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One of My RV's Slides Won't Retract

by Sara
(Jacksonville Florida)

One of My RV's Slides Won't Retract

One of My RV's Slides Won't Retract

We have a 2003 Montana 280rl 5th wheel with 3 slides, the bedroom and kitchen will come in in that order but the living room slide will not, they go out fine and to get the largest of the 3 in you have to turn the silver knob on the hydraulic motor and it eventually comes on...Tried the manual lever on the front of the motor and that does not work...Do you have any suggestions also has a small leak in fluid but can't find where at.

ANSWER: Hi Sara thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page

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Based on what you described above I am pretty sure that the mysterious fluid that you are seeing is hydraulic fluid from the slide out system. To check for a hydraulic leak take a look at the pump and hydraulic cylinders, hoses and connections to see if you see any signs of leaking fluid. If you do see leaks this is something that may have to be repaired by a Certified RV Technician.

If there is no leak, your slideout system could be low on hydraulic fluid. Normally the hydraulic fluid reservoir is located on the back of the pump, but the problem is that you cannot fill up the hydraulic fluid when it is in the out position as you will overfill it and it will leak all over the place when you try to retract your slide.

I believe that the slideout system on your 5th wheel is made by Lippert Components, if it is there is a way of manually closing the slide out using an electric drill. Take a look at the video below from Lippert Components for the steps to manually open and close the slide.


I have also located a manual for Lippert Components Slide Outs that also has some other troubleshooting steps you can take to figure out what is going on with your slide out system. The Lippert Components 5TH WHEEL HYDRAULIC SLIDEOUT AND LANDING GEAR (HLG) SYSTEM OPERATION AND SERVICE MANUAL (Warning this link opens in a new window).

If you have other questions you might want to contact Lippert Components at 1-574-537-8900.

Hopefully this information has been helpful to you.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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Comments for One of My RV's Slides Won't Retract

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Got mine fixed
by: Ann

Since I wrote my last comment I got it "fixed" and sold my trailer. Someone came over and was good enough to lubricate it underneath and that solved the problem.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Hydraulic Ram Seals
by: Ken H

Ours was doing the same thing. It ended up being the hydraulic Ram seals that were blown. Had to have it rebuilt. This was cheaper than buying a new one but not by much.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		That what happened to mine
by: Ann

I have a (2005?) Fleetwood Terry 26H travel trailer with a slide-out. The front slid ok, but the other side started to slide and then acted as if something was jamming or stopping it from going in.

There's a Camping World up the road, but since I live in mine full time I can't take it anywhere. I have no idea where to even look.

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