I am in a park with slides open and jacks down, jacks use springs to retract, no problem. I have a broken hydraulic line, I mean it will NOT hold fluid dumps on ground when any button is pushed. I tried using emergency close and broke or striped one of the running thread rods so I have no emergency way to close. What to do now, any ideas? My coach is a 2005 Winnebago Journey 39f
stuck in Louisiana
- Thread starter LenGretch
- Start date
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SeilerBird
Well-known member
Look on Craigslist and find a mobile mechanic.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
What part of the state are you in?
I am in Shreveport, LA. There are no mobile mechanics on CL However I have had 3 mobile mechanics out and all gave up. The hydraulic line is in a place you can't get to or see. Camping World and the other RV dealer are no help, neither was HWH or Winnebago. I have tried all I can think of and every idea anyone else has come up with at least so far.
HueyPilotVN
Well-known member
If I understand you correctly the main issue is that you cannot close the slideout.
The levelers will retract by using the springs on the outside of the hydraulic cylinders however you may have to relieve the hydraulic pressure and possibly even use a bottle jack to raise them.
You also stated that you cannot use the manual retraction method using a wrench or socket and ratchet to close the slideout because the threads are stripped on one of the retraction rods.
If your first project is to be able to close the slideout so that you can move the RV then you might be able to close it by disconnecting the threaded rod and then either have several people push the slideout closed or another option is to use a padded forklift after removing the obstructing hardware. This is probably the method that would be used at the manufacturing plant or at a major dealer that could work on it.
Be sure to secure it from the inside so that it does not move out during travel.
If you post some pictures of the mechanism under the slideout we might be able to give you better ideas or advice.
If you can get it roadworthy I would suggest going to the Winnebago plant in Iowa.
PS: Are you sure that your slideouts are hydraulic and do not have motors with gears that drive a rack. If you do then you might need to remove or at least flip the locking lever on the motor.
The levelers will retract by using the springs on the outside of the hydraulic cylinders however you may have to relieve the hydraulic pressure and possibly even use a bottle jack to raise them.
You also stated that you cannot use the manual retraction method using a wrench or socket and ratchet to close the slideout because the threads are stripped on one of the retraction rods.
If your first project is to be able to close the slideout so that you can move the RV then you might be able to close it by disconnecting the threaded rod and then either have several people push the slideout closed or another option is to use a padded forklift after removing the obstructing hardware. This is probably the method that would be used at the manufacturing plant or at a major dealer that could work on it.
Be sure to secure it from the inside so that it does not move out during travel.
If you post some pictures of the mechanism under the slideout we might be able to give you better ideas or advice.
If you can get it roadworthy I would suggest going to the Winnebago plant in Iowa.
PS: Are you sure that your slideouts are hydraulic and do not have motors with gears that drive a rack. If you do then you might need to remove or at least flip the locking lever on the motor.
BigJohn
Well-known member
I have an Itasca Ellipse with HWH slides and jacks. The hydraulic lines are routed over my fuel tank and are impossible to remove. I had the same problem, down to stripping that bolt. The mobile repairman went to Napa had a new hose made and replaced the leaking hose. He fished it over the fuel tank and zip tied it to the old hose. The fittings are standard. He plugged up the old hose. He did not tighten one end of the new hose to get as much air out as possible. Worked for me. I am a regular at HWH in Moscow Ia.. If you can?t get to both ends of the hose, as Bill said relieve the pressure. Then get acargo strap, loop it around the frame and someplace on the slide and ratchet it in. Good luck.
Bill N
Well-known member
Agree. Try to bypass it by having a new hose made to length. But if the connections are not accessible I don't have an answer. I recently had a 'synchronizing cylinder' replaced because it was leaking like a sieve but it, with a bit of effort, was accessible from the bottom of the coach however the lines were very difficult to access and I paid for a lot of labor hours because of it. In any case - I wish you good luck. Frustration can overtake one when such a problem arises. Been there - done that.
Thanx again guys. Rerouting a new hose was the first thought BUT which hose???? Talked to HWH tech he says the system is theirs but HWH did not install hoses that job was done by Winnebago. HWH tech could not help with identifying the problem hose. When I had 2 hydraulic techs on the job we called Winnebago and their tech had no other ideas that had not already been tried. I'm about to blow one of my own hoses. I can't believe that in a city as big as Shreveport there could be nobody that would be interested in helping! I have been siting in this campground for almost 3 weeks unable to find help!
John Canfield
Site Team
When you say Winnebago was no help, what exactly did they tell you?
the hydraulic tech working on the system had the steps open working on hyd. manifold talking to Winnebago tech. Winnebago could offer no more than already tried. could NOT identify which hose was ruptured. I don't understand, there has to be a way to find out which hose to replace and reroute this hose
Isaac-1
Well-known member
It should be possible to disconnect the hoses one at a time and leak down pressure test each until you find the one (or more) that are at fault.
BigJohn
Well-known member
I agree with Isaac-1. You are right.the hardest part is finding the right hose. I?m assuming the leak is on top of the fuel tank. My hoses were wire tied on top of the tank, makes it tough. If it were me (& it has been me in the past) I?d concentrate on getting the slides in and into a shop that can drop the fuel tank and get this fixed. This will not be cheap. In the meantime, Relieve the pressure on all the lines and get under coach and find places to anchor the cargo strap & rachet in. I find it hard to believe that none of the moble repair people haven?t done this a time or two. Please let us know how this works out. Your situation has always been my worst nightmare.
PJ Stough
Well-known member
LenGretch said:
Have you tried removing the stripped rod and replacing it? If your slideouts "drop down" when they all the way out, it would make the slides coming in easier if you can raise the slideouts manually while cranking on the threaded rods. You can do this by getting to floor jacks, or trolley jacks, as they are sometimes called, and place then under the bottom of the slideout directly under where the slideout mechanism attaches to the slideout itself. If you are parked on a soft surface, use a piece of plywood about two feet by four feet to rest the jack on. first raise the jacks a couple inches or so to get the weight off of the ramps on the slideout mechanism, then try cranking on the threaded rod. Alternate between jacking up the slide, and cranking on the threaded rod until the slideout is at the top of the ramp, then it should come in fairly easy. By using the trolley jacks, they will roll right along with the slideout as it comes in.
If you can not replace the stripped threaded rod, try and use a ratchet strap in its place on that end.
Good luck
catblaster
Well-known member
Just a thought since I have never seen your problem but if you can get to both hoses then replace both hoses. My thinking is if one hose broke then the other one is going to soon... If you can't disconnect the rod, can you get a hacksaw blade in there to cut it? It isnt any good anyway.
Rene T
Site Team
I agree with Will. If you can guesstimate the length of the hoses and have access to both ends of the RV hoses, Just disconnect them and connect to new hoses to the ends of the old hoses and try to pull them through the space. Or just run the new hoses wherever you can under the tank or beside it.
John Canfield
Site Team
Excellent advicecatblaster said:
) )Probably not since the HWH hydraulics are added by Winnebago. Freightliner ships basically a bare chassis to Winnebago - frame, engine, steering wheel, brakes, throttle, etc.lrbnhoot said:
Koodog
Well-known member
Find someone with a borescope camera.
Also I'm a bit confused by the statement about pushing ANY button causes a leak.
Basically the hydraulic system contains a pump and valves which port the oil to certain cylinders for movement. (jacks, slideouts, etc.)
On most HWH systems I have seen the pump is located inside oil reservoir. Therefore doubtful you have a hose which leads from tank to pump and the only way you could have a leak when any button is pressed.
Should be easy to determine which circuit has the leak. If slide has more than 1 cylinder, I would think hoses are far enough apart to determine which hose(cylinder) is leaving the puddle.
However they might have tee'd a single hose close to the slide, making 2 hoses at that point.
A hyd tech should have easily been able to determine which hose also by a psi test. Installing a gage at the manifold where each hose is connected would determine which has the leak as it will not build pressure or significantly less than working hoses.
If HWH could not provide a hydraulic diagram of the system, then you spoke to the wrong person.
Winnebago not also have some sort of diagram is a bit concerning. They installed the darn thing.
Give us the model number of your system and we can do some research.
Also I'm a bit confused by the statement about pushing ANY button causes a leak.
Basically the hydraulic system contains a pump and valves which port the oil to certain cylinders for movement. (jacks, slideouts, etc.)
On most HWH systems I have seen the pump is located inside oil reservoir. Therefore doubtful you have a hose which leads from tank to pump and the only way you could have a leak when any button is pressed.
Should be easy to determine which circuit has the leak. If slide has more than 1 cylinder, I would think hoses are far enough apart to determine which hose(cylinder) is leaving the puddle.
However they might have tee'd a single hose close to the slide, making 2 hoses at that point.
A hyd tech should have easily been able to determine which hose also by a psi test. Installing a gage at the manifold where each hose is connected would determine which has the leak as it will not build pressure or significantly less than working hoses.
If HWH could not provide a hydraulic diagram of the system, then you spoke to the wrong person.
Winnebago not also have some sort of diagram is a bit concerning. They installed the darn thing.
Give us the model number of your system and we can do some research.
