I have been using a very thin sheet of plastic between the rail and the wedgie with some success.

 

[sjdarji]

Can someone please post a video or an series of photos as to where these things go? I can't figure out what they are.

Though, I'm sure they're very useful!

Thanks!
Sangeeta