The Chicken or the Egg - Leveling and Slides Protocol

[ezdavie]

Somewhat new to this . . . . 03 Adventurer 35U. What is the protocol on leveling and slides? Does one level first and then engage slide outs or slide outs first and then levelers? Somewhat

[vsheetz]

An oft asked question. Can vary manufacturer to manufacturer. Consult your user documentation.

[Pusherman]

In Winnebago's the procedure is level first and then deploy the slides. Keeps the slide rooms from binding up.

[ezdavie]

Thx Pusherman, that does make some sense to me . . . operating slide out on a level plane should be less resistance both extending and retracting. Thx again for the input.

[bobmac]

Another tip - Winnebago powers the jacks and slides off the chassis batteries. These are changed by the coach alternator and you should insure you have the engine running when raising or lowering the jacks or moving the slides. Both operations can consume significant power. Plugged into shore power will not alleviate the need to have the engine running as none or a small portion of the charger will reach the chassis batteries. Good luck with your coach,

[Switchflicke]

Doesn't the warning horn(s) make a bunch of racket if you lower the jacks with the engine running? I've never tried it and my coach is in a snowbank right now!

[Electra 225]

No, not when you have the brakes set.

Regards,
W.D.
2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD

[Old-Biscuit]

Open Link
Download/print
Read

http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource...Adventurer.pdf

[Davel]

My suggestion is to NEVER put the slides out if the coach is not level. My coach sits in our driveway at home in a nose down position. In haste I extended the large slide briefly to retrieve something I couldn't get to. Some time later the front triangular glide crumbled and I've always thought I may have been the cause. That was only a $850 lesson...not counting gas and camping to go back to Forrest City for repair. lol

Good luck,
Dave

[Switchflicke]

Thanks everyone for the info
And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!!

[Gary737]

On our 2008 Itaska Ellipse the manual says always level first and then extend slides. It also gives us the option to use battery, shore power, or engine generator. I always use either battery alone or with shore power connected on this coach. No need to run engine. Also, the hydraulic jacks are retracted by the springs on this rig. Other years and models of course will be different.

[FIRE UP]

Well Gang,
I'm by far not the sharpest tool in the shed but, while I know that there's at least ONE m/h manufacturer that stipulates to EXTEND the slide(s) first, THEN level it, for the life of me, I cannot see even one reason to extend a slide, while your coach may be sitting at some precarious angle or, at the very least, just not level. I mean, I guess one could build a slide mechanism that's strong enough that no matter what angle it's extended and retracted at, (as in the coach being out of level) that there would be no damage to the slide or the surrounding perimeter where the slide extends and retracts through.

As has been stated, I think about 99.99% of the m/h manufacturers do lay it out in their manuals to level first and then extend slides. Sure makes sense to me by doing that way. That way you've got a square and level platform for them to extend and retract on.
Scott

[Falcon190]

Before extending the leveling jacks the air should be dumped. This shortens the length the jacks need to drop. Like many good lessons, I learned this the hard way! On my rig running the engine re-inflates the air bags so I shut the engine off when leveling and use a Battery Tender to keep the engine batteries charged while parked. Then I extend the slides.

When I'm ready to leave I bring in the slides, start the engine and then hit the "Store" button to raise the jacks.

[Cover Dog]

Originally Posted by Pusherman

In Winnebago's the procedure is level first and then deploy the slides. Keeps the slide rooms from binding up.

That's what our manual says.

[igave]

Our 2016 forest river Berkshire walk thru and paperwork says on that rig to do slides then level. When buttoning up do reverse order. It seems totally unintuitive to me, but they probably repeated it to us half a dozen times-and I noted they practiced what preached on our and nearby MHs. I asked more than once and they said the mechanisms were designed to operate with the air bags inflated. I do note that the slides are quieter coming in and out doing it their way. They also said that sometimes the ceramic tile flooring can be damaged otherwise. I don't know enough about the hidden mechanics to evaluate that. Have to admit though that if I'm on a spot that is obviously not even close to level that I cheat and level it first. Also, although it can be done, there are warnings on the dash message center and on the leveler panel with beeps indicating (as do the instructions) to not operate the leveling system with the engine running. Freightliner chassis. Just reinforces what was said earlier about different instructions for different rvs. Our previous 40' jayco with 4 slides was just the exact opposite. I think just go with your paperwork and what makes sense to you in any given situation.

[bobmac]

igave

Since about 2008-2009, Winnebago have used electric slides and motors for the hydraulic levelers. These are all large consumers of power and are powered thru the chassis batteries. For that reason, Winnebago recommends running the engine to not deplete the chassis batteries by using power from the alternator. There is the rationale for running the engines - it also avoids the generation of a "low battery" alarm if the batteries are nearing the end of their useful life and not up to the power demands.

[igave]

Bobmac
That makes sense to me, and maybe reinforces to original post that there often isn't one size fits all with rv systems. Hopefully he'll find the combination he's comfortable with.

[azpete]

most of the time, the mfg that says slides out first are for coaches that have air ride.
thats because the slides change the level of the coach when extended.
on air ride coaches, you may have to relevel if you level first.
however, it never hurts to level first. i know what some manuals say, but if you are level, the opening for the slide is square. the seals will not drag.

[09 harley]

No wonder Forest River has so many warranty problems. They need to rethink the bad advice.

[affreeman]

Originally Posted by Switchflicke

Doesn't the warning horn(s) make a bunch of racket if you lower the jacks with the engine running? I've never tried it and my coach is in a snowbank right now!

They do on my Itasca Sunstar! But I leave the engine running anyway.