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Another what‘s this post
OK, take a look at this photo and tell me what this is for …
I will spare you the agony and tell you that this is 1 of 2 linear actuators that did, until the other day, raise and lower the drop-down TV upfront over the driver.
All was well until the other day, when I pushed the button and nothing happened.
Pushed some more, up and down, up and down and some more. Still nothing happened.
Now, what do you do when the drop down TV does not drop down?
I started to remove all the trim around the the TV and all the while thinking to myself, how am I going to get to it inside. All the pieces that I did remove did not help me in any way.
So … I decided the lift is kaput and needs to be fixed anyways. I grabbed the front edge and did some kind of a modified chin-up, sort of.
And then there was a loud cracking sound and I did almost get knocked out by the dropping down TV.
I learned some time later, these hatches with a TV mounted to them are HEAVY. Between the TV and the metal frame, I guess it is somewhere around 75 lbs.
Now, that the TV was down, it accomplished 2 things. First of all, we could watch TV. Secondly, I could get to the other trim pieces on the side which, once removed, would give me access to all of what was behind.
That is where the linear actuators enter the story.
I found out that the actuator on the left side had completely detached itself from the bracket it would normally push or pull to open and close the hatch. A nut had come loose causing the bolt to fall out.
This may explain why the right side is bent as much as it was.
It must have done double-duty for some time dropping and lifting the TV without help from the other side.
Of course, these actuators were bolted to the drop-down steel frame and there is extremely little access to the outside where the nut is attached to the bolt. I scapped my hands really good trying to squeeze my hands in there and at the same time get the wrench on the nut. There was, perhaps, 2 inches of wrench wriggle room. It took me almost 2 days to finally get the nuts loose enough to the point that they could be removed and the bolt pulled and the actuators removed.
Next step in this adventure was to try figuring out who made them. There were some markings and it did still take me a day of searching and surfing until I found the manufacturer.
Of course, I did not find this actuator on their website. So I sent them an email with photo attached. They were really good at responding. Overnight. The response was, that this particular actuator was discontinued about 10 years ago and that there was no suitable replacement. Ouch.
Now, what do … ? It would be a great pain having to drive the bus with the TV down but it could make for a very large GPS screen. If I had to step on the brakes, though, it would swing back and knock me out.
I did remember having see a website from somebody in the actuator business, which, way back then, had already impressed me with the detailed descriptions, DIY articles and much more.
That company is FIRGELLI ( http://www.firgelliauto.com )
They have just about everything that you would need to repair or build something that uses actuators.
Their tech support is also very responsive and I have been sending multiple messages which they replied to overnight, every time.
Meantime, I have sent them $575.00 to pay for the order of parts and accessories.
It will be another boring and long-winded post from me telling you how I fixed the lift and, most importantly, if it is working again.
Until then, hunkered-down in Indo, CA
Stay safe and be healthy!
Ronald
In theory, it should since it is not rocket science.
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5 Replies
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After rebuilding the swing-down actuator for the front TV, and rebuilding the drop-down actuator for the outside TV in our Monaco Signature, I was very happy to have neither in our 2006 Country Coach XLII.
I find the solid mount front TV really nice. No longer do I have to duck the bulky TV mechanism the the Monaco had when coming and going out the door. It was a real head knocker. It even had a yellow and black stripped caution tape on the corner.
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This has happened to me many times and sometimes the results were bloody, too. But after banging my head far too many times, I learned to duck automatically when I entered the bus when the TV is down.
🙂
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Ours stays locked done all the time… No worries there…
It doesn’t interfere with anything as it’s very close to the windshield and the newer ones have the TV’s permanently installed in the same place.
Was a win win for me… also much of the time the passenger or a guest is watching something while we’re under way.. Good too…. that the driver cannot see it from the driver’s seat.
Cheers, and stay healthy all, Diane
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for anyone to use if the subject matter is linear actuators, I found another company, which is manufacturing similar products. Some are different and some offer more options than Firgelli. Strangely enough, both companies maintain locations in the same places.
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Firgelli makes the one Liberty used on my coach for the recliner in the salon. It is mounted on a bracket that moves in and out from the outside wall. Since I have a quad slide, the chair can not sit on the floor hence the bracket that slides. I had to replace it last year as it stopped working sometimes. They were great to deal with and had it in stock and it was a direct replacement. Price was not bad either.
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