Manually open slideout - Montana Owners Club

wheels88 · 08-12-2007, 11:31 AM

I have a 2004 Montana Mountaineer 32ft. TT, 305FKS. I recently got a website (lci1.com) which showed me how to manually open the slideout. The pictures at the website show you need to use a ratchet and socket to put on the hex head crank extension. My problem is that I don't have a hex head on it. It's round. A 5/8" socket slides over the extension but it has nothing to get a grip on. Please advise. I am not a handy person at all, but I'd like to be able to open the slideout if the moter ever gives out on me.

Wheels88
2004 Ford, E-350 van conversion, 6.0 PSD, 4.10

capn chris · 08-13-2007, 04:59 AM

I believe that a cordless drill w/a hex driver inserted into the back of the slide pump motor is what works?!!

VanMan · 08-13-2007, 06:15 AM

See if Figure 5 on page 9 of this is like yours. I got this from the link you had. Evidently there is a hex head under the "protective label".

http://www.lci1.com/Service%20Owners...20Wall-Web.pdf

I selected "Hydraulic Full Wall" from the owners manuals link.

01RAMer · 08-13-2007, 07:09 AM

You know, I heard questions forwarded about a manual process to open or close a slideout and I always hear the same thing, use the hex adapter on the motor. That's a good solution but to me that is not doing it manually. What if there was a hydraulic problem, maybe the pump is bad, the drill technique would be worthless as that just turns the pump like the motor does. Isn't there a truely manual way to crank these slides in or out if need be, maybe by the gear rod somehow, under the slide? Seems like there should be a way in case of an emergency situation.

rogue · 08-13-2007, 11:25 AM

01RAMer, When we purchased our new 2955RL last month, during the PDI, I ask about getting the slide in if the pump went bad. They said you would need to disconnect the hydraulic hoses and get several big guys to help push it back in. They did not tell me anything about the hex adapter, that I since have found as mentioned above. I would assume disconnect and push is a last resort issue, but then you need to be carefull while driving as it could slide back out unless you find a way to lock it in place.

Merv · 08-14-2007, 04:32 AM

Hi,
I believe Rouge is correct. If the pump goes bad it is tough to get the slide in. Also if you can not use the pump for the following reason.
I had one of the bolts break in the square bar that connects the two gear racks of the slide. When this happens only one end of the slide will move. This will cock the slide sidways.
I tried to move the slide with a large cresent wrench on the square bar underneath the slide. It would only move a slight amount (about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn) before the hydraulic fluid in the lines prevented it from moving further.
I had to at least get the holes to line up so that I could insert a new bolt so the slide would work.
I suppose I could have ran the "good end" in and pushed the bad end, but that is tough to do alone.
Just in case you have the same type setup, you might want to check on these bolts occasionally. Mine is a 2004 and the bolt had rusted through enough to break. When I was replacing the broken bolt I checked the other bolt and it broke when I tried to loosen it. So I replaced both with grade 8 bolts.
Merv

01RAMer · 08-14-2007, 09:28 AM

Well I kinda thought that was going to be the answer but was afraid to hear it. Thanks for the responce!

MIMF · 08-14-2007, 01:55 PM

Hey folks, It's not as bad as it seems.

On the end of the pump motor, you will see a red and silver foil sticker.. That sticker covers the opening into the motor housing to axcess the socket on the end of the motor shaft which is connected to the pump. That socket on the end of that shaft is a 1/4" socket.

Go ahead. Pull off the foil sticker and look at it.

In order to operate the pump in case of an electrical failure or motor failure, the best thing to use is an electric battery powered hand held cordless drill. I carry with me a Craftsman 19 volt with, of course, the batteries fully charged.

Almost every hand held drill that you purchase has at least 2 screwdriver bits stored somewhere in the case or handle of the drill. Either a philips or straight blade bit. Simply take one of those bits, it doesn't matter which one, and place it BACKWARDS in the chuck. You will notice the bit is hex shaped. THAT IS THE 1/4" DRIVE YOU NEED TO TURN THE PUMP MOTOR!

Insert the driver into the socket in the end of the motor and rotate the motor shaft, which will rotate the pump. Now you may need to experiment a little to determine which way to rotate the motor shaft because, turning it in one direction extends the rooms and rotating it in the other direction retracts the rooms. Naturally, the faster you run the drill the quicker the pump will build the pressure to operate the rooms. However, the drill will not turn the pump faster than the motor did so, it may take a little longer to get the rooms where you want them. You will also notice, that with all of the IRC valves open, those rooms will travel in exactly the same sequence they did before.

When the rooms are extended or retracted and that pump builds pressure to try to move the rooms, you WILL feel the torque on the drill. In other words, the drill will try to twist from your hand because, the fluid is "dead-heading". It can't flow and the pump is trying to make it do so.

If there are any more questions or I need to elaborate further, feel free to PM me or, better yet, keep the discussion going right here.

You all have a good evening.

RKassl · 08-14-2007, 02:25 PM

Hello Dale, hope things are good for you these days. To continue this conversation try this one. What does one due in case of a total pump failure, with the slides extended or maybe a broken hydraulic line? Can the slides be retracted and be made safe for travel?

Thanks!

Always great to hear from you!

SRD · 08-18-2007, 03:39 AM

Hi Wheels88, I have a 03 315R Mountainer TT. I have had to use the manual system once to help bring the slide in (had to turn it just a few turns and the slide came in on its own). My TT has the hex head on the extension, but it's mounted on the extension with a cotter pin. You might check the end of the extension and see if there is a hole about 2"-3" from the end of the extension. If there is hole I'll bet all you'll need to do is purchase the hex head adapter? Good luck. Steve

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