Forest river wildwood x-lite lack of qa

[Florida.Traveler]

We purchased a new wildwood back in January 2019. We can not get the slide, awning or jacks up now that the trailer is home.

The breaker box is located to the left of the slide out and cannot be accessed with the slide out in. Poor design to say the least.

We eMailed and called Forest River to see if wiring diagrams of the product were available to owners. The wiring in the trailer is NOT color coded exactly thru out, so seeking to bypass the panel to get the slide out is not possible, because the color coding of the DC wiring is not the same.

The information on manually extending the slide out is very unclear and advises to remove the outside fascia to access the slide out motor. I'm not excited about that "FIX"

I ve tried a mirror to see into the breaker box, but I do not know what fuse to pull and test.

So today, because I can not move the trailer, I have to pay a RV repair service $200+ to attempt to get the slide out OUT to access the Fuse Box.

I say all of this because A/ looking for help B/ warn future buyers of this product that the electrical system fuse box is totally not accessable when you have a slide out failure. C/ Forest River policy of not providing documentation to owners about their products is not good.

Can anyone point me in a direction to fix this frustrating problem FYI, I'm a retired electrical engineer and AC and/or DC electricals are well known to me

[Bama Rambler]

Sounds like everything on the DC side isn't working. Lets look at the simple things first.
1) Have you checked the battery disconnect switch to see if it's open?
2) Have you checked the battery to see that it's fully charged?
3) Have you looked near the battery for a re-settable breaker to see if it's tripped?

I agree that not having access to the power panel is a bad design, but it may not be anything in the panel causing the issue you're having.

[Florida.Traveler]

Thank you
A/float voltage of battery is 13v
B/ reset c/b under trailer has been bypassed no DC presented to slide out controller
C/ battery disconnect is engaged
No indicator LEDs on controller
Have bright red light appearing on circuit breaker panel , but cannot see what it is indicating
Again thanks for your suggestion

[Kimber45]

what type of slide out is it? manually run the slide out so you can access the panel then check fuses and breakers.

[Florida.Traveler]

Thanks for your eMail.

I paid a RV technician to assist and this is what he found out. He commented that in his xx years as a RV tech, he has not experiences the fuse/inverter placed in a position that when the side was in you COULD NOT access the fuses.

A/ Our trailers slide out has NO manual way without 12VDC power to the slide out controller, the 2 motors are locked. The info says to access two screws to release the motors. The way the slide out is mounted to the RV these screws can not be accessed with the slide in (only when it is out). The instructions also advise to remove the FACIA on the outside of the trailer, I did not like that idea, to a new trailer.
There is no connection point (to turn the motors) in which the slide out can be manually cranked out or in, Not good.

B/ The technician, removed the slideout controller, adapted 12VDC from his battery pack to the slide controller, removed the wiring to the slide out wall mounted switch. He was successful extended the slide out, so we could access the inverter / fuse box.

C/ The whole issue was a blown 30 AMP fuse; replaced the fuse, re-installed the slide's controller and all worked as you would expect. But with the slide in the travel position access to change this fuse WAS TOTALLY BLOCKED.

D/ Finally, the design of the 12VDC wiring & this blown 30 amp fuse also disabled operations to; 1/ front & rear stabilizer 2/ the 16 foot awning, and 3/ The slide out.

We are really thinking of relocating the inverter/fuse box to a location a bit more accessible.

Forest River technical support was of no help in this issue.

[CedarCreekWoody]

On my Wildwood the fuse box is similarly blocked with the slide out closed. Mine can be manually moved, albeit very slowly, with a socket and ratchet.

[NatlChamp]

Any idea what blew the fuse?

[Florida.Traveler]

I did... putting in a disconnect switch for the awning. So if we decide to rent our trailer the renter can not operate the awning.

[Florida.Traveler]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

On my Wildwood the fuse box is similarly blocked with the slide out closed. Mine can be manually moved, albeit very slowly, with a socket and ratchet.

I would sure like to know how to do that....

[Sebourn]

I have the Wildwood 230 BHXL and ran into the access problem last year. Mine was a bit different though in that I lost power to my microwave and other outlets when I got home from a trip and plugged into shore power. The way I park at home, the slideout cannot extend out because of the wall I park next too. I found it did have power to the slide out though and was able to move it out about a foot to where I could open the panel to view. All my fuses and breakers were ok. My problem turned out to be with the GFCI. It finally reset after trying multiple times.

I am hoping someone will post how to move the panel because I would like to have that choice also if ever needed and the slide is stuck in the "in" position.

By the way FYI, not sure if you have the same setup as I do, but someone posted a picture of a hidden area under the lower bunk which has some fuses and connections. These are just behind the control panel you talk about. I have no idea what they control though. I've not taken the cover off of the lower bunk to see if I had the same thing but I'm sure I do. I was thinking about moving my control panel to that area and the face of it would be on the blank panel below my bunk. If you move your panel or anyone else does, please post some photos and description of how complicated it would be.

[Bama Rambler]

Which model do you have? You say it's a Wildwood X-Lite but not the model.

I looked online and none of the pictures show where the power panel is located. Can you post a pic of it and let us know where the power entrance is in relation to the panel.

[Florida.Traveler]

Our 2018 Wildwood x-lite has the same arrangement as yours. I have removed the lower bunk's base looking for access to the water heater.

Im personally thinking of just turning the fuse panel and its inverter around. Relocating it 180° from its current position.

I will strap a DC blower fan to it, since it will now be exposed to the non AC cooled storage area under the bunks.

I'll post pix when I get brave enough to do this.

FYI, how is your 2016 trailer holding up ? respond of list so we do not bother others with this continued thread.

[Florida.Traveler]

I've prepared a couple of PIXs to show the positions of the issue

[CedarCreekWoody]

Originally Posted by Florida.Traveler

I would sure like to know how to do that....

I suspect your slide out is different than mine. Your documentation will explain if it is possible to manually deploy. I was just making the point that several models are designed this way (which is a poor design.)

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Florida.Traveler

I did... putting in a disconnect switch for the awning. So if we decide to rent our trailer the renter can not operate the awning.

Maybe just put a 5 amp fuse inline with the awning wiring so it will blow before the 30 amp fuse blows.

Larry

[dannyabear]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Maybe just put a 5 amp fuse inline with the awning wiring so it will blow before the 30 amp fuse blows.

Larry

Reguardless of fuse size, this is not gonna end good

[Florida.Traveler]

Great idea I'll do that

[Florida.Traveler]

The power entry is in the trailer wall to the exact right of the inverter fuse box position

[Bama Rambler]

After looking at the floor plan, I think I'd either turn it around like Florida.Traveler said, or I'd move it to the base of the bunk so it's in the open when the slide is in.

[OzzieL]

What idiot came up with the bright idea to put the fuse panel there??