Slide out Lock Damage

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Art In Mobile

Art In Mobile

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Posts
372
Lets just say one of the stupidest things a man could do would be to leave the slide out strap on the front slide out & push the out button! Those 2 electric motors geared down have a lot of power. If I ever was so stupid I would never admit it. I bet the noise of the wood trim cracking as the trim pulled its fasteners out of the edge of the slide out made a terrible noise! Making the man feel like a jerk. But how would I ever know what that horrible sound would be like? I would never do that. To make sure this never happened a THIRD time, if I was that idiot I would put in a switch on the white wire (stops slide from going out only). I would use the boat type switch that has the red plastic key on it & I would super glue & bolt it on to the strap. That way that Idiot could not extend the slide without removing the strap first as it has the red plastic key which turns on the switch.  Even if the switch costs 24 dollars I would consider it cheap insurance. But this will never happen to ME!  Art in Mobile
 

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Ah - rumor has it that a certain unnamed female wife of mine did the same thing in spite of my warning label I added right above the slide switches  :eek: ??? ::) :p

Things happen....
 
I was told by our dealer, when we bought ours, to put the strap in the pouch on the back of the drivers seat...and leave it there!  Been there for 2 and a half years with no creep-out of the slide. I think it's up for debate on whether these are needed. 

Now I have learned to clear the nightstand in the bedroom before traveling.  Things tend to fall behind the slideout, and get crushed when opening.
 
Im with Tom on this one.  After I ripped my strap off my slide out lock when I first got the coach, I fixed the damage, and promply removed the strap for good.  3 years later, no slide issues, and no problems with slide creep.  ;D
 
SargeW said:
Im with Tom on this one.  After I ripped my strap off my slide out lock when I first got the coach, I fixed the damage, and promply removed the strap for good.  3 years later, no slide issues, and no problems with slide creep.   ;D
Click to expand...

Our strap has been .. ahem.. de-installed .. for two or three years with no problems.  Paul Smith of HWH (in the GNR seminar) said the strap prevented slide creep which could happen in very windy conditions.  The creep starts at the top according to Paul.  Didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  Out west on our way to Alaska we drove in some really windy conditions (30-40) and nary a problem.
 
Things DO happen.

Reminds me of a favorite pilot adage: "There are two kinds of pilots of planes with retractable gear.  Those who have landed wheels up and those who will."

Methinks slide lock owners are in the same category........ ;D ;D

Spoken by one with no locks, of course..... ::)

Don
 
We threw our strap in the trash the day we bought our motorhome.  Me thinks the "government" had something to do with requiring this thing......  ;)
 
Ok, now you have me wondering and confused.  I have never seen such a strap on either of the 2 MH we have owned.  Is it only on some types?????
 
John Canfield said:
Out west on our way to Alaska we drove in some really windy conditions (30-40) and nary a problem.
Click to expand...

That's probably because the hydraulic system was healthy on your rig -- if it was a hydraulic system. The creep is a function of a leak, or possibly air in the hydraulic lines. A hydraulic system is closed and must be completely full to work properly. So to me, the locking of my slide is a safety measure, just in case. If a leak occurs, that slide is going to start coming out proportionally to the volume of fluid loss. If the main seal goes on the plunger thingy, you could loose all the fluid and that could be a real problem out on the road.

The locks on my slide are not straps but rather a metal hook on each end that connects to a ring on the rig flooring. It's a '96 Adventurer so i guess the straps method was introduced later. I "did" find out the full force of a hydraulic system early on when I forgot to unhook the lock. Wow! It tore the molding away from the slide and cost me $50 incremental repair dollars the day I had my rig in for some other stuff.

Anyway, I keep a note on my control box to remind me -- and I "do" lock my slide each time I retract it.
 
Bob Buchanan said:
That's probably because the hydraulic system was healthy on your rig -- if it was a hydraulic system.
Click to expand...

Bob - yup - HWH hydraulic.  Story goes (heard it from an Alaskan Winnie owner) there were several Winnie Class As up there that had slide creep and the dealer couldn't mitigate the problem.  Winnie eventually sent some techs up there (if I remember the story correctly) and they were wholesale replacing hydraulic parts trying to stop the creep.  According to the fellow, they never did completely eliminate the problem.  Don't have a clue what models but I'm pretty sure it was an HWH system.
 
Mine are Electric. Geared down gives the motors enough strength to pull the molding off. Don't ask how I know! So far I have elected to use the strap. Now with the new safety switch It will not happen again. Art
 
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