Community Forums

Old Scout · 06-11-2009, 09:55 AM

No claim of expertise here but late model Alpines have at least four different types of slide configs: 1) the kitchen/living room slide has two rams that, according to HWH, have to be equalized--this requires un-bolting the ram ends from the slide and cycling them in/out several times before reattaching; 2) the vanity side on 40fts has two scissor rams--HWH recently replaced a hose for us and they simply held down the button for a period of time to clear the rams; 3) the quad-slides have yet another system requiring the aforementioned threaded rod; and 4) most 40fts have a single ram under the bed. Just to mix it up more, the 38s have a wardrobe and some new 40fts have a combination bed and bathsink slide--one or both may use scissor-rams like the vanity. (Did I mention the two-ram combo for the genset slide on older coaches?)
The one common factor for manually closing any slide is to ensure the center relief pin on the involved pump solenoid has been opened. The instructions sugggest 3-4 turns on the outside nut but that may or may not actually release the pin. You will need several trials to ensure the pin has releases.

Marca · 06-15-2009, 05:55 AM

Regarding the PS flush floor slide, has anyone used the emergency retract procedure using the long "42" inch threaded bolts. We understand where the threaded bolts come into play, and have heard there are two bolt holes outside underneath somewhere that on our coach were covered up by WRV and not visible. Supposedly those two holes are used to use a wrench of some kind on the bolts that raise the slide prior to releasing pressure on the slide and using the threaded bolts. Unless it can be raised up, you can't crank it back in.

If any of you have a clue where these "phantom" bolt holes are (the ones to raise that slide) then we can look under the covering on ours for them. It would be nice to know how to perform this procedure if it ever becomes necessary which with "Murphy's Law" it most likely will be at some point in time.

Thanks for your help in our search for the mysterious bolt holes.

EngineerMike · 06-15-2009, 10:08 AM

On our 06 they came loose in the basement, along w/4 extra tiles, a coupla aluminum extrusions, and a chunk of sandwiched foam they probably took outa the roof of an old Avalanche.

mythplaced · 06-15-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EngineerMike

Write down exactly what you did during that 30 minutes, and put it with your HWH docs for next time you have this issue.

To quote Olivia Dukakis in "FGT"...

"Spoken like a true smartass"

Marca · 06-16-2009, 08:54 AM

Engineer Mike,

Thanks for responding. I know that flattery will get me nowhere but here goes anyway. Using your vast engineering experience and your flawless photographic memory, can you tell us the length and diameter of the bolts used to raise the PS "flush floor" slide as well as whether they were metric or American and course or fine thread? We need to purchase some for our emergency kit.

That leaves the other issue of the location of the "mysterious bolt holes". What do bolt holes look like floating around loose on the storage floor underneath or were you talking about the bolts themselves? We still need to have an approximate location of those holes as they seem to be covered.

Thanks!

Basil Shannon · 06-16-2009, 10:25 AM

Recently I had a double (Apex) hydraulic pump failure and was stuck in lovely El Paso, Texas for 5 days with the slides out and no way to get the dinette slide in for lack of the size TBD bolts and "mysterious bolt holes" to stick them in. The forward hole is supposed to be in the wheel well and I assume the other is directly under the rear of the dinette slide in the basement. There are no such holes on my coach. This was either a design issue or poor workmanship at WRV. Thank God I found an excellent mobile tech from Las Cruces to replace the pumps and send me on my way.

Question: Has anybody ever manually pulled in the big dinette slide using the above size TBD bolts and the big threaded rods that came with the coach?

ol pole · 06-24-2009, 05:26 PM

I apologize for not thanking you for your response sooner. I still do not have the problem fixed, but we are gaining on it. It is NOT something that I want to wrestle with. It is now @ Erics RV "under repair".
Thanks again for your help.

ol pole · 07-25-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldForester

Ol Pole,

Well, a number of us have been there and done that. You might want to check out this thread in this forum for more information:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f104/manu...ulty-6487.html

The same thing happened to us on our first set of hydraulic hoses for that slide on our '06. The front came out a few inches and jammed and would not go any farther. The fittings leaked hydraulic fluid down around the radiator and every time we tried to move the slide with the extend/retract switch we just pumped more fluid on the ground until we ran out of fluid.

What happens is the two cylinders that move the slide in and out become unsynchronized when fluid leaks from the hose going to one of them. The fix is to replace the leaking HWH hydraulic hose(s), and when you remove the plastic shower panels to connect up the new hoses to the front cylinder, keep the cylinders detached from the slide and run through an extend/retract cycle several times, and that will resynchonize the cylinder, before attaching the cylinders back to the slide. I've been the procedure with an HWH technician three times with three new sets of hoses and we determined this is the best way to get it back to normal. Our final (fourth) set of hoses from HWH had different fittings and they have worked well for a year and a half.

In the short term, the way to get the slide in is to loosen the solenoid valves for the rear slides, which are located in the HWH hydraulic compartment (there should be a diagram in that reply showing you where they are located), which will relieve hydraulic pressure on the slide, and then the slide should be relatively easy to push in manually from the outside. Be sure to close the solenoid valve when you get the slide back in to help hold it in place until you get it fixed, because the system relies on hydraulic pressure to keep the slides in as well as pushed out. I would also not use your jacks or the front slide until you get it fixed or the leaking hose capped off because you run the risk of blowing fluid out the leaking hose.

If you still can't get the slide in or are have other questions about this, PM me with your phone number and I'll try to help you out via the phone.

I am very tardy with this.
The cause was a leaking hose over the radiator. Had it replaced by Erics RV in Sequim. HWH told Erics that I should be aware that this would happen AGAIN because of the heat from the radiator.

Rick Coleman · 07-25-2009, 07:02 PM

I'm surprised that HWH told your mechanic that. HWH has a retrofit kit (?) for the 36MDDS and probably all other 34-36 footers. I received a diagram to re-route the hoses along with the new hoses. The re-routing takes them away from the radiators. Ask them for this information. It seems to me that it may be in the ACA website. I believe I sent it to Engineer Mike to put in the ACA library. My hoses have lived since I did it. Knock on wood. Good Luck.

OldForester · 07-25-2009, 10:18 PM

Ol Pole--

In my opinion, HWH's comments that Eric's RV passed on to you don't jive with our experience. Our HWH certified tech who replaced our third and fourth set of hoses said the the hoses were rated for 250 degrees and should have no problem with the heat on the radiator because it doesn't get that warm. Our second set of hoses were routed away from the radiator and they failed. Our third set of hoses had the heat shield applied to the fittings, again routed away from the radiator, and the wardrobe slide was retracted and extended twice a day for a week, the engine was never started and those hoses failed. That's right, they failed by bubbling behind the fittings, just like the other hoses and they didn't have any engine or radiator heat to deal with for that whole week. They just failed because they were defective. Our fourth set of hoses had different colored fittings, implying a different metal or different treatment, and they have been on the coach for two years and are doing well.

So I don't believe the heat comment because we had a set fail routed away from the radiator, and another set fail without any engine or radiator heat, other than ambient air. You probably won't have any problem with the new hoses unless they came from old stock.

Cardsfan · 07-26-2009, 08:47 PM

I was just at HWH on July 2nd to have the entire set of hoses for the rear slide changed out and rerouted. The service tech was obviously aware of the problem because of his, "need to reroute those hoses away from the radiator, do we?" comment. I certainly hope they have the new fittings, if there's been failures even after the rerouting of other owners. We've only done the slides twice since they were repaired.