Has anyone else experienced some of their sliders partially opening...about an inch during travel? We have a 2009 Montana with 4 slides and the first two sliders to open are the bedroom and kitchen...they have both started doing this.
Also prior to this happening, the last two times we have gone to pick up our 5th wheel from storage the bedroom slider was partially open. Our sliders can also be operated with a remote control so I figured somebody else in the storage facility might of been operating their system and ours picked up their signal.
igotjam said
05:53 PM Feb 26, 2013
Had a 2007 Elite Suite with that problem. I had hydraulic slides and we replaced all kinds of things (rams, solinoids etc). We spent months trying to track the problem down with various dealers with little success. We eventually traded in the trailer to a dealer who said he could easily fix the problem before resale. (he had tried twice unsuccessfully before we decided to trade it in) For about 2 months we wedged a 4X4 between the interior wall and the slide edge to keep the slide from moving out when travelling and lived with the slide constantly in as it would not fully deploy or return on its own. Good luck with your problem. Ours was a Lippert system and they were great suggesting areas to look at and sending parts but we never did resolve it.
Bill and Linda said
06:00 PM Feb 26, 2013
Well, a bit of trouble shooting:Are the two slides that are opening on the same switch?That is, do they both open together with just one control button?If so, I would be guessing that the control relay / value, or the button in the rig (assuming there is one other than the remote control) are “sticking” and thus commanding an open.I’ve seen that on landing gears over the years.Or, in a like kind condition and assuming a hydraulic system, the master valve is opening due to an intermittent command or short.
If possible, I would disable the remote side controller and see if this isolates the problem.Doubt it will, but I would do that if I could just to reduce the variables.
BTW and sort of related, many 5ers use travel bars to make sure the slides can’t open during travel regardless of electric or hydraulic actuators.You two are very experienced so I would think you are aware of those but I do make the comment just in case.Have no idea if Montana 5ers supplied those or not.
Bill
Workinrvers said
02:41 AM Feb 27, 2013
I have not had this particular issue but have read about it on the Montana owners forum and recall it has something to do with the Lippert pumps. You might want to do a search over there and see what you come up with.
We have not had any issues with our Montana with this issue as of yet (hopefully never). Have you checked to make sure the hydraulic fluid is at the correct level? I hope that it is not from someone using their remote as I would think that Lippert has more than one remote sequence for their system. I know the newer models have a retracting cable which I believe helps hold the slides in place during closed position.
Looks like it is possible the check value in the pump.
Les
dianneandsteve said
06:49 PM Feb 27, 2013
Thanks for all the suggestions and help guys. I have an appointment next week to resolve this issue and new this forum would be a good starting point to get a little educated first.
I will start to monitor my hydraulic fluid level to see if it rises when the sliders are in as it has been suggested that there is a check valve in the pump that might be failing.
We travelled for 6 hours yesterday with no problems. The two previous days of travel they creeped out after 6 hours of travel. Also during one month of storage in both 2012 and 2011...so it's been intermittent.
I will post our results after our appointment.
Thanks again everyone!
dianneandsteve said
04:25 PM Mar 7, 2013
Since my last posting our sliders haven't creeped out so I didn't get anywhere as far as monitoring the hydraulic fluid level. We made a pit stop on our way back to Canada at Guaranty RV in Junction City Oregon, and their diagnosis is a faulty check valve in the pump. Unfortunately they didn't have one in stock so we will get that taken care of once we are back in B.C. Apparently some pumps have a brake system in them that can fail but our pump doesn't have that feature.
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and safe travels to all.
Steve
bigboomer said
06:21 PM Mar 7, 2013
Well, it is always a good thing to get a definitive diagnosis for something like this. Hopefully when you get back north everything continues to work out.
Enjoy your trip back and have a safe one.
Les
dianneandsteve said
04:02 AM Mar 8, 2013
Thanks Les. We just arrived at the Tulalip Casino Resort in Marysville WA after 7 hours on the road and the sliders didn't creep out. Time will tell when I eventually get the pump changed out if that's what the problem is...don't know what else it could possibly be.
BTW I like your rig.
Racerguy said
04:28 AM Mar 8, 2013
Darn.....when I saw the title to this thread I thought we were going to talk about those little baby hamburgers every body is crazy about
Lucky Mike said
04:51 AM Mar 8, 2013
HHHhhhmmmmmm..........and I thought a slider was a new bar drink and we were going to have a party............bummer!!!
bigboomer said
01:49 PM Mar 8, 2013
Thanks Steve and Dianne,
I was admiring that nice little TV you have as well....I really like the low profile and how you have the rack system on the top.
dianneandsteve said
11:16 AM Oct 19, 2013
Finally...I have a somewhat long update.
On our return I contacted the only Montana dealer in the lower mainland (Vancouver BC area) Fraserway RV in Abbotsford. I asked them to order in the hydraulic pump as I already had a diagnoses from another RV dealer and that we have an extended warranty. I was told that if I didn't let them do their own diagnoses that I would be responsible for all costs if the problem turned out to be something other than the pump. Fair enough...so they also diagnosed a faulty pump. Of course it seems nobody stocks anything these days...we were given a delivery of 4-6 weeks. This would of meant that we would of had to cancel our trip to Alaska so at our cost $453.00 we had them ship it Air X.
When we returned on June 10th to pick up our repaired rig we saw that the bedroom slide was out about an inch. I was livid! They apologized and told us that at this point because we wanted to get on with our trip that there was nothing that they could do for us right away...go ahead with your trip and we will deal with it on your return. We were now having to stop every hour to put the slide back in. At least we were getting some exercise!
I decided to email Lippert the manufacturer of our system for their input. I also enquired as to whether it was possible that the new pump could of been defective and was told that that was unlikely. If you're mechanically inclined and have high pressure gauges they sent me the following info: Hydraulic Test
We dropped off our rig on September 19th after completing our Alaska trip and returned to our son's place in North Saanich. I got a call the next week that after spending many more hours and 18 pressure tests they determined that the hydraulic ram in the large slide was leaking. Apparently the leaks are normally internal. Again delivery is 4-6 weeks. I suggested that in all fairness to us that they should Air X this part as their first diagnoses was incorrect and we had already paid $453.00 for that. If we waited 4-6 weeks we could end up in dangerous snowy driving conditions crossing the two mountain passes heading south. The lady we were dealing with called back after checking with the service manager. He said no way...we already have too many unpaid hours into this. Okay then...No More Mr. Nice Guy...I'm going to the top.
I phoned for the general manager, however he was at an RV Show so I explained our situation to his assistant. She said that she would have the service manager call me. The squeaky wheel got the grease! The part was expedited by ground and arrived at the end of the following week. We then had a 3 day delay because of our Thanksgiving weekend. We picked our rig up earlier this week and so far so good...time will tell. Our bill was $0.00
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Saturday 19th of October 2013 11:24:27 AM
WestWardHo said
07:25 PM Oct 19, 2013
Yoohoo, Diane and Steve!
Hope that finally fixed it and that we'll see you in AZ soon!
Sherry & Jesse
sdman said
03:00 PM Oct 20, 2013
Thanks for giving the update! We haven't had this problem yet, but I like to see how others resolve these issues so when it is my turn I will have some clue as to what to do or not do. I learn so much from my own as well as others problems.
Has anyone else experienced some of their sliders partially opening...about an inch during travel? We have a 2009 Montana with 4 slides and the first two sliders to open are the bedroom and kitchen...they have both started doing this.
Also prior to this happening, the last two times we have gone to pick up our 5th wheel from storage the bedroom slider was partially open. Our sliders can also be operated with a remote control so I figured somebody else in the storage facility might of been operating their system and ours picked up their signal.
Well, a bit of trouble shooting: Are the two slides that are opening on the same switch? That is, do they both open together with just one control button? If so, I would be guessing that the control relay / value, or the button in the rig (assuming there is one other than the remote control) are “sticking” and thus commanding an open. I’ve seen that on landing gears over the years. Or, in a like kind condition and assuming a hydraulic system, the master valve is opening due to an intermittent command or short.
If possible, I would disable the remote side controller and see if this isolates the problem. Doubt it will, but I would do that if I could just to reduce the variables.
BTW and sort of related, many 5ers use travel bars to make sure the slides can’t open during travel regardless of electric or hydraulic actuators. You two are very experienced so I would think you are aware of those but I do make the comment just in case. Have no idea if Montana 5ers supplied those or not.
Bill
I have not had this particular issue but have read about it on the Montana owners forum and recall it has something to do with the Lippert pumps. You might want to do a search over there and see what you come up with.
http://montanaadministrator.forumco.com/active.asp
Good Luck,
Phil
Steve and Dianne,
We have not had any issues with our Montana with this issue as of yet (hopefully never). Have you checked to make sure the hydraulic fluid is at the correct level? I hope that it is not from someone using their remote as I would think that Lippert has more than one remote sequence for their system. I know the newer models have a retracting cable which I believe helps hold the slides in place during closed position.
Have you called Keystone service?
Keep us updated as to your findings?
Good Luck,
Les
Steve and Dianne.
Further to the issue check this out on the MOC:
http://montanaadministrator.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39095&SearchTerms=slides
Looks like it is possible the check value in the pump.
Les
I will start to monitor my hydraulic fluid level to see if it rises when the sliders are in as it has been suggested that there is a check valve in the pump that might be failing.
We travelled for 6 hours yesterday with no problems. The two previous days of travel they creeped out after 6 hours of travel. Also during one month of storage in both 2012 and 2011...so it's been intermittent.
I will post our results after our appointment.
Thanks again everyone!
Apparently some pumps have a brake system in them that can fail but our pump doesn't have that feature.
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and safe travels to all.
Steve
Well, it is always a good thing to get a definitive diagnosis for something like this. Hopefully when you get back north everything continues to work out.
Enjoy your trip back and have a safe one.
Les
Thanks Les. We just arrived at the Tulalip Casino Resort in Marysville WA after 7 hours on the road and the sliders didn't creep out. Time will tell when I eventually get the pump changed out if that's what the problem is...don't know what else it could possibly be.
BTW I like your rig.
Darn.....when I saw the title to this thread I thought we were going to talk about those little baby hamburgers every body is crazy about
Thanks Steve and Dianne,
I was admiring that nice little TV you have as well....I really like the low profile and how you have the rack system on the top.
Finally...I have a somewhat long update.
On our return I contacted the only Montana dealer in the lower mainland (Vancouver BC area) Fraserway RV in Abbotsford. I asked them to order in the hydraulic pump as I already had a diagnoses from another RV dealer and that we have an extended warranty. I was told that if I didn't let them do their own diagnoses that I would be responsible for all costs if the problem turned out to be something other than the pump. Fair enough...so they also diagnosed a faulty pump. Of course it seems nobody stocks anything these days...we were given a delivery of 4-6 weeks. This would of meant that we would of had to cancel our trip to Alaska so at our cost $453.00 we had them ship it Air X.
When we returned on June 10th to pick up our repaired rig we saw that the bedroom slide was out about an inch. I was livid! They apologized and told us that at this point because we wanted to get on with our trip that there was nothing that they could do for us right away...go ahead with your trip and we will deal with it on your return. We were now having to stop every hour to put the slide back in. At least we were getting some exercise!
I decided to email Lippert the manufacturer of our system for their input. I also enquired as to whether it was possible that the new pump could of been defective and was told that that was unlikely. If you're mechanically inclined and have high pressure gauges they sent me the following info: Hydraulic Test
We dropped off our rig on September 19th after completing our Alaska trip and returned to our son's place in North Saanich. I got a call the next week that after spending many more hours and 18 pressure tests they determined that the hydraulic ram in the large slide was leaking. Apparently the leaks are normally internal. Again delivery is 4-6 weeks. I suggested that in all fairness to us that they should Air X this part as their first diagnoses was incorrect and we had already paid $453.00 for that. If we waited 4-6 weeks we could end up in dangerous snowy driving conditions crossing the two mountain passes heading south. The lady we were dealing with called back after checking with the service manager. He said no way...we already have too many unpaid hours into this. Okay then...No More Mr. Nice Guy...I'm going to the top.
I phoned for the general manager, however he was at an RV Show so I explained our situation to his assistant. She said that she would have the service manager call me. The squeaky wheel got the grease! The part was expedited by ground and arrived at the end of the following week. We then had a 3 day delay because of our Thanksgiving weekend. We picked our rig up earlier this week and so far so good...time will tell. Our bill was $0.00
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Saturday 19th of October 2013 11:24:27 AM
Hope that finally fixed it and that we'll see you in AZ soon!
Sherry & Jesse
Thanks for giving the update! We haven't had this problem yet, but I like to see how others resolve these issues so when it is my turn I will have some clue as to what to do or not do. I learn so much from my own as well as others problems.
Now you can get south out of the cold!
Mark