HWH fluid is everywhere--how much can we lose?

[Frosty_s_Mom]

DH in his rush to get the rig packed and out of Dodge, pushed two chaise lounges into the basement under the bedroom slide despite the fact that is where the cables and HWH power rod pushes out the slide. yes, it's been some time since he did that. we are now parked again and looking for stuff, noticed my broom and rake had also been shoved in there. scares me to mess with anything hydraulic. thinking I'd pull out one of the lounges, discovered the two were locked together and eventually got them pulled out to discover one had all the channels full of hydraulic fluid. good lord!! the slide went out ok. IF it comes back in, am I needlessly worrying about it? how much of this stuff can you lose AND is there is central reservoir that would tell us how much fluid it should have to safely operate? my manuals are the pits...no specifics anywhere. ease my mind--please. (DH says no problem.....uh huh) this is a 2002 FR Windsong, 34'.

[cbeierl]

azpete wrote:
doug is correct about the rooms. if your coach has below the floor mechanisms, the rooms have to be retracted. if they have above the floor mechanisms, the rooms have to be extended. jacks should always be retracted.
in any case. one inch below the top of the tank is the right fluid level. if you're not sure, check it with the rooms retracted. that normally good enough. it doesnt have to be that accurate. just dont overfill.

Listen to 'azpete'--he works for HWH and knows what he's talking about.

[azpete]

doug is correct about the rooms. if your coach has below the floor mechanisms, the rooms have to be retracted. if they have above the floor mechanisms, the rooms have to be extended. jacks should always be retracted.
in any case. one inch below the top of the tank is the right fluid level. if you're not sure, check it with the rooms retracted. that normally good enough. it doesnt have to be that accurate. just dont overfill.

[dougrainer]

rvten wrote:
OK I stand corrected on the slides? So it really makes no diff. Slide in or out. Just the Jacks.

It does make a difference ONLY if you intend to fill the reservoir to the very top. By leaving that 1 inch below the top, you are assured that you will not blow any fluid out when checking, slides extended or retracted. You have the margin of safe error. You can verify when the oil level is higher or lower, by noting the reservoir level with jacks retracted and the room Retracted. Then extend the room/s only and see how much lower the level goes if at all. Doug

[rvten]

OK I stand corrected on the slides? So it really makes no diff. Slide in or out. Just the Jacks.

[Flasho]

aslakson wrote:

Don't even try to open it until you get the jacks retracted - until the jacks are up, the whole HWH system is pressurized.

The reservoir is vented and is never pressurized.

[dougrainer]

rvten wrote:
You want the slide/s EXTENDED and the Jacks retracted to check the fluid level. HWH has 2 versions of fluid level for slides. But, MOST will want the slides extended. Below is from HWH. Doug

Should my jacks and rooms be retracted to check fluid level?

If ALL the HYD oil is not back in the reservoir. You will not know if it needs oil or not. Every HYD system I have worked on. Had to be checked closed up. Jacks retracted.

If not when you do close it up. Oil will be coming out of the vent on the tank when you do close it up.

On MOST Hydraulic slide systems, there is NO or little oil used from the reservoir. When the slide ram(s) extend or retract, the oil pushed is used/replaced on the opposite side of the ram. There is little oil used out of the reservoir. That is why HWH states to check your specific HWH manual as some you check slides retracted and some (most) you check extended. BUT, the HWH reservoir holds about 6 to 8 qts depending on the model pump/reservoir. I always have at least 1 inch below to top of the reservoir which will account for either retracted or extended margin of error. ALL 4 jacks extended will usually use at most 2 qts oil. That leaves over 1 gallon for extra and any little used by the slide room/s. There is NO reason to fill to the top of the reservoir. Doug

[rvten]

You want the slide/s EXTENDED and the Jacks retracted to check the fluid level. HWH has 2 versions of fluid level for slides. But, MOST will want the slides extended. Below is from HWH. Doug

Should my jacks and rooms be retracted to check fluid level?

If ALL the HYD oil is not back in the reservoir. You will not know if it needs oil or not. Every HYD system I have worked on. Had to be checked closed up. Jacks retracted.

If not when you do close it up. Oil will be coming out of the vent on the tank when you do close it up.

[dougrainer]

Frosty's Mom wrote:
thanks guys for the heads up on having the slides in and jacks up--also something I wouldn't have considered, tho possible something DH would have. no, I'm sure he wouldn't have added more fluid prior to leaving. come time for pre-flight, I'm usually it, and a nag about tires that appear low. we were trying to hit the road--not wholly his fault.

You want the slide/s EXTENDED and the Jacks retracted to check the fluid level. HWH has 2 versions of fluid level for slides. But, MOST will want the slides extended. Below is from HWH. Doug

Should my jacks and rooms be retracted to check fluid level?

The leveling jacks should be fully retracted to check the fluid level. There are different types of room mechanisms and some should be retracted and some should be extended. It is ok to check the level with all rooms retracted but do not over fill the tank if you are not sure of the correct room position to check fluid level. Refer to your HWH owners manual or contact HWH for specific information

[Frosty_s_Mom]

thanks guys for the heads up on having the slides in and jacks up--also something I wouldn't have considered, tho possible something DH would have. no, I'm sure he wouldn't have added more fluid prior to leaving. come time for pre-flight, I'm usually it, and a nag about tires that appear low. we were trying to hit the road--not wholly his fault.

[dougrainer]

HWH slides are a SEALED system. If you have fluid, then the slide system is leaking. HOW big a leak, nobody knows. But, the HWH slide system ALWAYS has pressure on it regardless of extended or retracted. So, it will continue to leak unless you find and fix the leak. To check fluid level on a HWH combo Jack and slide--- retract the jacks and extend the slides. Then check the fluid and top off with Dextron 3 trans fluid. To find the reservoir/pump is easy. Have someone activate the jacks while you walk around the RV. You will hear the pump running and the reservoir is connected to the pump. Follow the noise to find the pump. The longer you take to find the leak and fix, the more mess you will have. Doug

[eheading]

Also any chance that your husband added fluid to the reservoir during trip preparations? You also cannot add fluid until the slides/jacks are all retracted. I made that mistake one time with hydraulic jacks. When I retracted the jacks, I too had fluid all over everywhere!!!!

Ed

[aslakson]

You might have to call the factory to get the location of the reservoir - on our rig, it's right up front, just behind the front "bumper". I've seen some rigs where you get at it through one of the wheel wells.

Don't even try to open it until you get the jacks retracted - until the jacks are up, the whole HWH system is pressurized. On our rig, the system isn't pressurized when the slide is out, but I wouldn't risk it until the all the slides are back in.

Good luck.

al

[Frosty_s_Mom]

thank you dennis. I just need to know where in the world the reservoir is so I can ck it. i'll nose around the manuals again. tranny fluid, huh? okay. thanks so much. seems we always have to learn things the hard way.

[rvten]

Jacks and Slides have to be stowed to check fluid level.
Check for pump and fluid tank under entry step.