Topic: Murphy Bed Motor/Mechanism Failure (Read 3396 times) previous topic - next topic

2014 Unity Murphy Bed. After a couple of months living in our 2014 Unity, the Murphy bed seems to be very slow deploying from the stowed position. The vertical lift is much slower than a couple of weeks ago. There has been no changes in bedding or mattress weight. I have not measured applied voltage or running current...as of yet. The remainder of the deploy and retract sequence seems fine.
Has anyone experienced this and, if so, what was the solution?
As a side note, Leisure Travel stopped utilizing electric powered Murphy beds in favor of manual ones.
Has anyone heard of the reason?
Your input would be appreciated.

September 10, 2019: Our Murphy bed no longer deploys slowly. Deploy speed now is “All Stop”. Both driving pinion gears (1 for each motor) are stripped.
Bed was in 10-15 degrees from vertical and could not be moved. We were on a disaster relief volunteer assignment for a couple of months. We are sleeping on blow up mattresses. One on the living room floor and one 1/2 in the bathroom to kitchen floor.
I called Leisure Travel. They said bring it to their factory in Canada and they would replace with a manual mechanism. $1800 complete. Since we are in mid-Texas and it’s winter time, that’s not a good idea for me.
I called Vogt RV in Fort Worth. Their Service Writer said he did not know if they ever worked on a Murphy bed, yet they have really good techs who could fix anything. OK. Oh...They could not fit the broken coach in until late November. Not an option for me.

I ordered a manual replacement/upgrade mechanism kit. ($900+S&Hj I did not order the mattress. Crating was $250 and shipping about $350.

To remove the old mattress and mattress board required removing the 6 bolts holding the bed platform, then lifting out of the frame brackets. Then the mattress came out. Next, I removed the bolts that attached the bed platform from the hinge. Next, the faulty rack and pinion (L&R sides) could be unscrewed from the wall and came out as a unit.

We are still sleeping on blow up mattresses (Nov 18, 2019). Leisure Travel parts department said the kit was manufactured, yet they are very busy, so not sure when they would ship to me in Texas.

I also contacted Leisure Travel Service and requested that they send me the instructions for the upgrade. I would like to prepare as much as possible. No instructions as of yet. The only reassurance from the Service Dept. was that they have one tech at the factory who can do this in one day. I could not get his name.

Not sure if I mentioned that we were sleeping on a $130,000 floor. Maybe I did.

When the manual conversion kit comes in, I’ll post the installation.

If any of you have accomplished this conversion, I would appreciate your experience.

I think they should pay you to correct their mistake!

The electric Murphy bed in our 2010 Unity was groaning more and more. A serious crack had developed in the long hinge. I removed the whole mechanism and converted the space it occupied into a roomy storage bin, and also scrapped the electric lounge chairs.
New seating I built out of 1" PVC piping now has two seats facing each other, with a table between, and a cushion on the storage bin against the wall. The seat cushions function as part of the queen-size bed, and the table fills the space between when lowered and equipped with similar foam. An extra out-rigger bench gives the bed the necessary length.
Now we can look out the window when we're sitting at the dinette table!