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  1. #1
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    Power drops out when using hydraulic slides

    Hi folks,
    I'm totally new to this forum since buying a 2022 Solitude 280RK which I haven't even camped in since picking it up in Tampa in December.
    I charged the single battery at home and reinstalled it before I tried to extend my 3 slides. The 2 large slides (kitchen/living room) would go out a few inches and ALL power in the unit would cut out completely. Power would come back on a few seconds later and I could move the slide another few inches. This continued until the slides were fully extended, and then again when I brought the slides back in.
    FYI, while I did this, I had it hooked up to my diesel truck so that I wouldn't deplete the battery too much, but that didn't seem to matter. The battery meter in the 5th wheel showed full power throughout the process.

    What's the likely issue? Any suggestions?

    Regards,
    Brian

  2. #2
    Long Hauler
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    What does "Full Power" actually mean in terms of voltage? And having it hooked up to your truck will do very little to help your battery since the wires are so small you'll get little current flow from the truck. Best bet for that is a pair of jumper cables if you need them. The stock resettable fuse for the hydraulic pump from the factory is 60 amps, and some people have replaced that with an 80 amp following instructions from Grand Design. Maybe you need the 80 amp one.
    Howard and Peggy
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  3. #3
    Rolling Along
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Chapin View Post
    Hi folks,
    I'm totally new to this forum since buying a 2022 Solitude 280RK which I haven't even camped in since picking it up in Tampa in December.
    I charged the single battery at home and reinstalled it before I tried to extend my 3 slides. The 2 large slides (kitchen/living room) would go out a few inches and ALL power in the unit would cut out completely. Power would come back on a few seconds later and I could move the slide another few inches. This continued until the slides were fully extended, and then again when I brought the slides back in.
    FYI, while I did this, I had it hooked up to my diesel truck so that I wouldn't deplete the battery too much, but that didn't seem to matter. The battery meter in the 5th wheel showed full power throughout the process.

    What's the likely issue? Any suggestions?

    Regards,
    Brian
    I had something similar to this happen with my last Keystone Montana with the hydraulic pump/motor and large slides. I found that I had a circuit breaker powering the pump for the slides and that pump was drawing too much current and tripping the circuit breaker multiple times while under load. I added a second circuit breaker in parallel with the existing and the problem went away completely. If you are losing all power to the RV during this pumping process...that is entirely different. I only lost the ability to move the slides in and out via the hydraulic pump/motor.
    40+ Year Camping Enthusiast--Living in CO
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  4. #4
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    Have you had the battery load tested? The battery meter in the RV is worthless in my opinion.

    By the way, welcome to the forum.
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
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  5. #5
    Commercial Member huntr70's Avatar
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    Was your battery disconnect on or off? Sounds like what happens when your running the system off the truck only....
    Steve- Inventory Manager at Tom Schaeffer's RV, Shoemakersville, PA www.tomschaeffers.com
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Chapin View Post
    Hi folks,
    I'm totally new to this forum since buying a 2022 Solitude 280RK which I haven't even camped in since picking it up in Tampa in December.
    I charged the single battery at home and reinstalled it before I tried to extend my 3 slides. The 2 large slides (kitchen/living room) would go out a few inches and ALL power in the unit would cut out completely. Power would come back on a few seconds later and I could move the slide another few inches. This continued until the slides were fully extended, and then again when I brought the slides back in.
    FYI, while I did this, I had it hooked up to my diesel truck so that I wouldn't deplete the battery too much, but that didn't seem to matter. The battery meter in the 5th wheel showed full power throughout the process.

    What's the likely issue? Any suggestions?

    Regards,
    Brian
    If it is cold where you are, they will move slower & use more power.
    If other items 12v stay on when the slides stop, I would say the breaker as Hoppy said. I changed my 50 amp for an 80 when I started having trouble with the slides. But mine is an '18, being a '22 yours may already have an 80amp?
    If ALL power goes out when moving them, check the voltage at your battery.
    You might just need another battery. I've always have had 2 12V batteries in all my trailers.
    Paul, Sue & Wonder Dog Zane
    '18 Solitude 310 GK
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  7. #7
    Rolling Along
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    Good points---you gotta have a good battery that load tests fine and it has to be enabled for the RV to draw from it via the battery disconnect switch....
    40+ Year Camping Enthusiast--Living in CO
    2022 GMC Sierra 3500 AT4 CC-LB D-Max Payload 3865#--- 5000 Air Springs w/Wireless Comp
    2022 GD Reflection 303RLS-- 565 watts of solar/560aH of LIPO4 batteries, 2000w inverter,
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  8. #8
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Chapin View Post
    Hi folks,
    I'm totally new to this forum since buying a 2022 Solitude 280RK which I haven't even camped in since picking it up in Tampa in December.
    I charged the single battery at home and reinstalled it before I tried to extend my 3 slides. The 2 large slides (kitchen/living room) would go out a few inches and ALL power in the unit would cut out completely. Power would come back on a few seconds later and I could move the slide another few inches. This continued until the slides were fully extended, and then again when I brought the slides back in.
    FYI, while I did this, I had it hooked up to my diesel truck so that I wouldn't deplete the battery too much, but that didn't seem to matter. The battery meter in the 5th wheel showed full power throughout the process.

    What's the likely issue? Any suggestions?

    Regards,
    Brian
    It sounds like your breaker is not functioning properly.

    Two things could be causing this, one, is that you simply have a weak breaker, the other is that even though your battery was fully charged, the voltage output was low, which will cause higher amperage in your wires, which will trip your breaker. Unfortunately, having your truck plugged in does not mean the truck is supplying power to the RV. With today's trucks, power to the RV is controlled by the "computer" and unless the "computer" sees the RV, no power is applied to the 7-pin connector. On my '19 Ford F350, I have to press the brakes before the computer will enable power to the 7-pin connector (computer senses the resistance from the electric breaks).

    I would start with replacing the breaker that is already there and having the battery checked. I would also recommend upgrading the battery to Lithium. Lithium batteries provide their power at slightly higher voltage (voltage sag could be part of your problem) search the forum for: "Cheap Lithium Batteries" to learn about the advantages of Lithium batteries. Alternatively, you could add a second 12 volt, or, upgrade to a pair of 6 volt batteries.

    If you decide to increase the breaker to 80 amps make sure your wires are big enough to handle the 80 amp breaker. When I replaced my breaker, I upgraded all the cabling for the hydraulic system to 4ga cable (be sure to install 4ga on the negative side as well). If you want to fix the system "for good" I recommend upgrading to the 80 amp breaker and upgrading the cables to 4ga.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  9. #9
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    Obviously more info is needed here to provide a solid recommendation but the steps to get there are easy and quick.

    1. Fully charge and load test the battery to ensure it takes a charge, holds a charge, and will pass a load test.
    2. One battery is not optimal for a large camper like that with hydraulic slides and large electrical loads but it will work....there is just less capacity. I bought my 16K lb front living Keystone Montana from a couple and that's all they had---one battery and it worked for them. Two or more batteries are better....lithium has even more benefits but the slides should still work without going crazy on batteries to start with.
    3. As I noted above---Keystone units use the same hydraulic leveling system with the same pump and jack system. It has the same concern with the over current from the pump resetting the circuit breaker and their recommended fix is easy. Add a second $3 50A circuit breaker from the auto parts store. It takes 5 mins and $3 and you are done. I used this method on that same Montana that we purchased for over 5+ years after the fix without an issue. The slides and jacks never acted up again. I never upgraded the wiring, the size of the CB or anything else. Once two circuit breakers are installed in parallel, the current is split between them and this will never happen again.

    There are multiple ways to skin this cat.....I would start with the cheap and easy solutions before I go changing out wiring, breaker sizes and such.......but that's just me!
    40+ Year Camping Enthusiast--Living in CO
    2022 GMC Sierra 3500 AT4 CC-LB D-Max Payload 3865#--- 5000 Air Springs w/Wireless Comp
    2022 GD Reflection 303RLS-- 565 watts of solar/560aH of LIPO4 batteries, 2000w inverter,
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  10. #10
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by COGrandDes View Post
    I had something similar to this happen with my last Keystone Montana with the hydraulic pump/motor and large slides. I found that I had a circuit breaker powering the pump for the slides and that pump was drawing too much current and tripping the circuit breaker multiple times while under load. I added a second circuit breaker in parallel with the existing and the problem went away completely. If you are losing all power to the RV during this pumping process...that is entirely different. I only lost the ability to move the slides in and out via the hydraulic pump/motor.
    I would strongly recommend against adding a second circuit breaker to your existing circuit. Because, what you are effectively doing is doubling the size of the circuit breaker to 100 amps and your existing wires are not large enough to carry that much power. Fire or melted wires can be the result of this doubling of the circuit breaker.

    Circuit breakers and fuses are installed based on the wire size going to the load, if the fuse is too high amperage, the wires will melt and/or spark before the breaker trips. You want the breaker/fuse to trip before the wires melt, not after. This is why I cautioned you about increasing the breaker to 80 amps without confirming the wire was properly sized.

    An 80 amp circuit requires an upgrade to 4ga wire. Upgrading to 4ga wire has the added benefit of being able to supply the hydraulic pump with enough energy so that it doesn't strain while it is running ( I read in the manual that both my Schwintec slide and the hydraulic pump can draw as much as 95 amps at startup, so an 80 amp breaker and 4ga wire to the hydraulic pump are appropriate and not oversized.

    Again, I caution you (and everyone) about simply doubling up on the breaker. DON'T DO IT !!!

    I have included a Wire Size Chart for your reference:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Color Wire Size Chart.jpg  
    Last edited by SolarPoweredRV; 03-07-2023 at 05:55 AM.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

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