Slide Out Question

[RKassl]

On a Montana 5'er with slide outs, are there any interior supports to put in place prior to towing to support the slide? I have seen some on other makes of trailers. Didn't notice any during our initial walk through.

[CountryGuy]

Bob and Nancy,

simple, one word answer,

NO!



There is a technical answer to why, one of the fellows will certainly come along and explain it!

[stiles watson]

Montanas design is such that it is not needed. There is a slide and hydrolic pump guy on this forum. He will probably come along later and give a definitive answer.

[azstar]

Bob,

No more supports. That was one of the most common repairs done to RV's. People forgetting to take the supports out and hitting the button, ripping the facia off on the inside. TV Ant's. and Awning's are the other most common repairs.

With the Hyd. system, the Hyd. oil gets trapped in the Cylinders. It's like a Hyd. jack, once pumped up it's not going down until you open the valve. Same princple on the Slides. Until you hit the switch and either reverse the pump or the valve spool, it's not going to move. Some Mountana's have the Spool Valve and the new ones get the reverseable pump.

Happy Camping

[jrgwdenner]

I don't understand all this technical jargon but someone mentioned that the slide would hold 300# (?) so support wouldn't be necessary. What kind of interior supports are you talking about?

[CountryGuy]

Judy,

Some units come with a spring bar that you must install everytime you want to go down the hard road, the bar is to keep the slide from "sliding" out while you are underway.

Never had a unit with them, friends of ours did, they told us, that the manufacturers told them, the bars are not necessary, but are a precaution. Either someone is very very careful and scared of lawsuits, or someone is speaking bunk out of the sides of their mouths???

Carol

[MIMF]

Buck and Muffin,

They are right. The answer to your question is NO.

Now, with hydraulic cylinders, things will happen as with anything else. If you ever notice that as you travel down the road and any of the slides are creeping back out, then you do have a minor problem. The problem is that one of the cylinders has an internal leak. That means that fluid under pressure is gradully leaking past the seal around the piston inside the cylinder. When the fluid leaks passed the piston, the pressurized fluid "relaxes" the pressure through-out the whole system. If your coach has the IRC valves, when you retract the rooms simply close each of the valves. That will help "trap" the pressurized fluid between the cylinders and the valve that controlls it.

The next step is finish your trip. Everything will be fine. Just remember to open the valves before you extend the rooms. When you get home, locate your dealer,or a service center and have them call me. We will get it fixed!

If your coach doesn't have the IRC's, well, then it may be necessary to cut 2x4's to the length so you can lay them up on top of the ceiling of the room or lay them on the floor between the facia and the wall. Get the coach to your dealer and again, have him call. But, REMEMBER TO REMOVE THEM BEFORE YOU EXTEND THE ROOMS.

[carlson]

Bob and Nancy,
I had the bars on my old Terry TT.
They were NOT there to keep the slide from coming out.
They were put in to make a tighter seal between the slide and the TT when traveling.
The system with the bars are usually a electric motor moving the gears not a hydraulic system like we have on the Montana.

[sreigle]

MIMF, someone told me that if the system loses pressure it will cause the slides to close rather than to extend. I don't remember whether I heard that during a Montana factory tour or our dealer said that. I take it from your description that this is incorrect, right?

Thanks.

[MIMF]

sreigle,

That could only be true for the bed slide if the rooms are out. Because it is mounted level with the floor upstairs of the coach. However, the other rooms that at the standard flush floor thru frame systems are at a downward slope as the rooms move out. That is as the rooms move out, they are rolling down hill. As they are coming in, they are being pulled up hill. So, if you have a bad seal on a cylinder piston in a cylinder and don't know it, typically the rooms won't move in from the out position. And if they are out, your not moving down the road anyway.

Usually when a room creeps out, it is from the in position. And it can happen when the coach is standing still or bouncing over the road. Most likely the later.

Be seeing you next week.

[sreigle]

Thanks. Actually, that will be week after next. We'll call sometime Monday the 23rd.

[MIMF]

sreigle,

That's right! I did notice that later when I got to my office. Looking forward to it!