[rwatts7777]

We have Coach 797. Quad Valid slides.
Is it necessary to run engine to bring in slides?
We always retract in travel mode. Seems like shore power or generator would be sufficient to run slide motors. Would like to be less noisy while trying to leave park.
Richard

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We also were advised to Rev engine up to 1000 rpm....is that also necessary..

[bikestuff]

I also have Valid slides. I run the engine, but do not rev the engine. The engine running makes more air so the slide seals deflate faster.

Another reason to run the engine in travel mode.... when you are parked your coach may settle as small leaks deflate air bags. Running the engine in travel mode will level out the coach which means less stress on the bearings, rails, and slide motors.

My coach does not make a lot of noise at idle. Maybe you have a problem in the exhaust?

[Fulltiming]

I would suspect that Newell is making that recommendation to maximize the current and voltage available to the slides to avoid overloading the motors, especially on the larger, heavier slides. It would seem that the same amount of voltage/current would be required to bring in a slide as to extend it.

Is it necessary, probably not. Is it a wise idea, I would think so.

As a good steward of your investment, Newell will recommend those procedures which they believe will reduce maintenance and increase longevity in the long run.

[Chester Stone]

Not sure which engine you have, but I am advised to run at fast idle (1000 RPM) anytime you are parked for more than a few minutes.

[rwatts7777]

Have the C15 625hp

[Nebster]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to follow up with the "real answers", some of which are spoken to above by earlier posters.

First, Newell wants us to leave the engine on for slides. They always start the engine for any slide movement at the factory, no matter how small or short a time is spent.

The reality is that there are two things the engine does that make the slides work better:

1) The engine gives the autoleveler enough air to stay at travel height reliably. IF your airbags don't leak down quickly, you don't really need the engine on for this benefit. On the other hand, if you have a leaky bag, you might get poor results trying to move a slide at some other angle. Or, IF you are in a perfectly flat place, you could also just dump all the air and not need the engine for this first reason.

2) The Valid vacuum mechanism uses more air than the 120V compressor can resupply. On my coach, trying to deflate all four seals draws a full supply tank down after two seals are fully deflated: the last two slides don't get all the way there and report "Vacuum failed."

The computer will not allow the slide to move until a reasonable vacuum is achieved, so for example on my coach you could:

a) deflate and move two slides
b) let the compressor rebuild the supply
c) deflate and move two more slides

Your exact supply capacity and rate may vary, so you have to test to see what you can get away with. It's a fair bet that you can move ONE slide almost certainly.


So... if you are somewhere where you don't want to run the engine for twenty minutes while moving slides, and all the stars above align, you can probably safely move your slides. Newell won't like you for it, and I'm just a random guy on the internet so you can't really trust me. But if you are confident that you are travel-level, you can patiently get them in or out without all the noise.