Slide Out Will Not Open

[Old Campers]

PLEASE HELP!!! I brought our Forest River Grey Wolf 26RL trailer home from its annual Pennsylvania Safety Inspection this afternoon. I am now finding that the slide out will not slide out. It starts and moves out an inch or two and the motors stop. It will come back in. Trying again, it only goes out an inch or two. THis is very frustrating because the slide motors were replaced less than a year ago. Since the motors work for a few seconds, I am not sure it is the motors. ANY SUGGESTIONS???

Thanks, Rich

[SeaDog]

I would suspect low battery make sure your batteries are fully charged and either be plugged in to shore power or a generator and give them a try. Slides take a tremendous amount of power.

[Old Campers]

Seadog,

Thanks for the suggestion. When I read it, it seemed logical as my battery was discharged. The trailer had been plugged in for more than 24 hours when I tried the slide out again. Unfortunately, the problem has not improved. The motors only run for a second or two and the slide moves only an inch or two.

Could the gasket be sticking and holding the slide in. By the way I checked for anything jammed but could not find anything.

I am very frustrated to the point I might give up on trailer camping or maybe trading the 26RL for another more reliable trailer. This is the second time the slide out has failed in a trailer that is less than 3 years old.

Rich

[bikendan]

Do you treat the seals with something like Aerospace 303?

Also did you check the battery with a multimeter or hydrometer, while unplugged from shore power? How did you determine it was fully charged?

[mwdilday]

Are you using a remote control? If so maybe the remote batteries are weak.

[youroo]

When you say "Motors" is this a "Schwintek Slide System"? Youroo!!

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Old Campers

Seadog,

Thanks for the suggestion. When I read it, it seemed logical as my battery was discharged. The trailer had been plugged in for more than 24 hours when I tried the slide out again. Unfortunately, the problem has not improved. The motors only run for a second or two and the slide moves only an inch or two.

Could the gasket be sticking and holding the slide in. By the way I checked for anything jammed but could not find anything.

I am very frustrated to the point I might give up on trailer camping or maybe trading the 26RL for another more reliable trailer. This is the second time the slide out has failed in a trailer that is less than 3 years old.

Rich

Check the battery for full voltage with a voltmeter. Have it load tested. Be sure the converter is on when you try it again..

[Flybob]

Just a crazy idea, but check to insure that the break-away switch has not been pulled during the inspection, They may inspect that and did not properly reinstall the plunger.

[Old Campers]

Thanks for the suggestions!!! I will check the battery tomorrow. Am I looking to see if it is at something like 12.5 - 13.5 volts? If not, can I hook up my battery charger set for starting (55 amps)? I also have one of the starter battery things. I will say the battery could be a problem. After not using the trailer since last July, the battery was completely discharged when I tried to raise the tongue last week. I put on my charger for a day and the battery seemed to be good. And we took the trailer for the PA annual inspection. When I went to pick up the trailer to bring it home, the battery was discharged. Maybe the battery is not holding a charge. But this should not matter when the trailer is plugged into a 30 amp line, right?

I did not put anything on the gaskets? I never heard of this stuff. We have only had a trailer with a slide out for about 2.5 years and have not made much use of the trailer. In fact we only traveled with it 4 times and the slide out has now failed twice. This makes me wonder if the slide out will ever be reliable enough.

Rich

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Old Campers

Thanks for the suggestions!!! I will check the battery tomorrow. Am I looking to see if it is at something like 12.5 - 13.5 volts? If not, can I hook up my battery charger set for starting (55 amps)? I also have one of the starter battery things. I will say the battery could be a problem. After not using the trailer since last July, the battery was completely discharged when I tried to raise the tongue last week. I put on my charger for a day and the battery seemed to be good. And we took the trailer for the PA annual inspection. When I went to pick up the trailer to bring it home, the battery was discharged. Maybe the battery is not holding a charge. But this should not matter when the trailer is plugged into a 30 amp line, right?

I did not put anything on the gaskets? I never heard of this stuff. We have only had a trailer with a slide out for about 2.5 years and have not made much use of the trailer. In fact we only traveled with it 4 times and the slide out has now failed twice. This makes me wonder if the slide out will ever be reliable enough.

Rich

12.5 is a 50% dead battery. Slides need full voltage to operate.

[bikendan]

Rich, cant see why you're blaming the manufacturer for this stuff, if you aren't keeping battery charged and you're not doing maintenance on the slide seals.

Have you been doing maintenance on the roof caulking? That requires yearly inspections.

Suggest you install a battery disconnect switch, if you aren't going to keep the trailer plugged into shore power.

[grumpy0374]

If the batteries are dead, just plugging into a shore power source will not help in most cases. Slides that run off batteries need a good battery. If its dead, plugging it into a power source will not charge the batteries. Converter is converting 120 volts to trickle charge the batteries, but if battery won't hold a full charge, motor won't work. Converter by itself won't provide enough 12 volt power to operate slide motor. It takes a lot of "oomph" to power those slide motors.
Grumpy

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Old Campers

PLEASE HELP!!! I brought our Forest River Grey Wolf 26RL trailer home from its annual Pennsylvania Safety Inspection this afternoon. I am now finding that the slide out will not slide out. It starts and moves out an inch or two and the motors stop. It will come back in. Trying again, it only goes out an inch or two. THis is very frustrating because the slide motors were replaced less than a year ago. Since the motors work for a few seconds, I am not sure it is the motors. ANY SUGGESTIONS???

Thanks, Rich

You need to HELP us! You keep referring to "Motors" this leads to a "Schwintek Slide System" if this is True there are "LOTS of Issues" that could be causing Slide problems,Brought On by your "DEAD Battery"! Now is it a "Schwintek"?? Youroo!!

[kevind02]

Originally Posted by grumpy0374

If the batteries are dead, just plugging into a shore power source will not help in most cases. Slides that run off batteries need a good battery. If its dead, plugging it into a power source will not charge the batteries. Converter is converting 120 volts to trickle charge the batteries, but if battery won't hold a full charge, motor won't work. Converter by itself won't provide enough 12 volt power to operate slide motor. It takes a lot of "oomph" to power those slide motors.
Grumpy

Im not sure this is true for all models. I can completely remove my battery and the slide will work just fine connected to only shore power.

[GL1800Rider]

You have had the TT for 2.5 years. Who knows how long it sat on the dealers lot not with the charge not being properly maintained. Each time the battery goes below 50% charge it will suffer.

My suggestion since the battery is that old is to take it to an auto parts store or Wal Mart and have it tested. Most likely you will need to replace it. Remove the battery when the trailer is in storage for more than a month and put it on a battery maintainer, not a charger. I have two motorcycles 09 and a 10 with the original batteries. When I am not riding they are hooked up to my Battery Tender.

[OldJarHead]

Check to ensure that the liquid levels in your battery are covering the cells. I check this monthly as I’ve had batteries die due to my poor maintenance years ago.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Use jumper cables to jump the battery AND plug into a 30 amp shore power. Manufacturer recommends both be operating to open or close the slide out. The converter alone is often not enough.

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by Old Campers

I will say the battery could be a problem. After not using the trailer since last July, the battery was completely discharged when I tried to raise the tongue last week. I put on my charger for a day and the battery seemed to be good. And we took the trailer for the PA annual inspection. When I went to pick up the trailer to bring it home, the battery was discharged.
Rich

OK Based on this new information, all indications are bad battery. If the battery was that dead for that long, it is toast. You can charge it to a point where it will appear to be good, but will not support any load. The slide needs a lot of current. The converter will supply 12V, but insufficient current to successfully operate the slides. It needs help from the battery. As soon as you load the battery the voltage drops and the converter is now trying to charge it as well. A new battery should fix your problem.

[Old Campers]

Thanks for all the input. Soon after I purchased the trailer, I replaced the battery with a higher capacity (higher amp-hours) battery. No reason other than it would keep the lights on longer than the original battery. Since the input started coming, it has been raining on and off here in SE PA. The trailer has been connected to a 30A circuit for 2 days now. I have not tested the battery or tried to charge it because I do not like working in the rain. I will get to it tomorrow. SO WHAT SHOULD I DO??? I have a 6 amp, 12V charger that also has a 55 amp starter circuit. I also have a starter battery but do not have jumper cables so I cannot connect it to my truck. I will test the battery with my multi-meter. AGAIN, WHAT SHOULD I DO AND WHAT SHOULD I SEE OR LOOK FOR? Shouldn't the shore power be enough to run the slide out? I guess if the power source for the slide is the battery and the shore power should charge the battery but the battery is not taking the charge, there might not be enough juice in the battery to push out the slide.

My frustration with our trailer is that this is the second time the trailer slide out has failed. The first time, when we were at a campground in Gettysburg, PA was due to a faulty motor. I was told that the motors Forest River installed had a tendency to fail when a wire connection broke. So we had both motors replaced. And it was pretty expensive. So when I encounter another slide out problem I get pretty discouraged. If it turns out to be the battery, I will feel better about it.

Rich

Rich

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Old Campers

Thanks for all the input. Soon after I purchased the trailer, I replaced the battery with a higher capacity (higher amp-hours) battery. No reason other than it would keep the lights on longer than the original battery. Since the input started coming, it has been raining on and off here in SE PA. The trailer has been connected to a 30A circuit for 2 days now. I have not tested the battery or tried to charge it because I do not like working in the rain. I will get to it tomorrow. SO WHAT SHOULD I DO??? I have a 6 amp, 12V charger that also has a 55 amp starter circuit. I also have a starter battery but do not have jumper cables so I cannot connect it to my truck. I will test the battery with my multi-meter. AGAIN, WHAT SHOULD I DO AND WHAT SHOULD I SEE OR LOOK FOR? Shouldn't the shore power be enough to run the slide out? I guess if the power source for the slide is the battery and the shore power should charge the battery but the battery is not taking the charge, there might not be enough juice in the battery to push out the slide.

My frustration with our trailer is that this is the second time the trailer slide out has failed. The first time, when we were at a campground in Gettysburg, PA was due to a faulty motor. I was told that the motors Forest River installed had a tendency to fail when a wire connection broke. So we had both motors replaced. And it was pretty expensive. So when I encounter another slide out problem I get pretty discouraged. If it turns out to be the battery, I will feel better about it.

Rich

Rich

Shore power is not enough to run the slides. Shore power the coverter is just a charger. The slide needs FULL 13.5 DC volt power. You must have a good battery.