Replacing hydraulic lines on slides

[Big-B]

Greetings campers,

My wife and I spent the winter in Arizona and when we headed back to Michigan I noticed that the slides were opening slightly. I closed all three valves and the only one that opened then was the offdoor slide so I just kept the tank topped off and made it home. Now I have dug into it further and found that it looks like pack rats have chewed the lines in the front compartment so it looks like the lines will need to be taken out and either repaired or replaced.

Has anyone ever had a need to pull a hydraulic line from a rear slide to the front? Can I tie a rope or cable to it and pull it out and then use the rope or cable to pull it back after it is fixed or will I need to pull the bottom off of the frame?

I don't know if there is a hydraulic line repair fitting available but if so maybe I'll bet lucky and be able to pull enough hydraulic line out into the front compartment and not have to take it all the way out.

This is on a Bighorn 3055RL fifth wheel.

 

[Dahillbilly]

used the rope trick on logging equipment many times, instead of tieing the rope to the hose I would place rope up the hose 8" to a foot & then wrap tape around both. This way if there is a small opening better chance of them passing through the opening. Good luck

 

[SLO]

MorRyde had to do this when I had IS installed. He let his plasma torch get away from him and caused a leak in one of the rear leveling jack lines. They had a new line made and he was able to pull the new line through while pulling out the old line. Guess the original line was not strapped anywhere. Good luck.

 

[wdk450]

I would start by looking around your area and online for a hydraulic hose repair company, preferably with a mobile service truck. These guys service farm tractors, construction equipment, forklifts, etc. They might just have the correct hose repair coupler in stock.

 

[Big-B]

MorRyde had to do this when I had IS installed. He let his plasma torch get away from him and caused a leak in one of the rear leveling jack lines. They had a new line made and he was able to pull the new line through while pulling out the old line. Guess the original line was not strapped anywhere. Good luck.

That's what I was looking for. Hopefully it will find it's way through the underbelly without getting snagged on anything.

 

[sjandbj]

I am in the process of trying to find several small leaks on the slides and level up system. When I attempted to flow the lines in the underbelly they were run all over the place some tried up with wire ties. I think it would be tough to pull all the lines through without getting something else. I have pulled all the cerroplast off the rig and thinking about just proactively replacing all the lines with better quality. My only problem is I would like to have a new set to replace them as I take them off but I cannot find how long they need to be. There are several that I can see have several extra feet of hose. If anyone has the lengths of the factory hose it would help. I canc see the ATF fluid on the lines but no big leaks are visible.

 

[Big-B]

I found these on Ebay and think they will be a good way to repair the hydraulic line with a leak in it without having to fully remove the line. Hopefully there will be enough extra line to get it to where I can cut it and repair it. I still need to measure the line and make sure it's the right diameter. https://www.ebay.com/itm/143164267955

 

[Daduck]

I found these on Ebay and think they will be a good way to repair the hydraulic line with a leak in it without having to fully remove the line. Hopefully there will be enough extra line to get it to where I can cut it and repair it. I still need to measure the line and make sure it's the right diameter. https://www.ebay.com/itm/143164267955

Big-B,
Did these work for you?

 

[Big-B]

Big-B,
Did these work for you?

They are better than nothing if you just need something temporary but they did leak. I talked to a friend that ran a forklift repair service for decades and he told me that they use them all the time but not on the lines that Lippert uses. He called them plastic coated instead of rubber coated. The body shop that was doing some repairs on our 5th wheel found a mobile mechanic that was able to rent a crimper that he could use in the front compartment to repair the line that went into the bowels of the rig and then it was just a matter of putting a hydraulic union and a short section of hose to the pump. That worked out well as one of the short pieces blew and I was able to get a new one made for about $30 and it only took a few minutes to swap it out.

It's too bad someone doesn't make one that works on Lippert hydraulic lines.