Need some input; slide does not stay put

[nycsteve]

Haven't had an issue in awhile, but got one Im hoping someone has some insight on now.
My Lance 2008 981 has 1 slide, a full wall (dinette and fridge). After 100 miles of highway driving, with no real rough road, my slide backed itself out 2 inches . It retracted normaly after the trip, seated itself evenly with no weird sounds. This is the second time this happened, the first a few weeks ago. Same deal, noticed about the same slide movement at the end of the day. But earlier in the day the first time, I was on the beach in soft sand and there was a bunch of bouncing. I thought the slide box jumped some gear teeth,if it has them, and that was the cause. Today there was no out of the ordinary bouncing.
Some observations that might help. The rear portion was out 1/2 " further than the front. The bottom on both sides was kicked out a little further on the bottom than the top ( I think that's the way the box sits though)
Anyone have any thoughts on whats up?

[rrbowman]

nycsteve wrote:
Haven't had an issue in awhile, but got one Im hoping someone has some insight on now.
My Lance 2008 981 has 1 slide, a full wall (dinette and fridge). After 100 miles of highway driving, with no real rough road, my slide backed itself out 2 inches . It retracted normaly after the trip, seated itself evenly with no weird sounds. This is the second time this happened, the first a few weeks ago. Same deal, noticed about the same slide movement at the end of the day. But earlier in the day the first time, I was on the beach in soft sand and there was a bunch of bouncing. I thought the slide box jumped some gear teeth,if it has them, and that was the cause. Today there was no out of the ordinary bouncing.
Some observations that might help. The rear portion was out 1/2 " further than the front. The bottom on both sides was kicked out a little further on the bottom than the top ( I think that's the way the box sits though)
Anyone have any thoughts on whats up?

I had the same issue last year with my FW that has 4 slides. The problem was fixed while under warranty after they replaced the valve body and pump, they discovered that there were two slide hydraulic rams that were bad. The rams were leaking internally, the fluid is under pressure to hold slides closed but the rams leaked past the seals internally and the result was the leaked pressure pushed the slides out several inches. New rams cured the problem. You can also try bleeding the hydraulic system by extending the slide and retracting several times, maybe up to 10 times.

[nycsteve]

An update;
First thanks to all for pointing me in the right direction.
I was able to tighten the 2 inward nuts. The front inward just barely allows access. If there is another nut further out on this side I think its impossible to get at in my TC. As for the electro magnetic lock mentioned above, I contacted Happijac. Its available for 82.00 and easy to connect. In theory. Again, very limited access is the issue although I think I have a way to do it. My plan is to see how the adjustments work out before trying the lock. On the phone Happijac(a helpful tech guy ,Marv )suggested the same, and spoke of only 2 adjustment nuts, making me think the third is often inaccessible. So ,again, thanks to all who shared their knowledge, once again RVnet helped me avoid a trip to the shop.

[rickjo]

skipro3 wrote:
My Lance camper has a slide brake. The brake switch is next to the wireless activation button for the slide's remote control.

I can't even manually crank the slide out without turning off this brake.

That's the difference between 2008 models and 2012 models. Steve's classic symptom occurs because the brake wasn't used by Lance on Steve's slideout. To quote Steve:

{quote} I looked carefully, Im pretty sure theres no locks on my unit. {/quote}

Rick

[Ski_Pro_3]

My Lance camper has a slide brake. The brake switch is next to the wireless activation button for the slide's remote control.

I can't even manually crank the slide out without turning off this brake.

[Bill_T]

Yes that is the tension adjusting nut. One rail has two and the other rail has one.
Tighten'er up and see what happens. Lance told me this is a regular maintenance procedure.
You can go to happijac.com and click on products, then on slideouts to get an idea of how the slide works. The current slide uses travel limit switches to control the extend/retract travel. My camper uses a current sensing (auto reset circuit breaker) device to stop the travel when it is fully extended or retracted. Basically the motor stalls, the amps go up to breaker trip point and the slide stops. I think this puts undue stress on the exterior wall and the slide itself. I stop the slide when I see the seals are seated on the wall.
Good luck with your adjusting.

[nycsteve]

">slide pic

So the nut Im going for is the the one behind the brass colored disc which is the roller?
Thanks.

[jmcgsd]

nycsteve wrote:
Haven't had an issue in awhile, but got one Im hoping someone has some insight on now.
My Lance 2008 981 has 1 slide, a full wall (dinette and fridge). After 100 miles of highway driving, with no real rough road, my slide backed itself out 2 inches . It retracted normaly after the trip, seated itself evenly with no weird sounds. This is the second time this happened, the first a few weeks ago. Same deal, noticed about the same slide movement at the end of the day. But earlier in the day the first time, I was on the beach in soft sand and there was a bunch of bouncing. I thought the slide box jumped some gear teeth,if it has them, and that was the cause. Today there was no out of the ordinary bouncing.
Some observations that might help. The rear portion was out 1/2 " further than the front. The bottom on both sides was kicked out a little further on the bottom than the top ( I think that's the way the box sits though)
Anyone have any thoughts on whats up?

I purchased a 981 Max new in 2005. The slide did that from day 1 and I didn't think much about it. When the TC was almost two years old (end of warrant period) I had it at Lance in Lancaster getting the auto transfer switch repaired and mentioned the slide problem to a technician there. He made a 30 second adjustment of some kind and the problem was fixed. It didn't occur again.

The moral to the story is maybe call Lance and ask them how to adjust it.

[Lancehauler]

I have a 2008 1181. I had the exact same problem when it was brand new. I tried adjusting the tension and nothing worked. I think Happijac is the manufacturer of the slide mechanism. They make a little electromagnetic lock that goes on the end of the slide motor that works FANTASTIC. I don't remember the cost, probably less the $50. You just open the door, reach under the slide when it is retracted and mount this little piece of hardware on the end of the motor. You do need to wire it in to the power leads on the slide motor. When it senses current it releases the lock and allows the motor to turn. When not energized it locks the motor in place and all the slide creep problems or gone. I was amazed that it was not included as a standard item on the camper. It is really a very easy fix for an annoying problem.

[nycsteve]

Bill T wrote:
My 2012 Lance 855S has a slide made by Happijac. As previously mentioned it is the friction type. I have no idea if your slide is the same as the one I have.
But here is how mine is adjusted. There are two rails under the slide, one of the rails has the drive motor and one friction adjuster. The other rail has two adjuster. The adjusters are tightened or loosened for the desired effect. Look for a 5/16" bolt head mounted on the outboard side of the rails. As Rick mentioned bring the slide in about half way, laying in the floor locate the two inside adjuster nuts (one on each rail) and tighten about 1/2 turn. Then full open the slide, go out side and get under the slide and press the seal down around the rail and locate the other adjuster ( it will be the rail that does not have the motor ), and tighten it a half turn.
I use a 1/4" drive socket set, a 12" extension, a wobble fitting, and a 5/16" socket. Hope I didn't confuse you, after proof reading this I think I'm confused. lol Maybe this will help.

Thanks. I think I see on mine the 5/16" nuts your talking about. If you don't mind I'll post a picture tonight when I get back from work, maybe take a look and see if they are the same ones your talking about? I think both yourself and Rickjo are talking about the same adjustments. I'de like to post the picture and get verification before I start fiddling around. With my luck I'll make it worse 🙂

[nycsteve]

AnEv942 wrote:
Just an older thread about the Lance travel locks used on some.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25403979.cfm

Ours locks ares simple 1" steel tubes with rubber feet placed between top of slide and wall. Looks like the same HJ mech. If I forget to use locks, our slide will open a bit but its noticeable in the mirrors.

I looked carefully, Im pretty sure theres no locks on my unit.

[AnEv942]

Just an older thread about the Lance travel locks used on some.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25403979.cfm

Ours locks ares simple 1" steel tubes with rubber feet placed between top of slide and wall. Looks like the same HJ mech. If I forget to use locks, our slide will open a bit but its noticeable in the mirrors.

[towpro]

Try this group, there is a couple more lances around there.
lance owners

[Bill_T]

My 2012 Lance 855S has a slide made by Happijac. As previously mentioned it is the friction type. I have no idea if your slide is the same as the one I have.
But here is how mine is adjusted. There are two rails under the slide, one of the rails has the drive motor and one friction adjuster. The other rail has two adjusters. The adjusters are tightened or loosened for the desired effect. Look for two 3/8" nuts mounted on the outboard side of the rail that does not have the motor mounted to it. As Rick mentioned bring the slide in about half way, laying in the floor locate the two inside adjuster nuts and tighten about 1/2 turn. Then go to the motor driven rail and locate the one adjuster nut and tighten it same amount.
I use a 1/4" drive socket set, a 12" extension, a wobble fitting, and a 3/8" socket
Hope I didn't confuse you, after proof reading this I think I'm confused. lol Maybe this will help.
If you tighten it to much the slide will stop/go as you are moving it. Just loosen the nuts until it moves without cycling on/off.

[nycsteve]

Thanks for the replies so far. Its after dark so all I can do tonight is check the manual. Hopefully theres some help there. I found a sweitch in a cabinet that's labeled "slideout manual override. Its off. When I first took the camper out 8 years ago a plate slid into the switch changing the position. That stopped the slideout from operating.I don't think the the issue has anything to do with this swich this time. But there is a procdure sticker in the door that mentions travel locks. Never knew I had them or their location. Hopefully the manual helps. Its odd that I never had this issue in the 8 years Im using the camper, which is why I thought something might have broken.
I'll also check the rollers, thanks Rickjo.