Photo of bus recreational vehicle

Linear Actuators In Recreational Vehicles

Anna Sapiga
Anna Sapiga
PA Engineer

Working or retired, who doesn’t dream of traveling more? Whether going on a vacation with your family or doing a road trip with your buddies, recreational vehicles are the ideal way to travel. You can go anywhere the road leads you, without losing the comfort of your home. However, to ensure your trip is stress-free, it's a great idea to make sure your RV is automated, so it can install exactly the way you want, and with minimum effort. At Progressive Automations, we offer a wide range of linear actuators and motion control systems to help you achieve that. Our units have high IP ratings, large force capabilities, various stroke lengths, and an industry-leading 18-month warranty, perfect for any applications in your RVs. In this article, we will discuss a few ways you can use our linear actuators in recreational vehicles.

A retractable awning is a great way to shelter you from nature’s less friendly elements, whether it be the blazing sun or the pouring rain. Not only it can provide shade for your outdoor pleasure, but it can also prevent sunlight shining through windows or glass doors, which can reduce the temperature by up to 20 degrees inside the vehicle on a very hot day. On the other hand, if it’s raining, it can provide a dry area outdoor for your activities. With so many benefits, you would want to deploy the awnings quickly, reliably, and most importantly do so within the comfort of your vehicle.

Photo of bus recreational vehicle

With electric linear actuators, you can automate your retractable awnings, so you don’t have to expose yourself to the elements when deploying them. Our PA-04 Linear Actuator has every feature you would need to automate your retractable awning system. It is an IP66 rated unit, which makes it resistant to rain and dust and is designed so that it can be used outdoors. With up to 2.9”/sec of speed, you can deploy the awning at a moment’s notice. It also offers feedback options with a Hall effect sensor, which allows you to synchronize multiple actuators to work at the same time. Paired with a control box like our PA-40, you can operate them with a push of a bottom while sitting comfortably inside your vehicle.

In a recreational vehicle, you want to keep everything compact and well organized. The last thing you want is to run a whole bunch of power cables from your wall outlet inside an already limited space. However, one simply cannot put power outlets socket everywhere in their RVs, it is not safe for children, takes extra surface space and can be an eyesore in the interior of your mobile home. With an automated retractable power outlet, you can install the sockets almost anywhere in your RV without having to worry about the downside. The PA-14 Mini Linear Actuator is the perfect tool to accomplish that. With its small size and low operating noise, it is perfect for indoor applications. When paired with the PA-35 Wi-Fi Control Box, you can raise and lower the power outlet with your smartphone anywhere inside the vehicle.

Photo of an automated retractable power outlet

One of the trade-offs for an RV’s mobility is its limited space. When on the road, the vehicle itself cannot exceed a certain size. However, when the RV comes to a stop, there are many of them that come with a feature to expand its structure, allowing for additional space. Most expandable rooms involving sliding out the floor panel or lifting an entire sidewall of the RV. It is a great feature, but doing it manually is extremely labor-intensive. Fortunately, high power electric linear actuators can be implemented in the RVs to do the most physically demanding tasks for you.

Photo of a man near white bus recreational vehicle

 

The PA-13 High Force Industrial Actuator is a great fit for this application. It has an IP66 rating for water and dust resistance, a wide-ranging operational temperature for potentially harsher environments, and most importantly a high force rating of 3000 lbs. This is the most powerful unit Progressive Automations currently carries and is designed to move heavy loads in construction and industrial settings. With that much force output, it will have no problem expanding your RV’s flooring panel or opening an entire side of the wall while you sit comfortably at the sideline.

These are just a couple of the many different ways you can automate your RV. If you have any technical questions on how to implement our linear actuators in recreational vehicles, you are more than welcome to contact us. At Progressive Automations, our team of talented engineers is ready to offer you technical support and recommendations for all your automation desires.