? Slides -- Design flaw or "the way they all do it"?

wildtoad wrote:
My motorhome works the same way, off of batteries but Newmar strongly suggests that you be hooked to shore power or running the generator when extending or retracting the slides to make sure the batteries have enough juice. The slides will do nothing if the chassis motor is running.

rats, that means you open the slide outs going down the highway!!
lol!!

Bird Freak wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
If you disconnect the battery, plug into shore power, and try to open or close the slides using the converter only, they won't work.

Not universally true. Several times I've operated the slide, awning, and tongue jack using only the on board WFCO 8955 converter for source power. Works just fine. :B

Mine will work without a battery also. When I bought it we operated the slides and there was no battery in it.

Thats a good way to cook a slide motor at worst, and in the least shorten the life of it. A WFCO does not provide enough current by itself and some RV manufacturers put a warning in their generic owners manuals regarding it. It may not be so much of an issue with Schwintek and their small motors but your playing with fire on a motor for a through the frame, sofa, BAL Accuslide, or other gear driven system with a larger high amperage motor. Add to it most are LCI and they use the cheapest motors obtainable.

Not a quirk, all RV slides are on the 12V system. That's not necessarily just from the batteries, as your 120V to 12V converter contributes some power to the task if you are plugged in, but might not be enough to do the job alone, depending on converter size and how much power the slideouts need.

Power from tow vehicle connections is always less, this has to do with wire sizes and connector losses. In a motorhome, with the engine running, power from the alternator might be the strongest source for moving slideouts, but in a towable RV the strongest source is usually the storage batteries, which should be fully charged by the tow vehicle on the way to the camp, or by the converter before you leave.

2oldman wrote:

Fulltimer50 wrote:
How about the OP must make a post after X number of posts or the thread is dead?? :)

2 days ought to do it.

Go ahead, keep repeating...I have a short memory! :B

Fulltimer50 wrote:
How about the OP must make a post after X number of posts or the thread is dead?? :)

2 days ought to do it.

How about the OP must make a post after X number of posts or the thread is dead?? :)

mgirardo wrote:
Come to think of it, I've never seen the same thing discussed more than once in a thread before. Perhaps that should be a rule: "Do not discuss things that have been previously discussed in a thread."

I guess it never hurts to repeat things.

2oldman wrote:

mgirardo wrote:
It would seem odd that Keystone would wire the slides directly to the battery, but they could have.

The previous posts have already discussed this.

Thank you for pointing that out. Come to think of it, I've never seen the same thing discussed more than once in a thread before. Perhaps that should be a rule: "Do not discuss things that have been previously discussed in a thread."

-Michael

mgirardo wrote:
It would seem odd that Keystone would wire the slides directly to the battery, but they could have.

The previous posts have already discussed this.

Our Jayco requires 12v for the slides, but the battery is not needed as long as we are connected to shore power. When we left for the season last year, I asked my father-in-law if he could keep the battery and keep it charged until the spring. When we arrived here in the spring, we got here late and it was getting dark, so I just connected to shore power and opened up all 4 slides.

It would seem odd that Keystone would wire the slides directly to the battery, but they could have.

-Michael