Welp, the Grizz is in the shop. Right at the end of the summer camping season, too.
We started noticing problems in June, wherein the hydraulic jacks didn’t want to retract. So, thinking it was just weak springs, “verified” by a local service provider, we purchased a complete set of new springs. No dice. The service provider we were dealing with couldn’t provide a diagnosis appointment for a month. As it does every so often, life happens, and we couldn’t keep the appointment. I did top off the hydraulic fluid reservoir, which helped a bit on our trip. But I thankfully left the 8-foot 2×4 in one of the bays. During our trip, we still had a problem with the jacks lifting, but now the front ones weren’t extending any more.
Topped off the reservoir again, because it was low. SO! There is a leak somewhere! Initially, I did catch it leaving a puddle, and we were able to get it in for a diagnosis. And, found out the jacks appear to be fine. The problem is a leaking hydraulic ram cylinder on the driver's side front slide. Since the systems are tied together, the jacks were malfunctioning due to the loss of pressure through the slide ram.
The downside is that it will be at least a month until HWH gets a ram out to the provider for replacement. It looks like the season is over for us. Although, if we can get the rig back quickly, we might be able to get a fall camping trip in.
Fingers crossed.
Update 1/4/2022
We got notification that the parts were in from HWH. Finally! We dropped the Grizz off to get the repairs completed, and we should get it back in a week or two.
Update 2/25/2022
After almost two months at the shop, we have finally gotten the Grizz back. The first thing I did was to test the hydraulic jacks, and they worked flawlessly.
However, I did note that my 50 → 15 dogbone was missing, and the battery bay door latch was broken (wasn't broken before I took it in!). Rather than take it back to the servicer and wait months for the fix, I am going to attempt fixing it myself.
Update 3/5/2022
I waddled on down to perform some long overdue maintenance items, check on the batteries, etc., and when I arrived, I found the passenger side slide hanging out about 1.5" - 2". This doesn't bode well! I was able to put the slide in, then run it out about a foot, then back in again, with no problem. Hoping it's a just a fluke, but I'll have to check again next weekend.
The problem with the latch for the battery bay door was simply it was a bit sticky. Holding the handle while closing the door resolved the problem.