Tilt Bed tips - Fleetwood has no information about their system but I do

  • 06/03/2015 11:58 PM
    Message # 3374585
    Deleted user

      Our brand new Expedition 38K has a "tilt bed" which is a nice feature. It has only worked on and off. When it doensT work you are sleeping on the floor. After getting the unit back from the dealer with the bed "fixed", as soon as we got on the road it wasn't. In all fairness to them it was an intermittent problem which can be almost impossible to diagnose. I am getting too old to sleep on the floor so I thought I better take things into my own hands.


    The system isn't all that complicated except that it does not exactly match the wiring diagram sent by Fleetwood for this coach (but it is close enough to give you some places to look). I then called Fleetwood for advice. Their advice was to take it to a dealer who of course is booked out at least a week out. (We are traveling through Reno and the wife is not happy :)). 


    I found a mobile tech and had him come out (same day, but the guy owns his own business and knows how to work). He has not seen the system either but between us we got a handle on how it would work. The real problem is the rats nest of wires, bare wires, etc that are normal for the industry. 

    He called a Fleetwood tech at the factory and got this advice "We don't know anything about that tilting bed system. We haven't sold many and can't help you". If the fellow wasn't on the speaker phone and I had not heard it mayself I would not have believed it. I will say that at a Fleetwood Rally recently the terrific field service guys had never seen it before either and didn't understand it. Maybe some product training for their front line techs would be a good program to think about

    Finally decided to check a hidden hall effect sensor (it is tucked up under the bed frame and tells the unit when the slide is fully out and it is safe to tilt the bed down. Wired around it and that was it. Fixed perfectly. 

    If you purchase or own and Expedition F model or any other Fleetwood with the tilt bed option  Fleetwood cannot help you. The Hall effect switch is a place to look. Got me off the floor and back in the good graces of my wife.

  • 06/04/2015 9:21 AM
    Reply # 3374971 on 3374585
    Deleted user

    A typical horror story, could come from any RV manufacture.  Imagine if Chevrolet couldn't tell you how to activate it's power seat?



  • 07/01/2015 2:54 PM
    Reply # 3415943 on 3374585
    Deleted user

    We also have a new Expedition 38K with the same bed and the same intermittent problem.  The Decatur ARG Service Center technicians obviously were learning on the job when they attempted to fix it.  They adjusted what they called the "limit switch" (Hall effect sensor) by repositioning two associated magnets.  I couldn't see what they were doing, but listened to their conversation.  They finally declared it fixed, but the next day when we were getting ready to leave our overnight campsite, the bed didn't want to fold up again.  I discovered that if I "bumped" the slide in a fraction of an inch the bed would then fold up.  The Hall sensor's purpose must be to prevent you from retracting the slide without first folding the bed. 

  • 10/01/2015 3:36 PM
    Reply # 3555705 on 3374585
    Deleted user

    I worked for chev and dodge for 30 years as a service manager and the training was terrible with a few memos printed and very few .

    on a new line up year , we had a problem diagnosing an idling problem and light load stutter on all of the oldsmobile cars  , I phoned tech support and the boor (I had another word in mind) told me if I could not figure out a simple problem , I should get out of this business  .

    about a week later this same boor phoned me as they saw I had put in manual time to fix this problem on these cars and they wanted to know what i did to fix them so they could as well  , so I told them "if they could not figure out a simple problem , "THEY" should get out of this business .'

    and i never told them either .

    now we have the internet to search among millions of techs

    oldsmobile cars  , I phoned tech support and the boor (I had another word in mind) told me if I could not figure out a simple problem , I should get out of this business

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