RV Functions for the Learned and the Unlearned

Most of the people reading this do not own an RV. But if you've ever stepped inside one, did you ever think how the slides come out? Or how the automatic jacks work? What about how the cabinets stay closed while driving? In this post, I'll explain the hows of the RV. If you have any other questions about this subject, ask us in the comments section below. 
I'll start with my favorite function: The slides. Our RV has four slides: The kitchen table and recliners, the refrigerator/pantry/stove, Nate's loft, and the master bed. The first three I mentioned run off of a hydraulic system. For those of you who don't know about hydraulics, think of it as a system of hoses that act like a straw. When the liquid inside is pushed or pulled, a piece of machinery on the opposite end of the pushing or pulling gets moved because of the vacuum or pressure caused by the moving liquid. The piece of machinery is attached to the slide, so the slide gets moved as well. That's how a hydraulic system works. The master bed slide is electric, so it runs off of a motor. We have a lot of slides for an RV, but it only takes about 90 seconds for them to all go out! 
While I'm on the section of hydraulics, I'll mention that our jacks run off of hydraulics. We have a pad that we can control all 6 of the them. The jacks are what stabilize the RV, and we have an Auto Level sequence that runs to level the RV with the jacks. Hydraulics are awesome!
Our cabinets and drawers are special. They have a neat catch on them that is sandwiched between two small rollers when closed. Although this makes it harder to open, it really helps when we're driving to keep the things inside of them from sliding out. 
Our refrigerator also has a lock on it so that it doesn’t open during driving. 
All of our doors have straps to keep them in place while traveling, including our shower door!
When we hook up to the truck, we attach a special power cord from the RV to it so that the fridge can stay cold, and the RV brakes can collaborate with the truck’s. 
The kitchen table folds up a little bit to conserve space while driving. If it didn’t fold up, the slide would crush it against our kitchen island when it goes in!
Hopefully now you understand some of the functions of the RV. Ya’ll are now fully educated for a trip of your own! Maybe. 

-Woodsman Will-

Here's the slide for Nate's loft.

This is our front left jack. It is fully extended.

This is under the slide.

Here's our cabinet door. On the left hand side is an arrowhead looking thing. This fits in the 2 rollers on the right hand side.

This is our table folded in.

This is our table opened up.