Slide moved out on its own?

So, I have my 5th wheel (Elkridge 37 Ultimate) stored on a lot when not in use. During the Winter I go once a week and do a drive by to have a look and make sure everything is OK. Yesterday I noticed the bedroom slide was out about 6 inches. All other slides were in fully.

I went home to get the battery. Hooked it up and all the slides functioned properly. I did a walk through the interior and around the outside and cannot see where anything has been tampered with.

With no battery connected I am wondering how the slide went out. We have had the camper for 4 years and this has never happend before.

The hydraulic fluid level has not changed. The bedroom slide is the first to go out. All four slides work off the same switch. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
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ksucats

Well-known member
Had the same problem with my SOB (before we got our LM); it was a leaking hydraulic cylinder. Ours did the same thing, bedroom first and then the kitchen would move out if we left things alone. Ended up being the on-door side cylinder that had to be replaced.

Look up Lippert's instructions on the cylinders - as I recall that is where I got the testing procedure that the technician went through.

Best of luck on finding out the problem.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
You can find information in the Tools section above. Here is a link to the Lippert Hydraulic system including troubleshooting. See pages 7 & 8. [LINK]
As mentioned before is sounds like you have a hydraulic leak.
And I've moved your thread to the proper area.

Peace
Dave
 

ksucats

Well-known member
Just thought of something else - if you have a hydraulic manifold where you can shut off particular slides, shut them all off. Then if one moves out you can localize it to that one.
 

HornedToad

Well-known member
Until repaired you could keep the slide from moving by blocking it from the inside with 2x4s cut to length.

This is recommended by Lippert on Schwintek slides if you have to travel over the road with the slide motors disconnected.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ziggysun

Active Member
We had a similar issue where the bedroom slide moved open a few inches, but we are plugged in though (15 or 20 amp) as the camper is parked next to our house for the winter.

Our thoughts were that since we had a long severe cold snap where we were not above freezing for about 10 days and it also seemed like our landing gear sunk down a little bit on the front driver's side, that the cold had something to do with it. We re-leveled the unit and closed up the bedroom slide and it hasn't moved since.

Now that I'm seeing everyone's comments state it's most likely a hydraulic line leak, I'm wondering if it's something more? Or if our first thoughts of the extreme cold impacting hydraulic fluid/components were correct?
 

ksucats

Well-known member
I first noticed mine after a cold spell when it warmed up. Figure that the hydraulic fluid just warmed up. Let it go for several months while it did the same thing several times. Finally called Lippert and spoke to a technician that told me that it was a typical sign of a hydraulic leak. Now, that doesn't mean hydraulic fluid is coming out of the cylinder (mine wasn't at least) but that the internal seal is leaking and allowing fluid to flow backwards. As for the landing gear, mine operated off the same pump and reservoir but they did not change. I want to believe that part was simply due to temperature change. You'll notice quite a few posts about 'popping' and such, especially when temps change.
 

Greengas

Well-known member
Until repaired you could keep the slide from moving by blocking it from the inside with 2x4s cut to length.

This is recommended by Lippert on Schwintek slides if you have to travel over the road with the slide motors disconnected.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm having the same slide movement problem and I was wondering, how do you put in the 2x4 to block movement.
 
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