Slides (I'm looking to learn)

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NCSU Dad

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OBX NC
We are new to RV's and looking to buy our first RV. We attended the August 2017 RV show in Raleigh. I had made up my mind I did not want a slide based on research I did which mentioned:
-cutting the slide opening in a wall compromised the structural integrity of the wall
-slides are prone to leaks which if gone undetected or ignored will cause major decay problems
-mechanical failure
-you could be limited in campground parking due to the clearances required when the slides are out
So I did not take the opportunity to look and ask questions at the show.

Okay I'm the last to know most RV's manufactured today have slides.

Many of the posts I have read on this forum mentioned electric, cable, and hydraulic slide operators (this might be old technology). Seems to me the slides I saw at the RV show had what looked like some sort of rack and pinion track exposed.

Also the posts warn of difficulty in resale of an RV's which doesn't have them. The example mention most often was how people worried about power window failure years ago in cars and how not having PW in your car or truck today would be unheard of.

After all this typing please educate me on slides.

Thanks!
 
X2
I was at the Hershey show I can't remember seeing many if any without slides. The TT I purchased originally came with Swintec slides but changed mid year to a cable driven slide due to a flawed design that as tearing the linoleum flooring. My TT has 3 slides and so far no leaks and the beauty of having all of the extra space is great. I never had a situation trying to get a CG requirement so far but I imagine it could happen.
 
If a campground was so tightly packed that there wasn't room to open a slide, I'm not sure I'd want to stay there.
 
I find campers without slides to be narrow and claustrophobic, and wouldn't dream of owning a unit without at least one.

We've been at events where we've been packed in pretty tightly, such as rallies and festivals, and always had room for the slide. Sometimes not the awning, but always the slide.

You're much more likely to experience a leak from the roof than from a slide. However, we don't tempt fate and keep the slide closed during storage.

I think the power window analogy is a good one. Yes, it's possible to have problems, but not very likely.
 
      Slides are much like RV's, many designs and many quality levels. And like RV's if you have a quality one  you can be quite happy, if poor quality,design,and/or workmanship a living nightmare. Generally speaking,but not always, a better quality RV will have better slides/seal/design and materials.
 
Most of the negatives you mentioned were what we talked about back when slideouts were new.  I remember well all of us worrying about structural integrity, debris on top of the slides, etc. etc.  Most of the negatives never came to pass.  Yes, some of the early ones had problems and it was a major factory repair when something went wrong but the manufacturers came up with ways to make them better.  Holiday Rambler had a good slide mechanism and was bought by Monaco primarily for the slide technology.  We have that mechanism in our front slide and it works great.  Our first three Class Cs had no slides, our first Class A DP had one slide, and our current Class A DP has two slides.  These days the biggest issue has to do with underbay access when there's a slide overhead but we manage.  And, yes, slides make a small space much more livable.  I wouldn't forego buying an RV with slides on the off chance that it "might" have a problem some time in the future!  Chances are it will work just fine.  The biggest question these days is how many slides.  We are happy with two but some people really want four or even a "full-wall slide" so don't bypass a good RV because it has slides.

ArdraF
 
We had a no slide motorhome for three years.  It never leaked until we left California (think drought).  Then it leaked through the front AC.  Not a bad leak and more a nuisance than a real problem.  Our new motorhome has two slides.  Doesn't leak.  But then we haven't taken it to the rainy country yet. 

Once thing for sure, a non-slide motorhome does not sell as quickly as one with slides.  That and they don't hold their value as well.  It's a matter of market.  Many more people looking for a motorhome with a slide.  From a buyers perspective, that's a plus.  But selling can be a challenge.  Something to consider if you really enjoy RVing and decide to upgrade to something larger. 

 
Lou Schneider said:
If a campground was so tightly packed that there wasn't room to open a slide, I'm not sure I'd want to stay there.

That sounds like a Walmart parking lot...not an actual campground.
 
I have 3 slides. had only one leak issue, detected and fixed before serious damage happened.
Have never had a park where I could not extend them
Have seen NO evidence the frame was compromised in any way mean or form.

RV is a bit over 12 years old... Only major slide issues.

Accu-Slide (This uses cables to pull sice in and out) Suggest getting a cable repalcement kit ASAP as if it breaks, way easier to fix if cable on hand. Read manual

Power gear (Rack and pinion electric) THe controller has failed and we can not locate it in the RV, WIll soon build my own controller.. I know how to do it, new controller has only 4 major parts (plus some wire) that's all.
 
-slides are prone to leaks which if gone undetected or ignored will cause major decay problems

You make it sound like they're doing that all the time. These are rare, and usually easy to fix, mostly due to a gasket gone bad.

-you could be limited in campground parking due to the clearances required when the slides are out

I wouldn't be in such a campground except as a last resort. And I have yet to see one of those, either. It's rare that a slide sticks out more than 3 feet or so, many only 2 feet. Do you want to park only six feet away from another rig?

Many of the posts I have read on this forum mentioned electric, cable, and hydraulic slide operators (this might be old technology). Seems to me the slides I saw at the RV show had what looked like some sort of rack and pinion track exposed.

Electric means that an electric motor provides the power via a cable or rack and pinion (or other) mechanism. All of these are in use, though cables on recent motorhomes aren't common. Each manufacturer uses what they think the best compromise between cost, reliability and other factors, so there are all the mechanisms you mentioned still in use (perhaps others, too).

IMHO, cable operated slides are the least desirable, but slides are rarely a problem on today's RVs, whether motorhome or trailer.

Pay special attention to Ardra's post -- very good historical info there, as well as her conclusions.

 
Much of this is internet myth, propagated from one gullible RVer to another via the miracle of online chatter. Or a few quasi-Luddites who find fault with every new tech that comes along.
-cutting the slide opening in a wall compromised the structural integrity of the wall

Hogwash, simply because RV sidewalls have no real structural integrity to begin with. They are built as a unit and just bolted into place, adding very little to the structure rigidity of the RV. Nor are they all that strong in and of themselves

-slides are prone to leaks which if gone undetected or ignored will cause major decay problems
Well, slides can leak, but it's not evident they are a major source. Windows are responsible for just as many leaks, and few are suggesting those be eliminated. Ditto for skylights. The big leak risk in any RV are the roof seams and openings.

-mechanical failure

Some truth to this one. After all, it is a mechanical device driven my a motor, so obviously there are more parts to fail than without it. You seldom hear anyone write in and say their slide has worked perfectly for a dozen years, so complaints may seem frequent, but it is actually a pretty reliable piece of equipment. Some slide mechanisms are better than others, though.

-you could be limited in campground parking due to the clearances required when the slides are out

That would have to be really tight quarters. Most slides are only 20-30" deep, so the site would have to be really narrow, less than 15 ft?    No room to put an awning out either, and darn little room to put your lawn chair or grill out either.  I've been in a few sites where a tree or power pole was in an awkward position and I've had to position the rig to avoid it, but not any that wouldn't fit at all.

As with many tech improvements, you have to weigh the additional cost & complexit vs the value received. Even one modest size slide really opens up the interior of an RV.
 
Our previous 33' Class A had no slides, and while we did make some great memories with it, moving up to a newer 34' Class A with a single 14 foot "super slide" in the living area made a world of difference in the apparent as well as actual "roominess". Even though our coach is 16 years old, we've had no leaks in the slide, and the only repair that's been needed since new was a replacement control switch a couple of years ago, a $12 part and ten minutes work. I don't think we would ever consider another RV with no slides unless we were into extreme downsizing for some reason.
 
NCSU Dad said:
-you could be limited in campground parking due to the clearances required when the slides are out
If I didn't have clearance for my slides, I wouldn't have clearance to open my door. My living room slide comes out the same distance as my door.
 
Don't think of it as a open sided box structure.

  It's actually a box-in-a-box structure,  which is stronger than even a closed box.
 
Note that depending on the type of failure, if it does happen, there is usually a way to manually retract the slide if you are in a fix. My slide has a special tool to manually retract it by winding it by hand if the motor, or the power, or the controller fails for any reason. I've never had to use it but I keep it in the rig just in case.
 
I had similar feelings about slides in the past.  Now that I have them I can say that I have had problems where the slide didn't come in one time and needed me to push a reset button. This was because I was trying to retract on a partially charged battery.  On another occasion I had two different slideouts that would not extend due to a jammed slide lock, but now I know how to fix that by removing a washer that was not needed.  I have never had a leak.  I had one leveling bolt break that had to be welded in place.

That said I would never again own an RV without slideouts because it makes all the difference between having lots of living space or feeling confined.  They are well worth any hassle.  You will learn the things to be sensistive to to avoid issues. For example, I only extend when fully level, although I have seen others do otherwise.

As for constraints on width I did run into an issue one time with a branch that extended out into my assigned space, but a small positioning adjustment solved that problem.

One issue you didn't mention was that with a slideout you may not be able to walk all the way to the rear without crawling over a bed.
 
captaindomon said:
Note that depending on the type of failure, if it does happen, there is usually a way to manually retract the slide if you are in a fix. My slide has a special tool to manually retract it by winding it by hand if the motor, or the power, or the controller fails for any reason. I've never had to use it but I keep it in the rig just in case.
Exactly! And I did test retracting our 14' gear drive slide using the provided crank tool. It's not fast and your arms get a workout, but it gets the job done.
 
Ditto to all the other comments.  I would not own an RV without them because otherwise it feels too constricted.  (The resulting narrow space means you have to step over feet and around furniture to move around.)  I have two really big slides and have had only one problem in five years of full-timing.  Basically, that means I have opened and closed my slides at least 1,000 times over that period as I do not own a toad and move often.  That one problem was a fuse that needed to be replaced.

And you will easily notice any leak and so can fix it promptly.  Actually, I did have water blow in through a slide once, but that was during 60-70 MPH winds during a storm, and I put slides in and quickly mopped up water with towels.  No damage to roof as water was blowing in through bottom.  Never leaked before or after.
 
NY_Dutch said:
Exactly! And I did test retracting our 14' gear drive slide using the provided crank tool. It's not fast and your arms get a workout, but it gets the job done.

Dutch, will an electric drill work.  I used one to lower and raise the jacks when we had the trailer.  I've read the manual on closing the slide when the mechanism fails, but haven't actually looked at it.  Not sure there would be enough room. 
 

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