Can I Operate Slides With the Engine Off?

Racorman wrote:
I have a 2012 30' Itasca Class A. It came with (2) Napa 12V 210Ah batteries (Total=420 Ah) . I replaced them with (6) Interstate 6V 210Ah batteries (Total=624 Ah)

The owners manual states:

NOTE:
We recommend that you KEEP THE ENGINE RUNNING WHILE
EXTENDING OR RETRACTING SLIDEOUT ROOMS so the engine
alternator can provide maximum power for proper operation of
the slideout mechanisms.


With the extra battery power I've added, do you think there is any problem in not keeping the engine running when I open up the (2) slides? Any possible damage to slide electric motors?

Thanks

Raycorman,
Well, as you can see and read, you've got mostly "run the engine" answers. And, it surely makes sense because of the obvious reason, in short, the alternator is doing most of the work. I'll just throw my two cents into the fire here. Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, requires that the engine be SHUT DOWN, when leveling and deploying the jacks.

And, right after that operation is complete, it says that you can now extend the slide(s). It DOES NOT say anything about starting the engine again for this part of the operation. Now, our one galley slide is about, 10' long and extends for about 30". The bedroom one is a baby to the galley one. It's only about 5-6' long and, extends out about 12"-14" or so.

The house batteries are (4) 6V Costco golf cart batteries that are just over 4 years old. But, our chassis batteries are just over 5 years old and, they're the ones that power the slides, not the house batteries.

In the over 4 years, 23,000 miles, countless trips, several camp spots and RV parks we've traveled to and camped in, we've extended and retracted those two slides, without ever having the engine running. And those slides are still working just fine. Now, one thing, they are HWH hydraulically powered slides so, that may make a difference.
Scott