2018 Phaeton 40QBH Slideout Question

[Dale R]

Having been given contradictory information about slide out operation from the dealer vs. the HWH operator manual, got a question.
Dealer said to have engine running, turn on cruise control, and hit resume to increase the RPM by about 300 turns. Dealer also said nothing about holding room extension/retraction switch down for 3-4 seconds after the room has ended it's travel. This bothered me as I have had past issues in other coaches.
My question: Dealer told me my coach's back two slide outs are electric and front two hydraulic. I can not find anything in my manuals confirming this or proper operation, manual operation, etc. of the electric ones. Is this because they are hydraulic too? By myself too so can't listen to the pumps and operate slide out at the same time. have not called Tiffin, My first experience calling them was not real good. Did not get a warranty registration card. Called to ask about, left a message, and no return call.
Also, left a message on the coach accessory forum, but should engine be running or not? HWH says no, except for jack retraction.

[luvlabs]

Here's the procedure:

Arrival
- Pull into your site
- Leave the engine running. Put it on high idle by engaging the cruise control
- Push the auto level button, air bag will deflate and jacks will come down.
- When the leveling system is done, extend the slides (the front are hydraulic, the rears electric). Allways extend slides continuously without stopping, hold the switch for 1-2 seconds after they stop moving.
- Shut down the engine and hookup your utilities

Departure
- Unhook the utilities and lower your satellite antenna
- Start engine and go to high idle
- Retract the slides - on the front slides, hold the switch for an additional 2-4 seconds to lock the slides
- Retract and store the jacks
- Have a safe trip!

Running the engine on high idle is keep the DPF system happy. Use high idle anytime you need to leave the engine running for more than a couple of minutes. You want to keep the engine running to provide the electrical power to the slides - they require a lot of power to operate and the engine alternator supplies it just fine.

Any more questions?

[twinturb089]

Originally Posted by luvlabs

Here's the procedure:

Arrival
- Pull into your site
- Leave the engine running. Put it on high idle by engaging the cruise control
- Push the auto level button, air bag will deflate and jacks will come down.
- When the leveling system is done, extend the slides (the front are hydraulic, the rears electric). Allways extend slides continuously without stopping, hold the switch for 1-2 seconds after they stop moving.
- Shut down the engine and hookup your utilities

Departure
- Unhook the utilities and lower your satellite antenna
- Start engine and go to high idle
- Retract the slides - on the front slides, hold the switch for an additional 2-4 seconds to lock the slides
- Retract and store the jacks
- Have a safe trip!

Running the engine on high idle is keep the DPF system happy. Use high idle anytime you need to leave the engine running for more than a couple of minutes. You want to keep the engine running to provide the electrical power to the slides - they require a lot of power to operate and the engine alternator supplies it just fine.

Any more questions?

I have a 2016 qbh and do not run the motor when putting out slides. I pull into campsite. hit the auto level button, once the jacks are down and coach is level, i shut off engine, walk outside to make sure all slides are clear of trees, etc .I then extend the 2 front slides, after they are out, I walk to rear bedroom to extend those slides. Crack a beer and go out and hook up utilities if available. Why would you have it idle high to open the slides....? unless you want to stink out your neighbors. The passenger front slide is hydraulic , but it does not work off the engine at all.

[mricet1005]

The HWH hydraulic motor and control is powered by the chassis batteries and will not operate if voltage too low. When key on (engine not running) the engine preheat function can lower voltage on chassis batteries even if connected to shore power. I have had occasional/intermittent issues where hydraulic slide would not operate but if I run engine on high idle and make sure alternator putting out >13 volts I have never had the slide not operate. So I also follow procedure that @luvlabs above outlined. With that procedure have never had an issue with the slide.

[luvlabs]

Tiffin recommends that you run the engine to both level the coach and extend the slides due to the high current draw on the batteries. Makes sense.

When I had the Phaeton, I usually followed the Tiffin way but on occasion I would do everything after I hooked up the shore power. Same idea, don't deplete the batteries.

[Air Conditioned Gypsy]

Originally Posted by mricet1005

The HWH hydraulic motor and control is powered by the chassis batteries and will not operate if voltage too low. .

The house batteries have no effect on the HWH hydraulic motor? And the generator? Only the chassis batteries and engine? When boondocking, I run the generator during slide and jacks retraction. With FHU, I leave the shore power connected til after slide and jacks retraction.

Am I overdoing things?

Thanks.

Chuck

[lllkrob]

This brings up an interesting point, in another post a 2010 Allegro bus owner was told by Tiffin Technical Service that the chassis batteries were not charged by the engine while driving. So, if this is true, it would not do any good to run the engine while deploying or retracting the slides. I have always thought the batteries were charged by the alternator while driving, any comments.....

[mricet1005]

Originally Posted by lllkrob

This brings up an interesting point, in another post a 2010 Allegro bus owner was told by Tiffin Technical Service that the chassis batteries were not charged by the engine while driving. So, if this is true, it would not do any good to run the engine while deploying or retracting the slides. I have always thought the batteries were charged by the alternator while driving, any comments.....

That’s got to be a misunderstanding. The alternator’s prime function is charging the chassis batteries. Don’t know about 2010, but on my 2013 the chassis batteries are barely charged by shore power or generator via a battery tender that only supplies a trickle charge.

The alternator will also charge the house batteries but only after adequate charge supplied to the chassis batteries.

Shore power provides power directly to AC outlets and charges the house batteries via the inverter/charger. Again only trickle charges chassis batteries via a battery tender that is plugged into an AC outlet.

Since slide controllers and HWH powered via Chassis batteries, the alternator is the only effective mechanism to make sure adequate voltage.

At least this is my understanding and consistent with my research and experimentation.

[luvlabs]

It always amazes me how little people know about their RV electrical systems. There are differences between manufacturers but little difference within a manufacturer. Tiffins do the following:

House and chassis batteries are charged by the alternator when the engine is on. If not, then the charge relay has failed and needs to be replaced. Late model Tiffins use the Spyder system to control the charging.

Hydraulic pumps and the slides are powered by the house batteries, not the chassis batteries.

The generator is started by the house batteries.

[azpete]

whether or not the house batteries operate the hwh systems is determined by the manufacturer, not hwh corp.
hwh recommends using the chassis batteries. not the house batteries. but as i said, that is the mfg choice.
running the generator or leaving the coach plugged in has little effect on operation, unless the inverter is left on. the generator itself does not add a lot to the house batteries unless the inverter is left with the charger on. it does not automatically add more than 3 or 4 amps back to the house batteries. its in the generator manual.
but the op question seems to be run the engine or not.
if your batteries are fully charged, you can operate all systems with the key in either the accessory position or the on position. accessory position defeats the alarm.
please read the manual. different mfg have different procedures.

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by lllkrob

This brings up an interesting point, in another post a 2010 Allegro bus owner was told by Tiffin Technical Service that the chassis batteries were not charged by the engine while driving. So, if this is true, it would not do any good to run the engine while deploying or retracting the slides. I have always thought the batteries were charged by the alternator while driving, any comments.....

Both house and chassis batteries are charged by the alternator. The same solenoid that provides the aux switch jump start function closes when the ignition key is on to couple the house batteries to the chassis batteries to facilitate charging both battery banks. Note - This solenoid is a common failure item.

[vsheetz]

On my 2011 Phaeton the house batteries power the slides. I don't run the propulsion engine when transitioning slides. Typically I have shore power connected when transitioning the slides - so the charger is active. If no shore power I transition slides on unassisted batteries.

[garykk]

Unless Tiffin changed things for the QBH, the PS front slide is Hydraulic and the DS front is electric. The rear bedroom slides are Schwintek .
I don’t think your dealer teck knows too much.

[Air Conditioned Gypsy]

Sounds like there is a lot of opinions about how this stuff actually works.... Someone recommended that we read the manual - Not sure about yours, but my manuals from Tiffin leave a LOT to be desired, no in depth info about how stuff works at all.

In another post, I think in the Class A forum today, someone apparently got wrong info from a Tiffin tech regarding battery and alternator function. Getting definitive info from most dealers is a dice roll.

I wish there was a definitive answer. I have been trying to figure out a balky slide and am in the process of (possibly) replacing the house batteries, a pretty expensive thing. And I am not even sure if it matters.

Please don't take this as a complaint about the comments in this post. Didn't mean that. I'm just trying to figure out the right thing.

Regards.

Chuck