Running slides out while still hooked to truck

[Dragfam1127]

I attended a seminar by Lippert the other day and they said that the schwintek slide needs to be fully in or out and not stopped in between. The rack and pinion slides can be stopped anywhere.

That is true. They had a seminar awhile back that was free to take. It walked you through the whole system’s operation. If you partial extend them they get out of sink then you need to relearn/resink them.

[Jwalthall]

Actually, we are doing it right now at Seminole Canyon SP, Comstock, Texas. When we travel I try to find level (PREFERABLY PAVED) sites where I won't have to disconnect.

[Yonder]

Yup, we've done it many times. Pull up on a block if needed to get close to level side to side. If needed drop the front jacks and set the system to manual level and raise the trailer slightly taking the weight off of the hitch but not lifting the truck.
** Leave the truck running until you're level and the slides are extended and then disconnect the 7-pin cable from the truck so as not to accidentally kill your truck battery overnight. Don't forget to plug it back in before hitting the road.

What he said!

[SueLynn]

Something else to consider… is your absorption refrigerator level while on?

[IBEW Sparky]

@trailrydr

You mentioned the following..."several positive things about this method: no time spent messing with level and ensuring the landing gear are stored properly before travel"

The biggest problem with doing this is if you're going to park for the night and you don't get yourself level then you will end up having issues with your absorption refrigerator. You definitely don't want to be parked 12-14 hrs. with the fridge running and not level.

[IBEW Sparky]

That is true. They had a seminar awhile back that was free to take. It walked you through the whole system’s operation. If you partial extend them they get out of sink then you need to relearn/resink them.

They only get out of sync if you run them part way in or out, stop them, and then run them in the opposite direction. If you run them partially in or out and stop them you must continue running them in the same direction until fully opened or closed.

[trailrydr]

@trailrydr

You mentioned the following..."several positive things about this method: no time spent messing with level and ensuring the landing gear are stored properly before travel"

The biggest problem with doing this is if you're going to park for the night and you don't get yourself level then you will end up having issues with your absorption refrigerator. You definitely don't want to be parked 12-14 hrs. with the fridge running and not level.

Agree. We dont use (turn on) the fridge unless the installed trailer buble level shows near leveled and we have adequate power available. Plus, when traveling for long hours we tend to store perishables and a few travel drinks in an ice packed cooler.

[Hoopy Frood]

My understanding about the fridge being level enough, is if it's uncomfortable being inside, it's too far out of level. We have stayed hooked up many times and never had any issues. We had our last trailer over 10 years and the fridge still worked just fine. Of course our old trailer had a big level on the hitch that you could see from the cab, so we could make sure it was pretty close to level. If you're towing level, you should only need to watch the side-to-side, unless the site is really off. And we always put out the slides when stopped overnight.