Xpert in cold weather

Hi! I have an xpert chrome at my parents' house which I've used for a total of 5 weeks last year. I had problems after the first period of sessions taking it down, as the expanding extension got stuck. We still managed to get it down, we have a ceiling mount as its a narrow beam it attaches to. Could the problem be due to the chrome pole not being well-suited to a cold environment? Or is it maybe just a case of oiling the expanding part? Or is this what happens if the pole has been overextended, which might have happened as the next extension up is too large for the room?