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  1. #1
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    Low temp hydraulic slides and jacks operation

    I think the major solution to poor slide and jack performance at ANY temperature for me was replacing the hydraulic pump 50A breaker with an 80A breaker from Grand Design - call up GD Tech Support 574-825-9679 to get a replacement.
    I posted a quick note on how I switched over to 80A in a different post and others have done the same.

    The other thing I was concerned about was that for my 2018 Solitude 310GK, I had never changed the hydraulic fluid. 3-5 years is recommended.
    Also I live in MN and when we left a couple weeks ago, it was -10F and the jacks and slides did NOT like to work.
    So I looked up the Lippert recommendations for BELOW FREEZING hydraulic operation fluids and found that a big chain store had Valvoline(tm) Full Synthetic ATF. The Lippert recommendations are attached - TI-188.

    Prep was to have at least 7 qts of ATF fluid on hand (I did not have enough and had to make more trips to get a total of 8 quarts = 7 quarts + 1 spare) though I had read 4 qts was enough (NOT).
    AND a transfer pump - in my case I bought one from a big box store that had one hose for suction, one for liquid out. It worked well and fairly fast but about $30. You could also use a squeeze bulb type albeit slower.
    AND run the hydraulic slides in.
    AND raise ALL the jacks. I put a 9" (or so) block under the front jacks when I unhitched so I could still access the hydraulic tank when the front jacks were fully retracted. BTW at this height, auto-level works fine.

    Then I sucked ALL the old ATF fluid out of the tank into a holding tank on the ground - an empty plastic lid in my case. Or milk jugs would be OK. Or a couple plastic cups if you underestimated the amount of fluid :-) :-)
    Put a piece of carboard or plastic down. Even if you don't spill it is messy

    This worked well to empty the tank BUT the suction hose kept curling up and I could not get all the fluid out. Solution was to tape a stick to the end of the tube inserted into the tank with the tube slightly longer than the stick so the tube was straight and touched the bottom of the hydraulic fluid container. I washed the stick in the old hydraulic fluid to make sure it was clean. I included a picture with the suction setup and the "precision" stick and a some of red ATF that I spilled.

    Then refill the tank to the FULL line pouring directly from the quart bottles into the tank. Take the cap and lock ring off all the way so you don't have to fish them out of the tank :-) This was just short of 7 qts of synthetic ATF fluid for me.
    Test autoleveling the trailer and then run the slides out.
    I put the old fluid back in the quart bottles and am looking for where to get rid of it - if nothing else a hazardous waste center near home will take it.

    Seems to work great and I hope the lower temp performance of the full synthetic ATF helps with the trailer operation.

    Another recommendation from Lippert is to add an Anti-stiction fluid to the hydraulic system. I could not find any but I attached the Lippert data sheet TI-191 in case you can find some.
    Lippert contact is [email protected] or 574-537-8900. I have not contacted them since the directions were pretty clear.

    Good luck and I hope the full synthetic fluid helps on cold weather slide operation. I always run full synthetic motor oil in the diesel truck so am a fan of full synthetic fluids for critical applications.

    The last picture is the tank after filling to the FULL line with all the slides and jacks in and then auto-leveling and running the slides out. Doesn't actually use that much fluid!!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails HydraulicFluidRecommendation_Lippert_ccd-0002088.pdf   AntiStictionHydraulicFluid_Lippert_ccd_0002091.pdf   20230212_094605-1.jpg   20230212_094601-1.jpg   20230212_114718-1.jpg  

    Last edited by jcschultz01; 02-12-2023 at 05:43 PM.
    2018 Ram 3500 with AS69RC Aisin transmission and Companion RVK3670 sliding hitch
    2018 Grand Design Solitude 310GK

  2. #2
    Rolling Along jjbbrewer's Avatar
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    Fantastic write up! Thank you so much for going to the trouble to document everything. I'm saving your post so I can do the same as I've noticed some problems with my jacks & slides here at ~25 deg F.

    As for the anti-stiction fluids, most motorcycle shops will carry the Torco or Maxima fork oils (I'm an avid motorcyclist). There are synthetic fork oils that would probably work as well if you can't find those two. Of course, I'd check with Lippert on any variation.

    Again, thank you very much for taking your time to post this.
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  3. #3
    Site Sponsor ajg617's Avatar
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    Has anyone measured the amp draw for slides and jacks at lower temps close to where GD recommends full synthetic? I looked at my Victron history and was a bit surprised that running the slides in drew about 35amps and retracting the jacks drew about 57amps (and that kept resetting) at 38F. Looking at a 60 day history when we were in heat and chill during Aug-Oct, max draw ever was about 25 amps over 22 different campsites. Doesn't seem to add up to me.
    Robin & John
    2020 Ram 3500 LB SRW 4WD Crew Laramie 6.7HO Aisin, 55gal Titan
    2022 Solitude 310GK-R - Dual pane, factory solar & Onan, 8K axles with discs, 18K GVWR, W/D, Heat Pump, Goosebox, Battleborn

    2023 stays

  4. #4
    Rolling Along jjbbrewer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajg617 View Post
    Has anyone measured the amp draw for slides and jacks at lower temps close to where GD recommends full synthetic?
    I've glanced at my 'dumb' ammeter while running the slides in temperate weather, and I've see >80A on occasion. I think that's not unreasonable. Different than @jcschultz01 unit mine came with an 80A breaker and it's not uncommon for it to trip & reset a couple of times while I'm running the slides out.

    It will trip more often in cold weather, but I haven't looked at the ammeter when it happens mostly because it's cold!

    Interestingly, it never trips when I'm running the leveling system.
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