Sluggish Slide-out...???

[fansill]

Good Afternoon All,

Sorry for the multiple posts, but we are just winding down another wonderful weekend of camping and I have a few questions...

When we arrived here at the campground Friday afternoon, I deployed all four of our slides and the first three went out smoothly and at normal speed. The last one in the bedroom, was extermely sluggish and I do not think that it would have continued to deploy fully but for my manual assistance, leaning over and giving it a little push as I was holding down the button.

We have not broken camp yet and so I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will retract as they should.

Any ideas of why the slow motion speed for that slide? How to diagnose possible problems?? And would a lubrication of the slide mechanism while it is extended help??

Thanks once again for all of your opinions,

AND GOD BLESS ALL OUR TROOP!!

Faith

[The General]

Fansill,

I always start with the easy stuff:
Check battery meter for voltage.
Check cell fluids and never let fluids go down below plates.
Check ground wire connections, and battery teriminals, for corrosion and tightness.
Make sure that engine is on while slide is in operation.


Steve

[alvinc]

The slide outs were designed with motors, etc that will handle a particular amount of weight. If you have storage compartments in the slide out, the slide may be overloaded.

I have to be careful of this on our 12 ft slide that contains the couch and dinette. There is a lot of storage down there, but I have to be careful of the weight.

[bob109]

Here's some info on a great fix for Fleetwood Slides. Check and see if the rollers on your slides are plastic! If so this fix/mod could end your problem

DiscoverySalonSlide

[Bert3388]

Are you running the engine while using the slides?

[Bert3388]

Opps just saw Steve's comment about the engine being on.

[The General]

Bert3388,

We're all friends here so don't sweat the little stuff

Your friend,

Steve

[fansill]

I was not running the engine then but I realize now that I should be. My normal routine is

Turn off engine,
Put RV in Park,
Put Brake on,
Dump Air Bags
Extend levelers
Perform all hookups - water, electric, sewer, etc
Deploy slides

I was a little reluctant to turn engine back on as I wanted to keep air bags empty after levelers were down...Not sure whether the air bags will refill when engine is turned back on...

Any ideas??

[The General]

fansill,

Keep engine on through all until ready to hookup water, sewer and electric.


Steve

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fansill I was a little reluctant to turn engine back on as I wanted to keep air bags empty after levelers were down...Not sure whether the air bags will refill when engine is turned back on... Any ideas??

The air bags will not refill as long as either the manual dump valve is in the dump position or you may have an automatic valve that will not allow the air bags to inflate as long as the jacks are down.

A good rule of thumb is to have the engine running when performing all the things you have listed except when hooking up the utilities. Don't forget, the engine should be running when performing the reverse.