Slideout Issue

[davidbrady]

Any time Al!

Further, since that piece of trim is way up high and mostly obscured by the awning, I'd grab a can of spray paint and a can of clear and I'd paint it myself! Gasp!

I'd fit the track, lay it on cardboard, poke all the screws into the cardboard, paint and clear coat the track and screw heads, and then install everything on the top of the slide. No one will ever know! hehehehe

For a better result, and if you don't have a compressor or spray gun suitable for the job, any Automotive Paint Supplier will sell you a Preval Paint Sprayer, Home Depot may carry them. You could have them mix up a quart of paint and lay on some automotive urethane and clear. Or, you could just file an insurance claim.

[Arcticdude]

Homey lowes has the preval sprayers.

[BillR]

I have a 99 LXi with two slides. I have not had any problems (knock on wood) but given O'Malley's Law (it states: Murphy was an optimist) I would like to be prepared in the event one of them decides it doesn't want to be retracted.

I went searching and found this posted in December of 2009 by David Brady:

"Here's how slide operation works for 95% of LXi owners:
1) level the coach
2) turn the deflate seal key,
3) push and hold the extend button, voila, done.

The important stuff is in my first post which was taken from HWH documentation. It states what's important. I added the rest, intending it as thorough documentation for future generations of BB owners. I see someone 5 years from now doing a search on slides and stumbling upon my post. I'm here to serve."

Well, it hasn't been quite 5 years but I did stumble on it

My question is, is there way to manually get a slide back in on an LXi if need arises? I have seen some that will accept a crank or a ratchet and can be manually brought in but have NO idea how (or if) it can be done with the Wanderlodge. I'm sure if the need does arise, I will be at least 500 miles from home and 100 miles from a competent mechanic.

[davidbrady]

Hi Bill,

This is from my android so it's gonna be short. I'll elaborate later.

The HWH documentation does provide the steps required to manually retract a slide but they do mention the need for a manual winch. BB didn't outfit our buses with manual winches so the probability of success might be small due to the hydraulic pressure which must be overcome. You're probably better off trying to make an on site repair.

The steps are:
1) raise the leveling jacks,
2) turn the extend and retract solenoid T-handles 6 turns counterclockwise to open,
3) connect the winch and crank in the slide,
4) close the extend and retract solenoid T-handles.

I'll dig out some docs when I get back to my laptop.

[cmillsap]

(05-15-2013 15:52)BillR Wrote:  I have a 99 LXi with two slides. I have not had any problems (knock on wood) but given O'Malley's Law (it states: Murphy was an optimist) I would like to be prepared in the event one of them decides it doesn't want to be retracted.

I went searching and found this posted in December of 2009 by David Brady:

"Here's how slide operation works for 95% of LXi owners:
1) level the coach
2) turn the deflate seal key,
3) push and hold the extend button, voila, done.

The important stuff is in my first post which was taken from HWH documentation. It states what's important. I added the rest, intending it as thorough documentation for future generations of BB owners. I see someone 5 years from now doing a search on slides and stumbling upon my post. I'm here to serve."

Well, it hasn't been quite 5 years but I did stumble on it

My question is, is there way to manually get a slide back in on an LXi if need arises? I have seen some that will accept a crank or a ratchet and can be manually brought in but have NO idea how (or if) it can be done with the Wanderlodge. I'm sure if the need does arise, I will be at least 500 miles from home and 100 miles from a competent mechanic.

Bill,

I might add a few precautions when operating the slide. Johnney Anderson (Bluebird Tech) instructions are:

Extend:
A) Plugged to shore power or Generator running
B) Pilot seat forward
1) Engine running
2) Dump suspension
3) Auto level coach
4) Check & close all bay doors and determine no other obstructions
5) Turn slide Key on.
6) Wait untill yellow light comes on (up to 45 seconds)
7) Push Extend slide button and hold until Red Pump light goes off.
8) Turn slide key off
9) Stop engine

Retract
A) Plugged to shore power or Generator running
B) Pilot seat forward
1) Engine running
2) Re-Level coach (Slide has Zero Tollerance)
3) Re-Check & close all bay doors
4) Turn slide Key on.
6) Wait untill yellow light comes on (up to 45 seconds)
7) Push Retract slide button and hold until Red Pump light goes off.
8) Turn slide key off
9) Store Hydraulic Jacks
10) Suspension Dump OFF

This thread should serve as a reminder to retract any awning extensions before retracting slide.

[Arcticdude]

Bill,

These guys are definitely "slide gurus". You can take whatever they tell you as bird gospel!

[BillR]

Thanks, guys. I have been through the blue box a number of times but I don't recall seeing any documentation as to the operation of the slides. Now all I have to do is find the extend and retract solenoid T-handles and where and how to connect the winch. Oh yeah, guess I need to obtain a winch, too.

[davidbrady]

Hi Bill,

There's all the HWH documentation that you'll ever need in our Document Library.

Document Library > House > HWH

Look at page number 10 of this document: HWH Room Troubleshooting

It may be worth a call to HWH to see if it's feasible to have two big guys on the outside pushing in (once the steps outlined earlier are undertaken); HWH may be able to tell you. I've never manually retracted a slide so I don't know how difficult overcoming the hydraulic system would be - you may need to be inventive. I have pushed my living room slide in with the rams disconnected and it was an easy one person job. You can imagine though, even with the T-handles open, you'll have to force hydraulic fluid thru small orifices.

The T-handles are on the retract/extend solenoids which are bolted to an aluminum manifold sitting on top of your hydraulic pump and motor. The whole kit and kaboodle is located in the first basement bay behind the front bulkhead. There's a 2' x 2' access panel to remove.

BTW, there's a transmission neutral switch override in the HWH control box, also located in the first basement bay, streetside. Toggling this will allow you to put the transmission in gear. This is documented in the HWH documentation.

[BillR]

(05-16-2013 11:56)davidmbrady Wrote:  Hi Bill,

There's all the HWH documentation that you'll ever need in our Document Library.

BTW, there's a transmission neutral switch override in the HWH control box, also located in the first basement bay, streetside. Toggling this will allow you to put the transmission in gear. This is documented in the HWH documentation.

David,

I have printed out the documentation - thanks. Jon Scott is the original owner and he did a lot of things electrical and plumbing wise, some of which I have learned about and some of which are still a mystery to me. He has been very helpful when I have a question. He did do the transmission override and also rewired the system so the ignition switch can be in the accessory position rather than on, listening to all those raucous buzzers while moving the slides. I was grateful when I found out about that.

[davidbrady]

Here's the HWH slide operation instructions that are posted on my pantry door, behind which are the HWH controls. Note instruction (1) when retracting the slide: