Power for your slide out

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danford50

danford50

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Posts
87
Location
North Carolina
do you have to have your motorhome plug in to shore power for your slide out to work, or will they work off the battery
 
Mine will work off the batteries, but they are disabled when the engine is running. What is the year, make and model of your RV?
 
danford50 said:
my silde will only work when I am plug into shore power, not batteries
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Something isn't right IMO.

So you could never boondock anywhere right?

Can you run the generator and have them move?

Like others asked - What year, make and model of MH do you have?

Just in case you wanted to know my slides work off the chassis batteries when I turn the key to the acc setting.
Never tried to move them with the engine running - however I have started the engine and then raised the jacks.
 
Mine doesnt have to be started, but my key has to be in the on position. I have never heard of a slide that needed 110 volts to operate. If thats the case, you would have to start your generator to open or close your slide, or be plugged in. Are you sure the main 12 volt shut off isnt turned off. Do the lights work when you are not plugged into 110 volts?
 
They usually work on batteries far as I know always do however they are major power suckers (30 amp breakers or bigger) and if the batteries are weak, or the connections are weak (Dirty) the batteries may not have the OOMPH to move the slides.

Load test batteries. check all connections especially the connections to the battery and the negative cable where it connects to whatever it connects to.

Short story.. Had to move a slide in on an rv with batteries that were.. Shot. and I mean Shot.. Took 3 people and the converter.. One pushed the button. Two of us pushed the slide in.. Got it done.
 
Look at your brochure. Different makers operate differently. For example, on mine, a Class C Fleetwood Tioga motorhome, you have to set the parking brake and have the engine running. Others may be different.
 
Is this coach brand new? If so take it back to the dealer and get them to explain all of the operations of your coach. They should do that for you.

Bill
 
If batteries are fully charged, it should work from batteries.
 
You can tell from the different responses that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to your question. For example, our Owners Manual specifically says not to power the slides off battery-power, and only while idling the engine, yet other RV manufacturers say otherwise. There are also different safety interlocks for slides - it all depends on how the manufacturer designed it. The correct method for operating your particular RV's slide(s) should be in your Owners Manual.

Kev
 
Gee, On my main slide, just now (Calling service tech next, already in progress) the main slide is getting power from a jump start battery.. Sucks it down good it does.
 
John From Detroit said:
Gee, On my main slide, just now (Calling service tech next, already in progress) the main slide is getting power from a jump start battery.. Sucks it down good it does.
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Thats why I generally start my engine, even though I dont have to. It will go in or out by just turning the key. I tried it today, and I can turn the key backward to aux. and it will operate.
 
A bit off-topic, but make sure you leave a door or window open whenever you operate your slide. It's an awfully big bellows and if the rig is closed up tight you'll greatly increase the load on the slide motor.
 
John From Detroit said:
They usually work on batteries far as I know always do however they are major power suckers (30 amp breakers or bigger) and if the batteries are weak, or the connections are weak (Dirty) the batteries may not have the OOMPH to move the slides.

Load test batteries. check all connections especially the connections to the battery and the negative cable where it connects to whatever it connects to.

Short story.. Had to move a slide in on an rv with batteries that were.. Shot. and I mean Shot.. Took 3 people and the converter.. One pushed the button. Two of us pushed the slide in.. Got it done.
Click to expand...


While my slides will work on batteries I find it to be risky. If for some reason the batteries are not fully charged it is possible that moving a slide will cause an error code to occur and your slide to stop moving.  Depending upon what brand you have you may have to go through a reset procedure.  I prefer to either be hooked up or to runnimg from genset while moving my slides.  On my RV it is easier to get to my power cord when the slides are in anyway, so this is not such an impediment.
 
If I recall, on my Tioga, having the slides out and the engine on acts like a safety device which prevents you putting the motorhome in drive, thereby preventing you from driving away with the slides out.
 
cgmartin said:
If I recall, on my Tioga, having the slides out and the engine on acts like a safety device which prevents you putting the motorhome in drive, thereby preventing you from driving away with the slides out.
Click to expand...

Seems the opposite of my intuition.  It would be impossible to drive away if the engine were off.  On mine the emergency brake needs to be set as a safety.
 
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