Slide won't go in

[Greg C.]

When I tried to retract the main slides in my 38rl the kitchen side would not come in. You could hear the motor running and the slide would come in maybe an inch or two and then stop with the motor still running. I have noticed the last couple times that I have done this it did the same thing but when I released the button and then pushed it again it would go ahead and come in. Now it just stops and doesn't move anymore. The worst part of this is we are a week away from leaving to go to Anchor Down RV Resort near Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Won't be able to get it to the dealer this week so I think it might be a good thing to call a mobile tech to come and look at it. Any ideas or opinions appreciated. With it being the week of a holiday it may be hard to get anything done.

[Shane Wood]

Can you check the fluid level in the hydraulic reservoir by the battery. You need all jacks up and slides in with the exception of the ONE that quit and check where the level is. With all retracted it should be within a 1/2" down from the top. The 2 opposing slides in the kitchen are on the same circuit and run by the same pump. Possibly there is something that has gotten under the slide causing it to stop.

[mhs4771]

Does the Living/Dining slide come in??
We had a similar issue on our 39MB where neither Kitchen/Entertainment or Living/Dining would come in. Using the isolation valves I determined the cause was the Living/Dining slide.
So as you say, after playing around with it for an hour and a half, finally got it in and locked it out. We used the unit for several months before we could get into the Service Center and they replaced the hydraulic cyclinder for that slide.
Yours being the Kitchen/Entertainment makes it hard to use if you can't get into the Kitchen.

[Greg C.]

The isolation valves that you are talking about are the two knobs above the battery? By turning one or the other will that get the slide to come back in?

[mhs4771]

By closing one of those valve it will prevent the controlled slide moving from it's current location. So if it closed it will prevent it from opening when activating the slide control switch, if it already open it will prevent it from closing.
No guarantee, but on our MB the outboard valve (one closest to the pump) controlled our Kitchen/Entertainment slide, while the inboard valve (one towards the generator compartment controlled our Living/Dining Slide.

[Greg C.]

The kitchen slide is always the first one to come in, so the dining area slide won't do anything until the kitchen slide is done.

[mhs4771]

Greg, that is not always true. The two slide cyclinders are ganged together and the slide with the least resistance moves first. Granted because the Kitchen is smaller it generally moves first.
When opening ours the Kitchen will move most of the way out, then the Dining slide will open all the way, then the Kitchen will finish moving the rest of the way out.
When we had our issue the Senior Hydraulic Tech from Lippert said there is an O'ring in the cyclinder that if it gets out of place will prevent the building of pressure required to move the slides.

[Greg C.]

After taking the coach back to the dealer wouldn't you know it they worked just fine. They said that they ran them in and out 10 or 12 times and they worked ok. When we picked it up we tried it 5 or 6 times and it worked. We get it home and the third time we closed the main slides it stopped again. We have contacted the dealer and we will be taking it back in to have them check it out again. The question I have is when we brought the slides in the first time a mobile rv tech came to my house and had me push the button while he cranked the slide in from underneath. The dealer told me to close them by using a screw gun and running them in by turning the fitting in the pump. Will holding the button and cranking them in from under the slide hurt anything? Or should I do it through the pump. That pump is not the easiest thing to get to for an old man. That is the pump on top of the resevoir right?