king bed is trying to kill me! DIY genius help needed to motorize bed.

[Katskamper]

ok. im not as strong as i used to be.
king bed on my Skamper tried to kill me today, new years eve.
while packing up from a great 3 day trip. 15 minutes from being ready to roll out.

fortunately, i ONLY shattered my left wrist & spent afternoon at nearest ER hospital.yeah, it hurts like h.
my camping companion's family came to the rescue & got me, my dog, truck & trailer home.

so, i need all the brilliant diy engineers on this one. i want the motor & rails /tracks to make K bed come out just like RV slide outs.

i have previously added heavy duty casters to help it roll, not drag.
moved bell washers closer to sides where there is less sagging.
it still snags.

problem to resolve:

skamper bed rails have sider slots. it cheats 8 inches off rail length.
alone, its hard to push in exactly straight.
sometimes the rails go in evenly, today they were off. if rails stick out past frame, top wont close.


other simple things i have not thought of.? yes its lubricated & clean.

i want to keep my camper but the king bed may have to go.
i really want to add gear drive!


pics show
wheels i have added to support bars, & i have 4 casters inside on the wall.
the slots on side rail.

do all king beds have slider slots or is it fixed /stationary to bedframe?

other rail photos on this blog post:

the BIG BED repair.

the saga continues. The RV dealership shop had my camper for over a month. they called me on Monday to tell me they were unable to find correct parts for the axle & leaf springs, or the bed rai…

krazykatsmeow.wordpress.com

i started another thread here

motorized king bed (you saw the idea here first!)

apparently no one on this Portal has motorized their king bed. looks like i get to go first. i contacted Lippert to ask questions, show them my idea plans and hopefully, get an estimate on custom parts. Lippert makes the Schwintech parts, so they should be able to cut rails the length needed...

www.popupportal.com

 

[kitphantom]

Ouch! I have no ideas for a work-around, but heal well.

 

[Sjm9911]

Not many ideas, spray the rails down with wd 40 to get out the junk ( dust , etc) dry with a rag and then try some dry lube or silicone spray. This may help. Try to push the bed in at the middle, if its still going in **** eyed, maybe a small board to help distribute the force evenly across the back bed will help? Got a picture of how yours is set up? I am really just throwing ideas around. Anything like a winch or come along will definitely move it, but if it dosen't go in stright it will definitely bend things you dont want bent. Take a picture when its set up from underneath the bed slide also, maybe you can add like a x brace with a small cable so if one side goes in further then the other it pulls the other one back in line? IDK.......

 

[SteveP]

Looking at the pic of the slot I have an idea, but not being privy to actual disassembly it may not be feasible. Replace that black washer with stainless steel. SS and aluminum are not compatible so the washer will need to be coated with anti-seize lube before reassembly. While the washer is out clean the hell out of the area around the slot and coat the rail with anti-seize also. Most washers have what i call a finish side and a cut side, run your thumb around the edge and you can feel the difference.
When installing make sure that the finish side is against the rail.

I can't tell if there's a washer between the rail and the wood it's mounted to. I not, adding a washer there would probably help the rail slide.

EDIT: A word of caution, the bolt may be a lag screw, with wood threads, or a machine screw into a metal insert in the wood. In either case forcing the bolt out may do damage. If it doesn't back out easily abandon this approach.

 

[Dave2514g]

Some really good ideas on here already. As @Sjm9911 said, some silicone spray will really help. I have a "king" sized bed at the front of our trailer as well and it can be an absolute PITA to open/close. From factory it had shoulder bolts with black nylon wheels riding in the rails. I've swapped that out for stainless wheels with bushings. I also moved the single centre mounted pull strap to one side of the centre/front and added a second on the other side of centre so I can pull with both hands. This helps it travel more evenly and not bind.

 

[p]

No matter what you do…they are like Ikea instructions…not user friendly.

 

[SteveP]

Back from putting my pup down and I'm wondering if that washer should be a wheel. I have no experience with Skampers. Compare the mountings on the front bunk to the rear.

 

[J Starsky]

I'd think about flat slides. The weight is on a wheel and baby she wants to roll. What IF that wheels were wooden blocks? Or Plastic Blocks? You could grease them really well to keep them friction fit yet mobile - remove the guillotine aspect of your bed step? Good Luck~!

 

[ChrisS_NC]

It looks like the track could use a good cleaning with WD-40 and/or brake cleaner using both rags and a scotchbrite pad is warranted. When cleaning them you may want to consider lightly sanding with 600+ grit paper on a block to smooth out any uneven surfaces that my be grabbing. Once clean you should lubricate with a dry lube. WD40 makes one for RV slides. You could also add a nylon washer between the existing guide washer and the rail to help it slide easier. The last thing you might want to look into is a center roller like those used on RV slides () if there is space.

In both of my previous PuPs I found that regular cleaning, about twice a year, and lubrication really went a long way.

 

[Katskamper]

Not many ideas, spray the rails down with wd 40 to get out the junk ( dust , etc) dry with a rag and then try some dry lube or silicone spray. This may help. Try to push the bed in at the middle, if its still going in **** eyed, maybe a small board to help distribute the force evenly across the back bed will help? Got a picture of how yours is set up? I am really just throwing ideas around. Anything like a winch or come along will definitely move it, but if it dosen't go in stright it will definitely bend things you dont want bent. Take a picture when its set up from underneath the bed slide also, maybe you can add like a x brace with a small cable so if one side goes in further then the other it pulls the other one back in line? IDK.......

i did lubricate

 

[Katskamper]

when i can get it open again, i will try these suggestions.
and yes, ive lubricated it extensively.

the brass rails are shorter than the beds, so beds slide back in the slots. about 6 inches?

now im thinking motorized slide mechanics like RV slide outs.
surely there is a gear & track assembly i can add on to bed.

 

[Katskamper]

looking at adding slideout motor, somewhere inside camper, and gear tracks to bottom of bed.
motors range from $150 to $1000+.
tracks would have to be shallow to fit below bed & clear frame.
under a grand in parts..
still better than another broken bone!

who is a parts guy?

 

[Patrick w]

Motorization would help, but there's something more seriously wrong. The C- channels from the few pictures you sent appear damaged, which is part of resistance that you feel. But there has to be some other issue where something is out of square. If your box is sagging and the walls are bowing, it can cause a lot of resistance in that channel. I don't know how you injured yourself (I can only assume it was either trying to push it in or trying to pull it in from the inside), but one of the key things with industrial design is that if you do go with a motorized deployment of the bed, you really should design safety systems in place to prevent the pinch/bind/ etc of the whole moving part, along with stops (so that the bed stops moving when it hits the limit, and not relying on you to release the switch).

A lot of times it can just be a worn bushing or roller that is causing excessive play causing binding.

 

[Katskamper]

the rails are new, after the fathers day tire on fire trip.
the new rails had screw holes, i discovered when bed installed, rails stuck out 8 inches.
had to cut them short, then had machinist cut new slots ((1/64 tolerance))
the support bolts are on the nylon washers
they move forward in the slots.

let me see if i can link to that post here.

 

[Katskamper]

heres one thing i did.
Thread 'wheelies'
https://www.popupportal.com/threads/wheelies.124361/

 

[no Fries]

Question:
What mattress do you have on the slide? I was wondering about the weight of it. IF you have a memory foam or heavier than original mattress the sliding mechanisms may not be designed to carry the load as it is pulled out. While the final setup wouldn't be a problem maybe the weight is contributing to the problem. Looks like the repairs that were done were minimal at best, I wouldn't be happy at all.
Once the rails and other components are not lined up or bent I don't think it will ever slide without more force than is should be.

 

[brettstoner]

When you pull it out or push it back in do you lift the bed up a little? I find if I lift it up it will come out and go in much easier. I also removed the single pull strap and put two shoulder length apart to get a more even (left/right) pull. I am not sure on the motorized idea. It adds weight, complexity, more things to malfunction, and you would need a way to disconnect it if it malfunctions so you could still close the camper to get it home for repair.

 

[Katskamper]

yes

Question:
What mattress do you have on the slide? I was wondering about the weight of it. IF you have a memory foam or heavier than original mattress the sliding mechanisms may not be designed to carry the load as it is pulled out. While the final setup wouldn't be a problem maybe the weight is contributing to the problem. Looks like the repairs that were done were minimal at best, I wouldn't be happy at all.
Once the rails and other components are not lined up or bent I don't think it will ever slide without more force than is should be.

memory foam mattress, 4 inch thick. its the cheat slots that bind up first.

 

[JimmyM]

A gearmotor is $68 HERE
Lippert brand gearmotor is $250+

Slides are HERE (maybe you'll need longer)

A bearing block set is HERE

You'll want to install limit switches to shut off the motors at the limits of travel

 

[Patrick w]

If you only have two slots, one on each side, with only a bolt and some kinda washer bushing, it will most likely bind. It looks as if the bolt and washer moves along the slot.
There's too much side to side motion, which is causing binding. I'd try to stick a layer of Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, which should help. Your additional wheels help in one direction, but does nothing to minimize the binding on the horizontal plane (box within a box).