Bedroom slider

[Rondo]

Went out to the Monte today to move it up from the flood plain on the Platte River since the ice is starting to break up and forming ice jams which means flooding! Didn't want to try and catch our Monte as it floated by down the Platte. Anyway, when I checked everything before pulling it out to higher ground I noticed that the bedroom slide was not all the way in! I know when I closed it up for the winter everything was in tight! I'm hoping there is no damage from snow and ice that may have got in over the last month or so. I checked inside and didn't see any! Any idea what may have happened to make it come out? It's out about 1 inch all the way around. I tried to find another thread on this that I thought I had read prior but couldn't locate it. Any help would be appreciated on the cause and the cure for this! Should I just close the other two slider valves and put the bedroom slider out and back in to see if it closes all the way or what? Thanks for any help or advice you can give me!

[racerjoe]

my guess would be that the cylinder lost it's oil from leaking thru the seal internally returning the oil back to tank. Which in turn would not hold the slide tight. it probebly is just due to the long term storage. I would run it in and out a couple times to replace the oil in the cyl. and my bet it will be ok. Also is there a manual shut off valve to that slide? it would help in keeping the cyl full throughout storage.

[hookman]

Ours is creeping out and I bring it in every couple of days. I've talked to the tech and he says they have to adjust the slide.

[sreigle]

Rondo, if you go to the member list, find MIMF or MIMF2 and email him, he (Dale) used to work at Lippert, who makes the slide mechanisms. He's an expert on this topic and I know he'd be glad to answer your questions.

[Rondo]

Thanks Steve! I'll email Dale and see what he has to say! I knew there would be help out here if I just asked! I think Dale commmented on one other thread back a while also for the same thing happening! Thanks again Steve and all others that have replied!

[MIMF]

Rondo and hookman......and everybody else, Good evening!

Before I started surfing thru the forum at the very top was a private message from another member. Guess what his message was about. The very same issue.

First, everybody needs to understand that the fluid in the tank does exactly the same thing everything does when it gets cold. That is, it constricts.

The first thing to do is to double check the fluid level in the tank. It needs to be maintained at about 1/2" from the fill cap in the top of the tank. It does not matter if the pump is the earlier Haldex or the later Parker Pump. If you need to add fluid to the tank, go to your neighborhood Wally-World and pick up a bottle (quart) of their cheap name brand automatic tranny fluid. If the label says anything about Dexron/Dexron III or Mercon/Mercon 5, that is what you want. Don't worry about whether the fluid is a different color in the tank from what you are pouring in from the bottle, it won't matter.

When you get the fluid level where you want it with the rooms closed, send them all out. Run down to the pump and check the fluid and look for bubbles floating thru it. If they are there, it is air contamination in the system. It may take three or four cycles of the rooms back in and out to purge the air from the system.

If the air is purged from the system and this room creeps back out over time, then it is indeed the seal around the piston inside the cylinder that is defective and the cylinder will need to be replaced. But, let's not go there yet and hope the problem is the fluid level. Because, what could be happening is that, when you extend the rooms, the fluid level may be dropping just enough as the rooms begin to seal, the pick up tube from the pump might be sucking air.

So, for now, let's go with that. If that doesn't work, pm me or post your findings here. I'll be lurking.

MIMF (Dale)

[Rondo]

Thanks Dale! I hope to go out to the Monte tomarrow and I'm hoping that the battery is in good enough shape to open and close the sliders as you recommend! I can't run any shore line till I get it back home here or somewhere where there is a 30 amp plug or even a 15 amp so I can use the adaptor. I'll let you know what the verdict is when I get back! I just may have been the one that you were talking about in your post since I emailed you about an hour or so ago! thanks again! Rondo

[exav8tr]

Rondo, you might want to hook up to your truck and let the truck run to build up your battery so you don't run it down. I think this will work if you can get the truck to the Monty. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Rondo]

Good Idea Phil! I'll try it if I don't hear anything to the contrary over the evening and tomarrow morning before I head out! Thanks!

[Waynem]

Phil is correct. When the TV is hooked up the battery will charge. Check the battery On/Off switch. If you stored it correctly the battery kill switch will be in a position that removes 12V Elec. from the trailer. There is going to be some drain on the battery. Worst case, take the battery to the stick house and charge it, or carry an extra battery to the trailer and jumper them.

Edited: p.s., as Dale pointed out, the fluid contracts when cold. Remember that as it gets warmer out it expands. Check the level and use your wife's turkey baster to get the level right. (Please don't tell her I suggested that!)

[FLSTS03]

Rondo,
Not sure what your TV is, but if it is the new 6.7L cummins remember to keep your idle time < 10 min., Don't want to fillup the ole DPF too soon.(or so they say)....Steve

[Rondo]

No Cummins for this guy! Duramax all the way!

[MIMF]

Rondo, then I just answered you back on your second pm. Keep us posted as to what happens.

Thanks,

MIMF

[Rondo]

Well gang I went out to the Monte today and had to connect to a friends outside receptical with my shoreline and an extension cord. I opened and closed all the sliders several times and they are all closed up tight right now! Unfortunately when I tried to open the slides with battery power the battery was low (don't know why because I just put it back in the Monte and it was on the trickle charger most of the winter) and only opened the bedroom slide and the other two about an inch or so. I tried Phil's suggestion on hooking up the cable from the Monte to the TV even before I started to open the sliders but that didn't help either. Needless to say that's where the shoreline and an long extension cord came in handy! Before working the slides I checked the fluid in the tank and it was OK-about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch from the top of the tank. I marked the tank with a marker at both the in and out positions of the sliders. I will be keeping a bottle of ATF in the storage area just incase! Anyway all is well! I'm going to be out of town for the next two weeks-- in Georgia and Alabama- and will have my brother check on the bedroom slide while I'm gone. Hopefully it will not open while I'm gone. I guess I'll know when I get back and will let everyone know then! Thanks again for all the help and suggestions. If anyone is going to "The Rally" in Perry, GA-- see you there!-- Even if we don't have our fiver with us!

[sreigle]

Rondo, most trucks require the engine be running for that trick to work. Since you mentioned having a GM, you may also need to put a fuse into the fuse holder as I guess they don't come with them in place like Dodge and Ford do. A GM guy can give you more specifics.

MIMF, any idea the fluid level with slides extended? We're set up until 4/14 and it's quite a bit of work to move pictures, etc., just to check the level. I can wait until 4/14 I guess.

[Rondo]

Steve- Truck was running but for some reason it wasn't putting any power to the battery or the unit for the slides to work. As I said I finally had to resort to hooking up the shoreline and an extension cord to a friends outside receptical. Got the slides all out and in two times before I unhooked the shoreline cords. I drove the 40+ miles to go and check on the slides today and everything looks fine. None of them have crept out and hopefully they won't while I'm gone for the next two weeks. My brother asked how to close them if they should open-- I told him he had to do it from the inside-- he said not he doesn't, he's got a bobcat with a bucket on it and he'll just close them that way! I think my heart stopped for a second or two just thinking about the idea! He smiled and laughed! Oh, I found out why the unit would not take a charge when hooked up to the TV-- I think-- On the way home from checking the Monte on Friday, a message came up on my message board in the dash saying the trailer gain braking system needed service. I was about a mile from the dealership so swung in there and they checked it out! Questioned the message with the service rep and he had never seen it before upon further inspection they found out a resistor somewhere in the rear of the TV had gone bad and blew the fuse. Resistor on order and new fuse in place. Must have taken out all the power going to the Monte when it blew! Learn things every day!

[MIMF]

Steve, if I recall, in most cases when the fluid is at the proper level with the rooms in, when they are extended on a 4 room system like your's, the tank will be about 2/3 full or 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches below the bottom of the fill cap.

Now keep in mind everyone, that if you have 2 or 3 rooms, the fluid level is not going to drop as much when the rooms are extented.

I still stand by the "guage" marks with the black permenent marker trick.

Bring your rooms all in, fill the reservoir where you want it and draw a black line at the level of the fluid. Now, extend the rooms, draw another black line where the fluid level is at.

In the future, every time you are messing around in the front locker, you will be amazed at how much you will glance at your pump! If you see the fluid level bleow either one of those 2 lines you drew on the side of the tank, keep your eyes open and look for signs of a leak.

Keep in mind that the ONLY way this will work is if there is NO air contamination in the system.

The only thing that screws this all up is the addition of hydraulic landing gear legs because the pump has to be changed to a higher capacity pump and reservoir. :>) In which case you merely need to do the same thing, only when it is hooked to the truck.