slide outs coming out on their own

[copperpenny]

I have a 2012 Alpine 3450RL. A few months after our purchase the bedroom slide started working its way out while we were traveling. Keystone has been "working" on the issue for the last year and a half and has not yet resolved the problem. Now all 4 slides work there way out. Has anyone else had this issue with their Keystone product?

[rudythegreat]

I own a 2011, 318SAB w/three slides. No trouble on slide action.

[KJcachers]

No retaining rods? Can you cut some 2x4s that will fit snugly between the wall and the top of the slides? I've seen this option on youtube videos as a precaution to keep the slides from moving out.


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[tsenior]

I just dropped my 2011 model#3455 for the same thing. The slide won't activate when I hit the button but will come out on its own when I'm driving down the road. I took it to the dealer 5 months ago for the similar problem with the slide while it was under warranty, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Now that the warranty has expired and there's an obvious problem, the warranty won't cover it, even though its a slide related problem.

[LZScout]

If they are hydraulic slides, it sounds like you have a leak in the system somewhere. I've read that it can result in an external leak (you can see fluid leaking out) or internal where fluid is leaking through the cylinder. When everything is in/up, has the fluid level in the reservoir where it should be? If not, you have an external leak.

The internals are tricky, since no fluid is lost. On my Alpine, I can isolate each slide by turning off individual knobs near the hydraulic pump. Once you have all the slides in, turn them all off. Take a drive and see which one moves. That should narrow the search down.


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[Yosemitebob]

Originally Posted by KJcachers

No retaining rods? Can you cut some 2x4s that will fit snugly between the wall and the top of the slides? I've seen this option on youtube videos as a precaution to keep the slides from moving out.


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Now that is a good idea, I have not had the problem, but a good temporary fix if needed - thanks

[danimal]

Originally Posted by copperpenny

I have a 2012 Alpine 3450RL. A few months after our purchase the bedroom slide started working its way out while we were traveling. Keystone has been "working" on the issue for the last year and a half and has not yet resolved the problem. Now all 4 slides work there way out. Has anyone else had this issue with their Keystone product?

X2, never had a problem either but if I do, great temporary fix until you can fix it. Stored in the gray matter.

[Chopper]

I own a 2014 Avalanche 360rb and it is doing the same thing bedroom and living area slides work there way out during travel. Any word on what the problem was with yours. Mine was taking in and worked on but have not picked it up from dealer to know if issue as been solved

[Yosemitebob]

When you find out, please come back and let us all know. I wish more people would come back and give the explanation for their problem.

[RV 4 Fun]

Our 2013 Big Sky 3725RL (hydraulic level up system as well as hydraulic slides) has on occasion (4-5 times)moved out maybe 1 inch when parked with all slides in....the only slide to move is the main slide. Never had it move out when moving down the road that would be scary!!
I have not had it looked at yet by dealer as it was not a huge issue....You mention a leak somewhere in the hydraulic system and today I noticed one of the front level up jacks has a hydraulic fluid leak. I will be taking the 5th wheel in later this week for a couple other minor issues and this will be something I mention as well. Will update you all as I hear more.

[shov]

Interested in the outcome as well. I posted yesterday that my Alpine has been parked since late summer without shore power or batteries and for the first time ever I came home from lunch and my bedroom slide was out about 16 inches or so. Very strange indeed. But I must say, better while parked in the yard than while going down the road, yikes is right! But I will also store it in the back of my mind using 2X4's cut to the right size to keep the slides in if it ever become an issue.

[Chopper]

Update spoke to dealer yesterday they said everything checked out fine but they flushed the system because there may have been debrie in the system and hanging up the valves in the valve body allowing pressure to bleed off and slides to come out. We'll I guess I'm going to make some 2x4 stops for travel don't need any incidents. We leave for Florida in 4 weeks don't need any issues when traveling

[ROLIN JOSEPH]

Chopper,
May I suggest you attach something red or bright yellow draped over your slide-out switch.
Just like they have over a pitot tube on an aircraft; "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT"
If you ever forgot to remove your 2x4s, you could do some serious damage.
I think I'm going to use a couple of shower curtain tension rods, (or 2x4s) too.

[Chopper]

Originally Posted by ROLIN JOSEPH

Chopper,
May I suggest you attach something red or bright yellow draped over your slide-out switch.
Just like they have over a pitot tube on an aircraft; "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT"
If you ever forgot to remove your 2x4s, you could do some serious damage.
I think I'm going to use a couple of shower curtain tension rods, (or 2x4s) too.

That is a good idea the way my luck is sometimes that wouldn't be good thanks for the idea and I like the shower curtain idea

[tdawg]

my question would be if you had a 2x4 bracing it. could there still be damage if the slide out still wanted to move out or would the slide out came up against some pressure would it stop there.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by tdawg

my question would be if you had a 2x4 bracing it. could there still be damage if the slide out still wanted to move out or would the slide out came up against some pressure would it stop there.

The big slide in most travel trailers weighs upwards of 500 lbs, possibly as much as 1000 lbs with appliances in it. It takes a significant amount of force to move that much weight, so yes, if you have a couple of 2x4's laid along the top and try to open the slide, at best, you'll break/destroy the fascia, at worst, tear holes in the framing in the side of the trailer and/or break cables, bend/break welds or slide gearing assemblies. I wouldn't want to be around an RV where the owner accidentally hit the switch with slide stays installed.

In the "old days" when slides first came out, all of them had jacks that had to be installed and tightened to hold the slide in position during travel. Most of them were manually activated back then, but when electric/hydraulic slides became popular, there were a number of accidents when owners hit the switch and caused significant damage. That damage is a part of the motivation to engineer "self locking" slides to eliminate the jacks and hopefully prevent the damage from "non-focused" or "accident prone" owners.

The very best that you could expect (if all the planets are aligned in your favor) would be to blow the fuse and have no damage, but I wouldn't count on being that "lucky"

[tdawg]

I was thinking along the lines of the slides coming out on there own with bracing installed, not with using the switch i think that would be a given there would be damage

[JRTJH]

As stated, in the "early days" slides had to have slide locks to keep them from opening during travel. They were designed to support the slide locks in the closed position. That part of slides hasn't changed much over the years, so, no, you won't damage the slide by securing it in place. Mechanically, there is a lock that will prevent the slide from opening against the 2x4, but if the locking mechanism should fail, all the pressure you'd have against the slide components/trailer sidewall is static pressure. There's much less probability of damage from the 2x4's than from the slide opening and hitting something/bouncing out of alignment at 50 or 60 miles an hour.

When in storage, there's very little chance of damage from having 2x4's holding the slide closed. You would probably have a greater chance of cutting the EPDM roofing by sliding the wood over the surface than from any mechanical or structural damage.

[bsmith0404]

I've never had this problem with an RV slide, however, I've seen similar problems with other hydraulic systems I've dealt with. This could be caused by air in the lines (usually caused by a leak). If you notice cavitation or jerking when you operate the slides that is an even better indicator of air. Try bleeding your lines, check closely for leaks, and make sure your fluid levels are correct.

[RedRover]

I just traded in a 1993 Prowler 29.5 ER with a 17 foot single slide that was moved by two hydraulic cylinders that would have driven a log splitter. This 5th wheel was supplied from the factory with four "safety sticks" of 1" wooden dowels with rubber "crutch tips" on each end. The slide extended 3 foot and the sticks were slightly longer so they would wedge into place.
Yes I did, one time only, forget to remove them before attempting to extend the room and forced the two bottom sticks past the seals and wedged them between the outside wall and the sliding room. Lucky no permanent damage but a memorable event just the same.
A 2x4 would be more than adequate to hold the room.