Slide problems (& we're on the road)

[Randalf]

Last Thursday we hitched up to our truck for the first time in a couple of months so we could take a road trip to Colorado. When I tried to pull in the main slides, only the kitchen slide came in willingly. (The cable-driven bedroom slide is on a separate switch and always works well.)

I called the dealership and their technician told me to keep holding the button to see what happened. After what seemed an eternity the other three slides grudgingly came in. I exercised them a couple more times and everything seemed okay. The tech said the fluid just needed to get pumped back up because the trailer had been sitting.

Friday night at the Carlsbad KOA the slides still had the same agonizing delay but worked fine.

Then came Saturday at the Santa Fe KOA. Our RV slip was on an angle, and I had forgotten to bring blocks, so the auto-leveling wouldn't function properly. We decided to pull in the main slides that evening after dinner & re-hitch to the truck so we could get an early start without bothering our neighbors. Once again, it was a white-knuckle experience waiting for those three slides to come in.

Then the really alarming thing happened. Once the main slides were in tightly, I started to retract the support legs. As the legs got close to the top, the dining room slide started to come out, and the other three began to crack open, too. My wife pulled the slides back in, and I continued to retract the legs. The slides started to crack open again by the time the support legs were fully retracted. My wife tightened the slides again, and I began to extend the front legs to re-hitch. It appeared as though the slides were continuing to try to tighten as the legs were extending.

So what gives? All four of the main slides are on the same switch. Why would pushing the external landing gear button activate the slides? We still have to work the slides two more times to get back to Texas this weekend. Are we going to make it?

[markw]

It might be best to call Lippert directly.

Mark

[travelin' texans]

The same system works the jacks & the main slides & since it was parked a while there's most likely a piece of sediment/gunk in the valves on the pump & may take several series of operation to clear it. The guys at the service advised that If it's park for long periods to operate the slides every 30 days if not more often & to spray the jacks weekly with silicone spray.
Also once everything is retracted (all jacks, all slides) check the fluid reservoir, the fluid should be within a 1/4 to 1/2" from the opening, I use 15w motorcycle fork oil, but atf will work also.

[homeguy]

you might want to also check the isolation valves and make sure all are closed. Don't know the correct name but I am talking about the ones you open when you manually run the pump.l

[Randalf]

Isolation valves? Manually run the pump? I have so much to learn!

The hydraulic system on my 38RD is the thing I hate the most about it. No wait! The terrible air conditioning set-up is the worst thing, the hydraulic slides are a close number two. My Chaparral had electric slides with a button for each of the four slides. If a slide malfunctioned I could crank it in manually with a ratchet wrench. If all else failed I could get a couple of folks to help me push the slide in. The tech at the Redwood dealership told me that there is no manual override for the RW hydraulic system. Please tell me they were wrong, and I can self-rescue if I have problems on the road!

[mhs4771]

If you have an electrical problem or the hydraulic pump motor dies there is a manual way to drive the pump by using an electric drill and manually opening or closing valves.
The only way you and a bunch of your friends could push a hydraulic slide in would require opening the hydraulic line to relieve the pressure, then you would need something to lock the slides in place once the pressure is released.

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Randalf

Isolation valves? Manually run the pump? I have so much to learn!

The hydraulic system on my 38RD is the thing I hate the most about it. No wait! The terrible air conditioning set-up is the worst thing, the hydraulic slides are a close number two. My Chaparral had electric slides with a button for each of the four slides. If a slide malfunctioned I could crank it in manually with a ratchet wrench. If all else failed I could get a couple of folks to help me push the slide in. The tech at the Redwood dealership told me that there is no manual override for the RW hydraulic system. Please tell me they were wrong, and I can self-rescue if I have problems on the road!

On top of the pump motor there is a place for a 1/4" hex drive bit. A 3/8" corded or cordless drill motor will work. There are hydraulic valves that will need to be placed in the override position in order for the the fluid to flow to the slide cylinder. If the valve is operational and just not receiving an electrical signal, 12 volts DC would need to be temporarily connected to the solenoid valve terminals prior to manually operating the pump from the drill motor (or do the manual override thing). LCI has a very helpful service bulletin that explains all this much better than I. As noted by others a call to there service center could also be most helpful. I had a similar moment when getting ready to break camp and had a hydraulic pump motor failure will the main slides out. I learned this manual override stuff in a hurry!! It works but is a pain.

[Randalf]

Thanks everyone. We made it home, but had to master a special technique to get everything retracted.
My wife operated the slide switch while I operated the switches for the Level Up jacks. First my wife retracted the kitchen slide, which was the only one that would budge. Then I retracted the stabilization jacks. I could tell when they were all the way up because the kitchen slide would start coming out again. With the jacks up, my wife was able to retract all four slides fully. However, when I started raising the front legs to hook up to the truck, the slides started coming out again. My wife tightened the slides up again, which caused the front legs to retract. We alternated on the switches with legs going up and down and slides going in and out until I finally got the front to the right height and got hooked up to the truck. Then we simultaneously hit both buttons and everything retracted and stayed that way.
Interestingly, there are no issues whenever we set up again. The Level Up system works fine, and the slides all come out and lock into place at the push of the button.