Generator and Micro Minnie

Gary Gregg · 01-15-2022, 03:32 PM

After storing MM for two months, battery was dead. Rather than slow charge, I connected my 4550 Watt generator up so I could show the unit to some friends. Lights, awning, indicator lights, etc. worked. Slide out would not. Any suggestions?

Morich · 01-15-2022, 04:18 PM

First let's make sure we are all on the same page. We get lots of people who call their RV by names which are not actually correct! So do you mean a trailer or motorhome?

Assuming with that generator, you mean a motorhome, there may be a problem with the start battery being too low and it is what operates the slide. The generator running does not charge the start battery system in many cases, only the coach.
Best way to make sure things like slide and genrator start well is to start the RV engine first to make sure the heavy power need is going to be there.

A number of different things may be going on but giving us more specifics of what year, make and model of RV will let us give more correct answers without guessing too much!!

backtrack15 · 01-15-2022, 04:34 PM

Did you turn on the slide-out power? On my 2021 there was a switch near the in-out slide switch that simply cut power to the slide.

I believe the idea behind this cut-off switch was to keep the slide controller from using power during storage.

I seem to recall others asking similar questions before. You might search. It’s quite possible the slide won’t work unless the battery has sufficient charge (not something that will run off the converter).

Marine359 · 01-15-2022, 04:41 PM

Assuming here you have a Micro Minnie travel trailer.
Slide, tongue jack, and sensors are connected directly to the battery on Micro Minnie’s. They all operate on 12vdc. If your battery was dead, your slide might not work when you plugged in an ac power source like shore power or a generator, even though you could see that other stuff was working. If you give battery. Few minutes to charge from the ac source, you may find that the slide will work. Yes, I know you said the awning works, but that uses far less amperage than the slide. If the slide is the only 12vdc component that will not work after you have charged the battery, the likely problem is a faulty ground. The slide ground is located in the junction box attached to the tongue frame rail. Test the wires with a multimeter to make sure everything is grounded. If the slide is not working, probably, the tongue jack is not working either. If you’ve got everything, all 12vdc components working except the slide, you may need to reset the slide controller. On most Micro Minnie’s, it is located under the slide behind a luan panel toward the front end of the slide. Follow the Lipper instructions for reset. If that doesn’t work, follow Lipper instruction for setting the slide controller to manual.

And like Backtrack said, make sure the slide piwer switch is on.

Gary Gregg · 01-15-2022, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the note. I am a total newbie.
We own a Winnebago 2019 Micro Minnie, model 2108DS. I bought a Champion 4450/3550 generator to cover three applications: 1. Power for deer camp, 2. Backup power at home for outages, 3. Power RV when needed. I understood the size I bought would power most RV systems, particularly AC. (Yes it is heavy. Looking back, I would have been wiser to buy two smaller, lighter units and couple them. And I may trade this and get two smaller ones.)

But for now, I want to learn how to get the slide out to operate. With generator running, I had power everywhere, but slide out would not work. Does it have something to do with the onboard battery?

And, since there is no manual available, I don’t know when to turn the main battery switch on or off. Should battery switch be on always, unless I’m storing the RV and want to save some battery power?

Marine359 · 01-15-2022, 04:50 PM

For slide operation, it doesn’t matter whether battery disconnect is on or off, but just check that you turned on the slide power switch located on the left of the entryway, on the side of the upper cabinet.

Gary Gregg · 01-15-2022, 05:20 PM

Thanks, folks. This was helpful.
Now, if I can locate an operator’s manual I won’t have bug you experienced folks so much.

Fred 2106DS · 01-16-2022, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Gregg

Thanks for the note. I am a total newbie.
We own a Winnebago 2019 Micro Minnie, model 2108DS. I bought a Champion 4450/3550 generator to cover three applications: 1. Power for deer camp, 2. Backup power at home for outages, 3. Power RV when needed. I understood the size I bought would power most RV systems, particularly AC. (Yes it is heavy. Looking back, I would have been wiser to buy two smaller, lighter units and couple them. And I may trade this and get two smaller ones.)

But for now, I want to learn how to get the slide out to operate. With generator running, I had power everywhere, but slide out would not work. Does it have something to do with the onboard battery?

And, since there is no manual available, I don’t know when to turn the main battery switch on or off. Should battery switch be on always, unless I’m storing the RV and want to save some battery power?

Hi Gary,

Here is my 2 cents on your slide issue.

There are good suggestions here as to what the problem could be, but first things first, your onboard battery needs to have a good charge in it for your slide to operate. Your slide draws more current than what your onboard converter/battery charger can supply when you are plugged into either shore power or your generator. Probably the easiest way to find out if you have an onboard battery charge issue, is to hook up jumper cables or a jump-box to your onboard battery and see if the slide will operate. As has been mentioned by others, your slide power switch at your entry-way control panel also needs to be on. Best practice when hooking up jumper cables or a jump-box is to hook up the negative cable last and disconnect the negative cable first.

Also, as has already been mentioned by others, the on/off battery switch in the pass-thru does not need to be on to operate the slide assuming the onboard battery has a good charge. Though, your on/off battery switch does need to be on to charge your onboard battery using the onboard converter/battery charger when hooked up to shore power or your generator.

To answer your last question, your on/off battery switch should be on anytime you are using your Micro Minnie. If you are storing your Micro Minnie or are in between trips, you can turn the battery switch off to help slow the charge loss in your battery. Though a lead-acid battery will still lose its charge over time but at a slower rate with the switch off.

Gary Gregg · 01-16-2022, 08:44 PM

I kindly thank you people for these good tips.
Is it true there are no owners manuals for the Minnie?

Fred 2106DS · 01-17-2022, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Gregg

I kindly thank you people for these good tips.
Is it true there are no owners manuals for the Minnie?

You can find 2019 Winnebago Operator Manuals here:
https://www.winnebago.com/owners/own...r-manuals/2019

Here's the 2019 Towable's manual link, though this manual has a copyright date of 2014 and is mainly just general information for all towables:
https://www.winnebago.com/Admin/Publ...OWABLES_US.pdf