slow moving slides

Budsmith,

I'm assuming they're electric. Are they? Or are the hydraulic?

If electric, it most certainly CAN be the batteries. Our motorhome (granted it's a Class A, but there are similarities) will NOT deploy the slides with the engine running as a safety feature. It WILL retract them with the engine running, however, and I usually do that to give the motor an extra dose of voltage. :) Ours doesn't check if the parking brake is on, but it did want all of the bin doors closed before they would engage. Different manufacturers will incorporate different safety mechanisms.

On a rig of that age, it could be the motors are getting tired, but before I did anything at all that major, I would very carefully check ALL POWER AND GROUND connections to the slide motor and the slide motor controller. Old, corroded, loose and even burnt connections can create a significant voltage drop. A few years after we got our rig, I noticed our slides were slow. I discovered the ground wire to the slide control relay board was blackened and burned 6" up from the chassis ground connection point. That connection was loose and the poor connection was enough to generate enough heat to burn the insulation and wire.

Another thing to consider is if the brake is not disengaging when the slide is in motion. Our slide controller failed (a few years AFTER I discovered the loose wire) in such a way that the electric brake on the motors were not disengaging. The slide motor was able to move the slide, but it was much slower. Some motors have electric brakes, others have mechanical brakes. Check to see which system, if any, is used on yours. If the motor has a mechanical brake, make sure it is off. The brake is usually on the side of the motor opposite the driving gear.

Making sure things are clean is a good recommendation as well. Some try to lubricate their slides with lubricants which attract and retain dirt with the opposite effect occurring over time.

I would also recommend cleaning and using silicone on the slide seals and waxing the slide walls which are in contact with the seals. Every little bit helps, especially as these things age.

The recommendation about having a door or window open is good, too. If your rig is reasonably air tight, then it takes more effort to deploy or retract the slides if there isn't an easy way for air to be brought in or vented out as the interior volume changes. I've found that just opening one of the side windows a couple of inches makes a difference.

Good Luck,

~Rick

Have you taken the time to clean the slide rails yet before you get into the electrical side of this. The gunk buildup is a killer.

Would like to know what "slow" means. Is it like 5 minutes slow or what?

You can most likley disregard the house batteries as being a likely problem, because in most motorhomes, you have to have the brake set, and the engine on to operate the slides, which means that the slides do not operate on the house batteries alone.

Generalizations not reasonable. Not on mine. works with or without engine on or off, brake not an engaged.

I have a 05 Minnie 29b with kwikee slides. Changed front slide actuator and motor because screw was bent. Still slow and a little noisy when it gets 3/4 out.
Slide room is centered and all slide pads are ok.
Bedroom slide is much better than sofa slide.
They say to run truck engine when moving slides. I do not notice much difference with engine on or off.

My 2004 29B, both slides have the Kwikee screw jack mechanism. It is inherently slow, even when running the engine to maximize power available to the electric motors.

Have yours suddenly become slower than they've been for the past thirteen years? If so, likely not getting enough power. If using only the house battery, it is probably way down on capacity, up on internal resistance, from age and/or sulfation.

You can most likley disregard the house batteries as being a likely problem, because in most motorhomes, you have to have the brake set, and the engine on to operate the slides, which means that the slides do not operate on the house batteries alone.

My 09 Itasca Cambria bedroom slide had a build-up of gunk on the slide mechanism itself. A cleaning and good lube did the trick. It would bog down the motor so bad that the motor would shut off from getting too warm. Lift the mattress, take off plywood there you go.

Have you tried opening a door while bringing them in? Not sure of going out with that theory. But during a walk thru, we were told to leave door open so air has a way to escape when closing it up.

I also hook the umbilical cord to tow vehicle with the fiver and start the engine, then put out or bring in slide. With the motorhome, I would just start the engine unless it was the Monaco I owned, which the ignition key had to be in the off position.

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