house or chassis batteries used for slideouts

mena661 wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Where and what does this override switch do. We quit selling Newmar in 2008, and we sold and I service them from 1992 till 2008 and NEVER saw any type override switch on a Newmar. Doug

If the engine is running and we want to open the slide, one of us has to press and hold an override switch while pressing the slide switch. It's on the wall next to the bathroom. Ours is a 2009. I'll get you a picture of it when I get a chance. Otherwise, the engine has to be off. It might have been added by the previous owner (we got it used) but it's there.

Does your unit have 1 slide? Or does it have more than 1? The reason I ask is- the Ign kill wire is on the Slide control box. The Override switch. From your description, it seems 1 person cannot hold the override and also push the Slide button? They are not located close enough? Doug

I just checked a Canyon Star (2011) we have on trade. I find that Newmar is using a Bosch relay in the 12 volt/120 breaker panel in the bathroom. THAT relay is connected to the 12 volt fused wire that feeds the slide rooms. So, the previous owner of your RV installed that overidde switch. There is NO such switch in this 2011 Canyon Star. One problem people on forums forget is this, IF your unit was purchased USED, then you cannot be sure when you state something about YOUR RV that that item is normal---The original owner may have modified the RV.

dougrainer wrote:

BarbaraOK wrote:
We also have slides that will not operate with the engine running. Nor will they go out until the jacks are down. So it isn't all or even most who need engines running. Sure sounds like bad design to have any thing to do with the house on chassis batteries. Sounds like manufacturers who skimped on designing number of house batteries to handle the load of all of the house functions.

Barb

Very FEW Motorhomes have the design that the jacks are to be extended before the slides operate. Me thinks you have an HWH system for both Jacks and slides as HWH DID offer that type design. But it was NOT standard for HWH jacks systems and only if you had Hydraulic slide system. The design of "which" battery system has nothing to do with shortcuts or cheapness by the OEM. It is just what the OEM and their Engineers decided to do. Some require the Engine running to make sure you have as MUCH battery power (Alternator) to power the system---usually Electric slide rooms. Some require the Engine OFF as a protection from the slide being able to extend in transit. There is NO set rule and their is no system that is "better" than others. My preference would be for the slides to operate anytime the engine is running. Which would mean BOTH battery banks would be online, so if one set was low the other and the engine Alternator would supply full power. Doug

Doug, are you in a gasser or DP?

Yes, we have an HWH system. Living room slide is very large so it make sense to use hydraulics for it. And since the system requires dumping air, then leveling, then the slide goes out, kind of hard to have the engine running and filling the air bags! While I know that Monaco requires slides out then dump air and leveling, most other DPs that use hydraulics are like ours.

And why is having sufficient batteries (we have 4-6 volt batteries) an anathema for RV Engineers - - except to save money? If our batteries are fully charged when we stop, we can level and extend slides without having to worry about our batteries and still have enough power to do everything we want until the next day when we start the generator to recharge if we are boondocking. And if we have FHUs then why would we need the engine running unless the inverter/converter couldn't recharge the batteries or can't keep up with the drain? If that is so, again it seems like a bad design. I do agree, people next to you wouldn't be happy if you have to start the engine just to bring in the slide in the middle of the night, which we've done before when the winds get real high (60 mph+) and we don't want the slide topper shredded.

Barb

dougrainer wrote:

Where and what does this override switch do. We quit selling Newmar in 2008, and we sold and I service them from 1992 till 2008 and NEVER saw any type override switch on a Newmar. Doug

If the engine is running and we want to open the slide, one of us has to press and hold an override switch while pressing the slide switch. It's on the wall next to the bathroom. Ours is a 2009. I'll get you a picture of it when I get a chance. Otherwise, the engine has to be off. It might have been added by the previous owner (we got it used) but it's there.

BarbaraOK wrote:
We also have slides that will not operate with the engine running. Nor will they go out until the jacks are down. So it isn't all or even most who need engines running. Sure sounds like bad design to have any thing to do with the house on chassis batteries. Sounds like manufacturers who skimped on designing number of house batteries to handle the load of all of the house functions.

Barb

Very FEW Motorhomes have the design that the jacks are to be extended before the slides operate. Me thinks you have an HWH system for both Jacks and slides as HWH DID offer that type design. But it was NOT standard for HWH jacks systems and only if you had Hydraulic slide system. The design of "which" battery system has nothing to do with shortcuts or cheapness by the OEM. It is just what the OEM and their Engineers decided to do. Some require the Engine running to make sure you have as MUCH battery power (Alternator) to power the system---usually Electric slide rooms. Some require the Engine OFF as a protection from the slide being able to extend in transit. There is NO set rule and their is no system that is "better" than others. My preference would be for the slides to operate anytime the engine is running. Which would mean BOTH battery banks would be online, so if one set was low the other and the engine Alternator would supply full power. Doug

We also have slides that will not operate with the engine running. Nor will they go out until the jacks are down. So it isn't all or even most who need engines running. Sure sounds like bad design to have any thing to do with the house on chassis batteries. Sounds like manufacturers who skimped on designing number of house batteries to handle the load of all of the house functions.

Barb

Switch your house batteries to OFF.

Turn the engine on.

Try to move the slide.

If it does not move, the House batteries move the slide.

CA Traveler wrote:
When the mfg wants the engine running for slide operation consider:
1. Your neighbors if you want to move the slides at night and have to start the engine.
2. A DC motor will easily move the slide w/o the engine running so consider that the wiring is to small or the motor is to small or there is some other design constraint. Of course the higher voltage from the alternator can overcome some design constraints.
3. Slide motors draw little current, perhaps 20A and almost no power due to their short duration. So battery power is not a concern unless it's very discharged.
4. No one has mentioned operating the slides while on shore power. This implies that the charger does not maintain the chassis battery. If a solenoid is used to charge the house battery with the engine then there is very little cost to charging the chassis battery with the charger.

This is the case with many if not most motorhomes. We added a Xantrex Echo Charger to our rig which takes care of that problem, even under solar power.

Our Itasca, made by Winnibago, uses the chassis battery for the slides and jacks. Manual states to have engine running while operating slides or extending jacks.

I have operated the bedroom slide with engine off and can reach the battery voltage switch when doing so, and have seen the battery voltage drop to almost 11 volts by the time the slide is in (or out).

That low a voltage means a much higher current draw. That is where the risk is.

frankdamp wrote:
On our Georgetown, if you have the jacks down and turn the ignition on, you get wailing sirens and an "emergency retract" light on the control panel and the jacks retract. It is impossible to activate them with the ignition ON.

Jacks and slides are part of the "house system". You extend them after you have "docked" at your site. Why would any dumb-butt design guy make them dependent on the chassis electrical system? If I found that I had inadvertently bought a rig that had such a system, I would re-wire it. If I found that a rig I was considering for purchase had such a system, I'd tell the dealer which orifice he could stuff it into to.

This opinion applies to both levelling jacks and slide-outs. They are "HOUSE SYSTEMS" with no functional relationship to the chassis electrical system.

Well that's your opinion and while I'm not suggesting you are wrong the opposing opinion:

The most likely discharged battery bank is the house battery and now without recharging you can't bring in the slides or jacks. Instead use the charged house battery, start the engine for extra voltage and bring those puppies in and drive away.

On our Georgetown, if you have the jacks down and turn the ignition on, you get wailing sirens and an "emergency retract" light on the control panel and the jacks retract. It is impossible to activate them with the ignition ON.

Jacks and slides are part of the "house system". You extend them after you have "docked" at your site. Why would any dumb-butt design guy make them dependent on the chassis electrical system? If I found that I had inadvertently bought a rig that had such a system, I would re-wire it. If I found that a rig I was considering for purchase had such a system, I'd tell the dealer which orifice he could stuff it into to.

This opinion applies to both levelling jacks and slide-outs. They are "HOUSE SYSTEMS" with no functional relationship to the chassis electrical system.