2021 Avalanche Hydraulic Slide bolts

[Db361]

2021 Avalanche 390 DS. Does anyone know how the hydraulic slide bolts should be set. On the attached pictures the first two pictures show how there are two bolts on the push out side but the retraction side had a washer and what looks like a safety nut on the end. In the third picture I added a bolt on the retraction side to keep it from sliding and left the second bolt as pictured.

[chuckster57]

That hydraulic ram is designed to have “slop” and travel between the extend and retract side. First pic is how it’s supposed to be.

[ChuckS]

The added nut you have installed will cause the slide to totally be out of adjustment when the slide it pulled in..

It is supposed to have the free floating threaded side that you have now “Locked Down”..

The single lock nut on the end adjusts how tight the slide is pulled into the wall when retracted ..

The double nut on the other side adjusts the amount of extension of the slide and how tight the inside seals mate with the interior wall when slide is extended.

Recommend you watch Lipperts videos and follow there adjustment setup precisely else you are gonna have issues with those hydraulic slides

https://support.lci1.com/through-fra...c-slide-system

[ChuckS]

For the OP.. please read the info I have provided links to.

Your current setup with that added nut is pulling that slide in so tight that you will damage the slide edging, D seals and could crack the exterior wall..

[Db361]

Thanks for the link and information. I will readjust to give it the slack it needs.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Db361

Thanks for the link and information. I will readjust to give it the slack it needs.

Here is a quick/brief explanation of the system....The hydraulic ram itself has a stroke length, in other words the total movement length/distance that it can physically travel. It will be MORE than what is needed for that particular slide. The nuts are there to allow an adjustment for that particular slide, in order for it to seal when the slide is retracted, as well as when it is extended. The factory sets it up so that the hydraulic ram can move it's FULL STROKE when operated...But without damaging the slide room that does not travel as far in/out as the hydraulic ram stroke. That's where the adjustment nuts come into play, and the reason for the "slop"

An example (not necessarily real numbers here) might be a ram that has a 30" stroke.....and a slide room that needs 28" for it's full travel in and out. So the ram pushes the room all the way out (extended) and it is sealed and the ram is at the end of it's stroke physically. Since we know that the room is going to require 28" of movement to get it back in (retracted), and the RAM is going to travel 30", the outer adjusting nut is set so that there is 2" of RAM movement before it engages the slide to start pulling it in. At the end of the Ram stroke IN, the room will be properly positioned with the seal compressed exactly as it should be and the RAM will have travelled it's full 30" stroke.....hope this helps.

Hopefully you have not tried to fully operate the slide while it was adjusted like you have it in the third picture.....That will cause significant damage to the slide room.

[Db361]

Thanks for the information. I stop the slide as it hits the wall, but this will take the guessing out on how tight to bring it in.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Db361

Thanks for the information. I stop the slide as it hits the wall, but this will take the guessing out on how tight to bring it in.

Yep, you ALWAYS want a full stroke of the hydraulic cylinder for the slides, and when making adjustments, it's ALWAYS better for the slides to NOT come all the way and go all the way out at first. Then, make SMALL adjustments. Having said that, if you did not do any adjusting on on the out/slide deployed nuts (the ones that are double nutted and closest to the trailer frame), then all you have left to do is adjust in small increments, the nut on the end of the threaded part of the ram to bring it in to the correct position.

Hopefully you have already removed the nut that you added.....that one, if left in place like it is in picture number three will cause a LOT of damage to your slide room.