My experience with our hydraulic slide not staying closed
Until recently we had a MH with HWH hydraulic slides and leveling jacks. When we packed up to leave on our last trip, the bedroom slide would not stay in. After closing, it would immediately start to open, slowly at first, then a little faster. It would finally stop about 6" open.
I figured I would brace it shut with some 2x6 I had, so we were soon on our way. We made it less that 20 miles and the slide was open again. The boards were still in place, but now the aluminum frame to the slide was bent in 6" and the front face of the closet was pushed off.
After a panic call to HWH customer support (they were GREAT!), I understood how their system works and how to get around the problem. My problem was that I had a leaky solenoid valve on the push in side of the piston.
The way the HWH system works is that it puts equal pressure on BOTH sides of the piston (the push in side and the push out side), then releases the pressure on one side to let the piston move. When the switch is released, the solenoid shuts but pressure remains on BOTH SIDES. When my push in solenoid leaked pressure, the pressure on the other side of the piston pushed the slide open again. That pressure is what did the damage to the slide frame.
The temporary fix is fairly simple. Each of the solenoids has a pressure release screw on the end. So to make the slide stay in, you run it in as normal, then quickly go to the pump assembly and release the pressure on the push out solenoid. Since there is no pressure pushing the slide out, it stayed in place for the rest of the trip.
The real fix is to replace the leaky solenoid which costs about $190 for the part.
I took the easy way, I traded the MH and got a new one.
I figured I would brace it shut with some 2x6 I had, so we were soon on our way. We made it less that 20 miles and the slide was open again. The boards were still in place, but now the aluminum frame to the slide was bent in 6" and the front face of the closet was pushed off.
After a panic call to HWH customer support (they were GREAT!), I understood how their system works and how to get around the problem. My problem was that I had a leaky solenoid valve on the push in side of the piston.
The way the HWH system works is that it puts equal pressure on BOTH sides of the piston (the push in side and the push out side), then releases the pressure on one side to let the piston move. When the switch is released, the solenoid shuts but pressure remains on BOTH SIDES. When my push in solenoid leaked pressure, the pressure on the other side of the piston pushed the slide open again. That pressure is what did the damage to the slide frame.
The temporary fix is fairly simple. Each of the solenoids has a pressure release screw on the end. So to make the slide stay in, you run it in as normal, then quickly go to the pump assembly and release the pressure on the push out solenoid. Since there is no pressure pushing the slide out, it stayed in place for the rest of the trip.
The real fix is to replace the leaky solenoid which costs about $190 for the part.
I took the easy way, I traded the MH and got a new one.
