Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Generator Bay Door  (Read 1039 times) previous topic - next topic

Generator Bay Door

I have an 04' U270 and have attempted several times to adjust the cable operated latches for the Generator Bay Door. Have any of you come up with a better fix for latching and unlatching the front bay door? 

I marvel at how many great design features there are on my FT. Opening and closing the generator bay door is not at the top of the list. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here, just want to push a button, pull a pin or move a lever and have the darn door open. PERIOD! And I mean open every time, every day w/o readjustments or fussing with cables and tensioning cables. 

Thanks!!!!!!
David & Michele Moss
Maiden NC
primary interest: turning wood, motorbikes, especially the BMW Boxer kind

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #1 –
I have found that the latches need to have wd40 sprayed on them to keep them working properly.
previous 1984 35 ft ORED 250 HP 3208 Cat       
previous 1998 40 ft U295 CAI 325 hp Cummins
previous 2003 40 Ft u320 build #6140 450 Cummins M11.                                                         
1999 Mazda Miata
Ron, Nancy, Tipper the cat, Max The dog
1997 U 270 36 ft build number 5174 8.3 Cummins

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #2 –
Quote from: red tractor –
I have found that the latches need to have wd40 sprayed on them to keep them working properly.
Yes, I found that after applying white lithium grease to all the moving parts of any bay door makes it so much easier to open and close them.  Especially the generator bay door, that one is especially troublesome. 
Jennifer
2003 36' U295 (# 6070)
Thousand Oaks, CA

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #3 –
I found my latch actuators were weak.  Took them apart and pressed unlock button several times. With the middle gear out the motor will spin.  After a few cycles, the motor spun much faster, due to cleaning of the commutator.  Reassembled latch actuators and now door pops open.
Steve DeLange
2005 U320T 40'
Pearland, Texas

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #5 –
When we bought our coach, it would have taken an act of Congress to open the generator door... (He says as though they would ever do anything that useful ::) ). At first, I tried lubricating everything including the cable but nothing would make it work consistently except a pair of pry bars applied to the T handle, which I felt it it would likely break it at some point. My solution was to buy a Glendinning bi-directional cable originally designed to operate controls on an outboard motor or somesuch. I did have to engineer a modification to the end which connects to the handle. It works first time every time now, and sometimes, I open the generator hatch just for the fun of it. I wasn't sure how long the cable to use for optimum routing and ended up buying both a 6 and 8 foot cable. If I recall correctly, I ended up using the six foot cable.
Don
Quote from: djonmoss –
I have an 04' U270 and have attempted several times to adjust the cable operated latches for the Generator Bay Door. Have any of you come up with a better fix for latching and unlatching the front bay door? 

I marvel at how many great design features there are on my FT. Opening and closing the generator bay door is not at the top of the list. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here, just want to push a button, pull a pin or move a lever and have the darn door open. PERIOD! And I mean open every time, every day w/o readjustments or fussing with cables and tensioning cables. 

Thanks!!!!!!
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #6 –
Don, can you post or send some pictures of your cable system?

Thank you
2003 U320 4010 - SOLD
2014 RAM 1500 Ecodiesel

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #7 –
I looked through my pictures and I couldn't find any, but I will try to get a picture in the next couple of days. It isn't much different than the OEM version except that the Glendinning cable had a different thread size (I think maybe it is 10-32, but I still have the one I didn't use and will check), and I cut the threaded terminating sleeve off of the old cable housing on the pull handle end of the old cable so I could attach the new Glendinnig cable to the old bracket using the original retaining nut. I slit the rear terminating sleeve of the old housing and inserted the new Glendinning through it and clamped it in place with a couple of small hose clamps. Hopefully a picture will help it make sense.

Another important factor is the routing of the cable so that it doesn't get kinked when the door is going up and down. The original was zip tied to keep it from getting pinched, but I think that it restrained the cable and forced too tight of a radius in the bend of the cable housing to allow it to slide freely. Over time, those tight radiuses cause the braided cable to wear the slick lining and cause the cable to bind. At least that is my theory! Anyway, I tried several different routes and elected to not zip tie the cable so that the housing could move and am just careful when closing the hatch not to catch the cable in between the latching hook and the elastomeric bushing.
Don
Quote from: Ed W –
Don, can you post or send some pictures of your cable system?

Thank you
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #8 –
My generator door has always functioned fine. I do lubricate the mechanism occasionally.
Wyatt
96 U320 40 WTFE, build 4943
84 Toyota Supra towd
2015 Jeep Wrangler towd
Victoria, BC, Canada

Re: Generator Bay Door

Reply #9 –
I don't know if this will help, but here is a picture of my U270 manual cable release fix for the generator compartment door. I said before that I bought 2 Glendinning cables, one 8' and one 6', but otherwise identical. I thought I had used the 6' one, but I took a look at the one I didn't use and it is the shorter of the two. I couldn't get a good route to allow the cable to move freely with the shorter one, so I used the 8'. I will include pictures of the remaining cable and the box which lists the available models. I got the one at the top of the list as it was what was in stock the day I was in the marine supply store. Possibly, other models might require less adaptation. The part number of the one I use is A7100/08 where the 08 corresponds to the length.
Don
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson