Lippert Hydraulic Slideout System

[maximo]

My 2011 Big Sky 3580RL has three hydraulic slideouts on it. The in, out control switch in on the wall above the stairs to the bedroom with all the other switches, lights, heater, water pump and others. When you activate the out side of the switch the bedroom slide opens first, then the driver side slide and last the passenger side slide. On the outside left front of the trailer is the control box for the Lippert 6 Point Leveling System. In this box there is also three switches labeled "Hydraulic Room Control" one is labeled "BED", one is labeled "ODS" and the other is labeled "DS". All three are in the on position. There is nothing anywhere I can find that says what these controls do. I assume that if any one of the switches were turned to the off position that slide would not open when the inside switch was operated. With all three switches in the on position and you press the inside slide switch when the bedroom slide is almost open the next slide is starting to move and the third slide starts to move while the second slide is moving. There are times we stop along the road on a overnight trip and just want to use the bedroom so I guess if I turn the other two slide off they will not move. When I get to my destination turn all the switches on and they will all open as the should. Am I right in all my thoughts?

Frank

[scductman]

Frank I have an older trailer with the inside sw but my gress is you are rite. I do know I can go in the front basement and cut off any one at the barrel valve and it will not go out. on the operation they work on pressure so the easy ones go first thats always my BR then the rest and sometimes the other 3 will move alittle till the first is all the way out then one at a time small to large. I would cut off all but the BR slide and try it see what happens it won't hurt just watch and turn the sw loose if they don't move. JMHO
Bobby

[sue531]

With our 2011 3580 the valve marked OPP operates the kitchen slide, main is the living room or passenger side and of course the bedroom is the bedroom slide. If you turn one of these to the off position that slide will not come out. It is pretty handy when you want selective slide operation. I am doing this from memory but I think I have the descriptions correct.

[drsmart]

Just make sure you don't forget that some are in the off position when you want all slides out next time you set up. We had our Monty in to the dealer to have a leaking hydraulic hose replaced. When we went to pick up the trailer after the repair, I tried putting all the slides out with the wireless remote to make sure the leak was gone. Didn't notice that the tech had left two of the valves in the off position since the little door covering the knobs was locked closed. One slide came out, then the next larger slide slowly started out and the breaker kept tripping and resetting as the slide moved. The closed valve was being forced open enough to allow some fluid past but this created enough load on the pump to trip the breaker. Lesson learned

[snfexpress]

All responses are informative. I would add that you mark your valves so you don't have to remember that DS is curbside large side. Also, if you close any valves so you only open the slides you want, make sure that you open them before you retract the slides so that they are snug to the trailer when you go off down the road.

[MIMF]

Frank,

Those switches for the "hydraulic room control" you are referring to, are actually valves. They are commonly called IRC valves or, individual room control valves.

With all 3 valves on or open, when you are opening or closing the slide rooms, it is common for the bed room slide to open first. That is because, it is the closest room physically located near the hydraulic pump and takes the least amount of hydraulic pressure to move because it is the smallest and lightest of the 3 rooms. While the hydraulic pressure is building up through-out the system, things begin to move in a sequence due to the hydraulic pressure that is available to move something. That is why you typically see the bed room slide move first and at the same time, may see one of the other rooms move which, is going to be the next easiest due to it's size and weight. As the rooms move out and seal and are phyisically blocked, the pressure being built up by the pump, diverts to another section of the system. This why you will most likely hear the pump labor down a little more each time a room seals and the pressure transfers. This is when the 12 volt auto-resetting breaker for the pump will most likely pop open due to amperage draw and heat to stop and protect the pump. But, that is another discussion.

With all three valves open, usually when you hit the wall switch to bring the rooms in, they come in in the exact same order they went out.

Those IRC valves allow you the flexablity to move one or two of the rooms in any order you wish at any time. To do this, simple close the valve for the room you do not want to move and leave open the valve for the room or, rooms you do want to move. Remember, those valves are NOT flow control valves that will set the speed a room moves! They are always closed or opened......no in between.

Sorry for the rambling but, hope this helps you understand a little what all those knobs are and do.

[Phil P]

Hi

We have 4 slides. The valves are marked DS, ODS, AUX BED. For my trailer it seems to correlate to DS= Dining Room Slide, ODS= Opposite Dinning Room, AUX= Kitchen and BED= Bedroom.

Phil P

[MIMF]

Phil P,

The terminology or, labeling of the valves seems to be changing all of the time. But, to set the record straight, you need to know what some of this means, especially in the manufacturing evironment.

DS means door side of coach, ODS means off door side of coach, AUX could mean any room and, of course BED is the bed slide. As long as you know what valve controls what room, that is all that matters because, whoever plumbed up the hydraulic lines at the plant during manufacturing could have been thinking of it in different terms.

[Phil P]

quote:Originally posted by MIMF

Phil P,

The terminology or, labeling of the valves seems to be changing all of the time. But, to set the record straight, you need to know what some of this means, especially in the manufacturing evironment.

DS means door side of coach, ODS means off door side of coach, AUX could mean any room and, of course BED is the bed slide. As long as you know what valve controls what room, that is all that matters because, whoever plumbed up the hydraulic lines at the plant during manufacturing could have been thinking of it in different terms.

Agreed

It just happens that my floor plan matches the markings. I had the same idea you just proposed.

I find it fortunate that what I posted matches the floor plan I have. It is easer for my wife to remember it the way I posted it. LOL

Thanks for the clarification. Now if only Keystone would follow more “Industry Standards”.

Phil P