Winter - do you run your slides out cold or first heat the trailer

**jcschultz01** · 01-20-2023, 03:13 PM

Hi
Getting ready for a winter vacation departing MN to warmer parts of the US.

My trailer storage under a mesh tarp has seemed to work well keeping pine sap, bird poop and needles off the roof seal though I had to clean the snow off the tarp since I didn't want the tarp to freeze to the top of the RV. So I just recently took it down in preparation for taking the trailer on the trip since it would sag A LOT if it snowed on the mesh tarp and there was no trailer underneath.

My question though, since this is our first full winter with the trailer, is should I warm up the trailer prior to running the slides out?
There is some accumulated snow on the edges of the slides which I am concerned have formed ice even though the trailer has not been heated.

I am thinking that turning on the heat for a day and THEN running the slides out would be a good idea. We do need to run at least the main two slides on a Solitude 310 to reload the trailer. We could make do without running the bedroom slide out.

Comments? Thanks

**Scott'n'Wendy** · 01-20-2023, 03:50 PM

Well, I won't run my slides out in freezing weather, I figure ice could rip seals. But I have not tested my theory.

**WondersAwait** · 01-20-2023, 04:38 PM

We just did a drive from Northern IL to Central Florida. We did not run our slides out while below freezing. We utilized the trailer without using the slides until we got all the way to Florida, so we had a good amount of time for a thaw to hit every thing.

That said, we're in a bit of a lucky situation that we have heated indoor storage at home in IL so we could load it with slides out in our warehouse. Additionally we only have 2 adults in our travel party so our 303 layout is conducive to allowing us to overnight without running any slides; maintaining full access to bedroom and bathroom.

If we needed to run slides in freezing I would probably rethink the trip, personally. Not to say I wouldn't go, but I would have to plan around it. Freezing Temps themselves are probably fine for the mechanisns, it's ice on the seals I would worry about (as previously mentioned). Your idea on just running the furnace a while before operation might be a good compromise. I always carry a heat gun for wiring projects too, so that would be a backup plan.

Good luck, let us know what you decide and how it goes!

**FlyStar** · 01-20-2023, 07:04 PM

Well. They have clutches. My opinion is to run those slides out and in. If the system is so iced up that it can’t move em, they will just clutch out.

Probably good thinking to a point. Super cold rubber breaking cold, like below zero, maybe not.

**WhittleBurner** · 01-21-2023, 05:57 AM

I think that it's not only ice to worry about but also the vynil flooring could become brittle and crack, it's a rare occurance but have heard of it happening over the years. I would warm it first.

**xrated** · 01-21-2023, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by FlyStar

Well. They have clutches. My opinion is to run those slides out and in. If the system is so iced up that it can’t move em, they will just clutch out.

Probably good thinking to a point. Super cold rubber breaking cold, like below zero, maybe not.

That theory goes out the window with Hydraulic through the frame slides like some/many trailers have. I'm not sure of what the 310GK has, the one that the OP owns.

**FlyStar** · 01-21-2023, 06:28 AM

Good point on hydraulic slides. I would hope there is some kind of force limiter on the hydraulic units that would perform the same function as the clutch on the electric ones. Don’t know.

**xrated** · 01-21-2023, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by FlyStar

Good point on hydraulic slides. I would hope there is some kind of force limiter on the hydraulic units that would perform the same function as the clutch on the electric ones. Don’t know.

No force limiter on the hydraulic. They operate in the 2100 to 2200 psi range. The only thing that would stop the slide, unless you let off the button, is the 80A auto reset circuit breaker that feeds the hydraulic pump motor. Basically, when something like that hits a stop, or simply cannot move because of various reasons, it's "deadheading" the hydraulic pump/motor....which causes the motor current to go very high, which in turn will trip the breaker. Some hydraulically operated stuff will have high pressure or over pressure bypass circuits, but I'm pretty sure the hydraulics on these trailer do not.

**KIMandALLEN1988** · 01-24-2023, 02:58 PM

We have a Momentum 351. We've used the unit through the holiday season the last three years in a row before we winterized it. We store it at home, but outside during the off months. I've run the slides in and out throughout these periods with no overt issues. The heat is on low until we close it up for the year and it is ambient temp after that. We have slide covers and I visually inspect the unit multiple times a week as I walk by it en route to my barn. I'm absolutely no expert, but we bought it to use it and typically don't let weather get in the way.