DW vs hydraulic slide..

[CV67Cheng]

Hello all, this will be sort of long, but I do need suggestions. After arriving back home after a great camping trip to Beth Page in Urbanna VA, the DW was extending the slides and held the button too long after the last slide was fully extended and then released the button. After unloading the trailer, I went to close the main slides, pushed the button and nothing, so I went looking in the front compartment for the reason why the pump was not powering up, I found the relay safety device was popped (my trailer has the mod where the battery disconnect switch actually shuts off all power to the rig in the off position when not plugged into a shore source, therefore I do not have in-line fuses in the line to the block for the hydraulic pump motor), so I reset the relay and the slides operated again. Once closed I went around and took a look and noticed the front of the driver side main slide was approximately 3/4" from contacting the seals. After what seemed like hours of investigating I found what I think is the culprit, the forward bracket that attaches the geared power arm to the slide is bent in approx 20 degrees which is keeping the power arm from pulling the slide all the way tight.

Has anyone experienced this before or know of another reason why the slide would not be closing tight? The rear of the slide is contacting the trailer seals as it should and the passenger side slide closes as it should. My concern is the bending has caused a weak spot in the "C" channel the bracket is attached to and will just flex again in the future causing the problem to re-appear.

Thanks

[lwg]

Is this the mechanical "Swintek" slide you speak of?

[CV67Cheng]

IWG, no the Lippert through frame hydraulic slide.

[Like2Camp]

Hi CV67Cheng,
I believe I have the same problem with my 31SL (front of drivers side large slide sticks out about 3/4" as well). What did you do to fix it?
I just noticed this the last trip.
Thanks

[sinder]

Go to this link for information on adjusting your slides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwYPvzZAVlM

[Radio_Flyer]

The video is not what we have for the living area and entertainment slide outs. Ours are something called 2x2 through the frame and have a rod and three large nuts. I am going to try to adjust mine tomorrow. It seems you losen the front nut in or out depending on the adjustment needed.

[CV67Cheng]

Like2camp,
When I took it to the dealer they stated the bracket which attaches the slide frame to the crossbar with the teeth was bent, causing the slide to stand proud on the leading edge. They replaced the bracket (3 bolts) and all is good now. I took the picture below before taking it in so the dealership couldn't say nothing was wrong, but it seems like this was a known problem as the Service Writer knew what the problem was as soon as they saw it. On our 31 we have hydraulic slides and there wasn't anyway to make any adjustments, I even counted the number of exposed teeth on the bars to ensure nothing had slipped somehow.

Take care, hope you get it resolved quickly.

[Rick and Mindy]

Be very careful when adjusting the slide! It was explained to me by a tech at Redwood that whenever you make an adjustment to fix an outside problem you will also be making a change on the inside. LCI website will give you a manual that shows how to make the adjustments for our slides. When making adjustments, do it in very small increments with the nuts because it doesn't take much to make a difference. If it was me, I think I would take it to a reputable dealer(not necessarily a Redwood/Crossroads dealer) and ask them if they can do the adjustment. My buddy had a problem with his and he stopped at a dealership, they adjusted it quickly and didn't even charge him. Redwood is not the only manufacturer with this slide system. Many use the same thing so a good tech should be able to adjust the slide without much difficulty. I don't know if this is true, but I had a tech tell me that with this hydraulic system he has seen the system nearly pull a misaligned slide through the wall. I don't mean to scare you but BE CAREFUL!

[Radio_Flyer]

Thanks, was going to check, double check and check one more time before doing anything.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Radio_Flyer

Thanks, was going to check, double check and check one more time before doing anything.

I believe you might have a hard time getting the rig repaired under warranty if you cause any damage by adjusting it yourself. I'm fairly handy, but I will leave the slide adjustment to the experts until the warranty is up. IfI took it to a dealer I would question the tech to see how knowledgeable he is about the adjustments. Even if he charged a small amount I think it would be worth it.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

Be very careful when adjusting the slide! It was explained to me by a tech at Redwood that whenever you make an adjustment to fix an outside problem you will also be making a change on the inside. LCI website will give you a manual that shows how to make the adjustments for our slides. When making adjustments, do it in very small increments with the nuts because it doesn't take much to make a difference. If it was me, I think I would take it to a reputable dealer(not necessarily a Redwood/Crossroads dealer) and ask them if they can do the adjustment. My buddy had a problem with his and he stopped at a dealership, they adjusted it quickly and didn't even charge him. Redwood is not the only manufacturer with this slide system. Many use the same thing so a good tech should be able to adjust the slide without much difficulty. I don't know if this is true, but I had a tech tell me that with this hydraulic system he has seen the system nearly pull a misaligned slide through the wall. I don't mean to scare you but BE CAREFUL!

Hydraulics are "stupid strong"....they just keep going. I saw a video once of a slide being pushed into a car that was parked too close, it didn't stop. The car got pushed sideways.

The service center had mine adjusted wrong and it pushed the slide out too far. This resulted in all the trim inside being knocked off.

[Rick and Mindy]

Dave, did you make an adjustment yourself when it was wrong? I know you are real handy so just wondering if you attempted it?

[0nTheRoad]

Bob & Debbie,

Based on your signature I see you have a 2014 31SK which I assume is still under warranty, I would take it to a dealer to correct before trying to do it yourself. You could end up coding your warranty!!

FYI, I had an issue with my kitchen slide, the rear top didn't go in completely... I noticed it in January. I had the dealer correct it when I took it in for the annual in April..

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

Dave, did you make an adjustment yourself when it was wrong? I know you are real handy so just wondering if you attempted it?

No they did when they did some other work. I do know my limitations regardless of the rumors.

[Like2Camp]

CV67Cheng
I looked at the bracket on mine and that's the problem. Here again I don't understand why they didn't make the bracket longer because the gear bar has two holes on top and they only use one??? I hope the new bracket is longer and has two bolt holes in it, therefore not alowing it to rotate.
Thanks, Like2Camp

[johnboytoo]

Maybe it's allowed to rotate to limit damage to OTHER components -
somewhat like an electrical fuse that's designed to fail before doing more damage

[Like2Camp]

CV67Cheng
Do you have a picture of the new bracket? I'd like to know if it's been modified.
Thanks,

[CV67Cheng]

Bill,
I pick up the trailer on Friday, I will take a pic and post.