Slideout issues 2008 345DBQ - Montana Owners Club

zeus130 · 05-14-2018, 12:57 PM

Apologies in advance if this is long, however I wanted to include as much info as possible so there is less anyone needs to ask before venturing any help.

I have a 2008 Montana Mountaineer 345DBQ. When I closed up my slides in the fall they went in without any problems. When I opened it up this spring, I am having issues with them. When the slides were moving properly, the cycle was the bedroom, bunkhouses together, then the main body. Now it is the bedroom, the main body half way, then one bunk (left), then the other (right), then finishes the main. It is a hydraulic system and you can hear it struggling when the bunks go in and out and the struggling is when the main goes in. No struggling with bedroom. I have learned tat the slides that are moving are moving because they possess the least resistance.

What have I done already:
I have greased the gear rails and gears on all the slides.
Removed all the contacts on the pump, cleaned the connections and put them back.
filled the resivior to about 3/4" from the top.
I have a 50 amp service at my home so it is plugged in.
I have also moved the slides in and out from the battery (does not appear to be any different on battery)
I tried to use the manual override with a drill, and was not able to get the slides to move (just kept spinning). That seemed odd.
I am level front to back and side to side.

What I notice:

When the pump is struggling, I do get a dimming on the lights and when the slides are in all the way and I am just on the switch for a second, the lights dim and almost are off for the brief second.

When the main slide is in, I noticed the the floor on the right side is about 2 inches of the floor but the left side is level.

I am not sure if an adjustment is needed and I am hesitant to tackle that. I am handy and do almost all of my projects and repairs by myself. I also wonder if it is a power issue since there is a dimming when the pump struggles, but it makes sense there could be a dimming. No breakers or fuses have tripped or failed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have not put a volt meter on the pump yet.

Unhappy Camper!!!! John K

BuilderBob · 05-14-2018, 03:02 PM

Did you check to make sure your battery's are fully charge? The pump system runs off 12 volts so weather you are plugged in or not you could have low or bad battery's.

Bob & Carol
Washington St
2017 HC HM352RL 2008 Dodge 3500 DRW CC LB 4x4

Happy TRails

zeus130 · 05-14-2018, 03:20 PM

The battery was replaced last July. When I hit my battery button on the camper it says full. I also disconnected the battery and ran it off of the electric. There is no change. I guess I can put a volt meter on the battery to make sure it is charged....

John K

jcurtis934 · 05-14-2018, 03:54 PM

I am far from an expert on these systems, but I do understand the ins and outs. Your rv is 11 years old now and with that goes how things work. Your converter is not made to handle the surge currents involved and the battery is needed to keep a clean DC voltage source for the pump motor. This really sounds like your pump motor is heading towards death. Your dimming is due to high surge currents, which is not a heath situation as you are finding out. The pump motor is the source of that high surge due to the motor winding impedance not being what it once was. A static meter test might show if the motor impedance is anywhere near what it should be. A clamp on meter to measure current being drawn during normal operation will tell a truer picture of the motor health. I really can't see the rest of the hydraulic system being the cause of your issue. Good luck with the problem.

dieselguy · 05-14-2018, 05:34 PM

If you are plugged in to shore power ... your low end battery meter on the wall will always show full charge. This is true across all brands of RVs. It is not wise to bring the slides in or out with the battery disconnected even if it is a test. Your hydraulic slide motor is 12 VDC and pulls a boatload of amps at top shape or more at a failing state. The converter charges your house battery and can supply a limited amount of DC voltage itself, but it's not meant to long term supply the amperage of what you need to power the hydraulic slide motor. That's what the battery is for ... kind of a reservoir of DC voltage that is hopefully kept topped off by the converter.

When your slides are in, they should be about the same end to end. It isn't hard to adjust, but you may have something jammed underneath.

zeus130 · 05-14-2018, 06:47 PM

I have the arctic package so I will have to remove the coverings to see if there is something below that has jammed it up. The outside closes flush and symmetrical. Not sure where the jam could come from but thanks for the advice. I have unplugged the camper and the battery reads full charge. I was aware that I had to be unplugged to get a true reading. Apologies for not making that clear.

Why would I not be able to use the manual override? When I put a drill on the override, it spun without any movement. Could there be air in the lines? I was under the impression the system is self purging when cycled three times?

John

dieselguy · 05-14-2018, 07:04 PM

No need to pull the underbelly ... I was talking about something jammed between floor of slide and main floor of fiver. You might also check to see if the manual knobs that block the slide out movement are fully open. The system is self purging and there would have to be ALOT of air to not allow any movement. The pump turns one way to extend and the opposite way to retract ... there is no switching valve for in or out. Did you try the drill motor both ways? There is a pressure relief valve internal to the pump that may be of issue. The key or coupler between the pump and motor could be at issue, but since the slides do sorta move under 12 VDC power ... maybe not. You could put a run tee with a gauge inline on one of the output lines coming from the pump to check for pressure. It should be north of 1500# - 1800#.

zeus130 · 05-14-2018, 07:35 PM

I did try both ways and had my kids tell me if there was any movement from any slide; no dice! I can put the gauge on it and see if there is low pressure but I am at least a day away from that as I work 12 hours a day....

h2ojocky · 05-14-2018, 09:33 PM

It sounds to me like there may be resistance on the main slide like dieselguy said or a battery problem. You will get a much better reading by putting a volt meter directly on the battery instead of using the one inside.

zeus130 · 05-21-2018, 03:31 PM

Thanks for all the help. I put a volt meter on the battery when engaging the slides. Voltage dropped to just over 9 volts. I then decided to plug it into my diesel truck that has two batteries. The slides went in and out without a problem. I took the battery out and bought two larger deep cell batteries and connected them in parallel. Slides push in and out like they should. Victory! Thanks again folks!

Happy Camper Again.

John K

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