Adding a slide to my RV??

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SargeW

SargeW

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Has anyone ever known of anyone adding a slide out to an RV?  I know high in coach builders like Prevost do it all the time.  But what about on a Winnie?  Here is my dilemma.  I love my current coach.  It does everything I want, runs great and only has 37,000 miles on it.  I have modified it in many ways and am happy with all of them.  However, a bit more room in the living area so when I put out my recliner the wife can still get by would be perfect.  I currently have two slides, both on the driver side.  I am thinking of maybe a 10 - 12' slide on the curb side to provide the added room.  The current slides are 18" deep, so one on the other side would be perfect.  The coach has a load of available GVW left so weight is not an issue. 

The other big reason to keep my current coach is that it is paid for.  I looked at new ones, and even for a 34' with a full wall slide, the 2010's (diesel)  have a $200K + asking price.  Even with a good trade in that would be a bucket of money.  What do you think, am I nuts??????

Sarge
 
Marty - wow - interesting idea!  I would try to find a coach customizer and pose the question.  I know there are firms that do interior overhauls, maybe you could find one that has that kind of capability.  Winnebago does custom work, you might run that question by them.
 
Hmmm, thanks John. I didn't think of asking Winnie.  I did a web search and came up with a few remodelers, but no one specifically indicated slide work.  I will give Winnie a call in the AM and see what they say.
 
There are several shops that do custom slideouts, but it isn't cheap by the time you cut and refinish the sidewalls, build the slide and remodel the interior around it. That's why you seldom see it done except in high end coaches.

Here are a couple of places - and yes, they do regular RVs and not just Prevost & MCI

http://www.buses101.com/slide_outs.htm
http://www.walkercoach.com/slideouts.shtml
http://www.morrisonsvipcoach.com/photos.html
 
I live 30 miles north of the HWH jack company in Iowa. I know that they also do costom slideouts. That might be a place to look at as well.
 
My question would be could the chassis handle the extra weight.  I know you said you had lot of CCC; but structurally would it affect anything?

We don't have a slide in our bedroom and have thought about having one added.  Like you we love our coach and ours is also paid for......we don't want to start over.  ;D  If we were going to add the slide, I'd have our manufacturer do it.  Our is a Tiffin and they are the only ones I'd let do the work.  We've had our coach weighted and have a little over 1,000 more pounds we can add to the coach; but I'm sure a new slide would probably use that extra up.  After lots of thought we decided to just keep what we have.

Marsha~


 
We once knew someone who added one to a late 1980's early 1990's vintage coach.  This was done in the late 90's.  I'm trying to remember the brand name, may have been a Holiday Rambler, just not sure though.  It was still working good a year later, and apparently he had no problems with extra weight.  He thoroughly researched it.  Don't know where it was done.  Lost track of him after that. 

Boy, was this ever helpful.  ;D  I guess I'm saying that yes, it can be done, but have a reliable firm advise you as to specifics for your particular coach.

Daisy
 
Thanks everyone, I have over #4000 of room available from my GVW, so weight shouldn't be an issue.  Fit and finish would be most important to me though. Interesting comment about HWH though.  I never thought of having them do it though.  I will try Winnie and see what they say as far as it is possible though. 

As for cost, I estimate that it would take about $100K minimum to move to a different coach.  I'm sure that the renovation wouldn't approach that figure.  It's worth a look...

Thanks for the links Gary!  Just what I was looking for!
 
We went to 'THE RALLY' held at Daytona speedway a few years back.  They had contest and the winner had their rv made over. 
The winner had 1984 Winnebago and they put a slide in it.  I don't know about the wt factor.  Possiby your can find the info on line or contact the RALLY folks and they can tell you who did the work.

They even painted the Class A with Penn State logo's, it relly came out nice.

Some pictures of the results with data on the slide:    http://www.flickr.com/photos/13091031@N00/
Russ
 
Thanks I saw that episode on the RV Today show.  It kinda gave me the idea.....  I just sent an e mail to the Morrison VIP coach folks.  It will be interesting to see what they say.
 
I have a friend in south Utah that had an Eagle bus reworked. Streched to 45', width out to 102", two slides, completly reskinned, entire custom interiour installed, series 60 Detroit with allison world trans., all awnings and full length awning, three rooftops and "in motion" sat. the whole shebang for ONLY $780K.>>>Dan 8) He hired two workers from a local RV shop on the side, and provided an aircraft hangar to work in.
 
Sarge,

There is a shop in Garden Grove, Pacfic RV???, that can probably do the work.  They are located just south of the GG Freeway in the west side of Harbor Blvd.  I believe there may be one in Belflower, RV Interiors??, and another one or 2 out in the Rverside area
 
We have a 1998 MH and would also like a 30" slide (ours is 19").  also the shower/tub is 19" high and I would like a lower entry for safety.  I was quoted 3K for the shower by folks in Lake land Fla.  I never checked into the slide issue as ours is on the galley side.  I have been told the galley can only go out a shorter distance because of the gas/water lines.  I don't know if that is true with todays units.

So we are discussing a newer unit.  A newer unit would offer dual pane windows, gas/electric hot water, maybe a heat pump, hopefully better insulation and much more in upgrades.  Take all this into consideration and it may not be cost effective to put a slide in your current unit.  I understand the paid off and own debt free is a good feeling.

I'll keep checking back to see how your project progresses.

Russ/Betsy
WB3FQI/7  & WB3FQH/7
 
I wish we could get a slide out for the living room on the house for when friends come over...haha
I couldn't imagine cutting a huge hole in the side of my trailer, you are brave. Seems like it is possible, for a price.
Hane fun with it I would love to see pictures too.
 
Thanks for the additional locations.  Since my rig is only 4 years old and has all the modern amenities, it seems worth the $ to adjust it to my liking.  The company that Roamer suggested got back to me already. I sent them some pics and additional info.  So far it sounds promising.  I will talk to a few places before I decide.  I liked their web site though, they use exclusively HWH slide mechanisms. Since mine are already HWH parts, it could simplify things.  I will post up what the decisions are. 
 
Saw it done to an older gas motorhome at the big national RV rally at Daytona a few years ago. Was interesting to watch them cut out the whole in the side of the mh. BTW, they completed the whole makeover of the motorhome in a couple of days.
 
Well, I heard back from the guy at Morrison's VIP Coach in No. Cal.  He estimated that he could add the slide to my coach for about $15K.  That's not too bad, but after seeing how it would be put together, and putting a tape measure on the avail space, the slide would be hard pressed to be 6' wide.  Unless I stretched it to include the whole kitchen area, It just wouldn't give me the room I was looking for.  Well, this one will take a lot more thinking......
 
It's not a simple thing to redesign a coach for a slide. Especially on a 32 footer, where space is at a premium to begin with.  That's why most do not attempt it.

We had a 29 foot trailer with a 6' slide in it. Basically the dining table moved out about 18", to give a bit of extra room. Wasn't great, but it helped. I've seen another RV that had a sofa-only slid, about 7' long. Basically it gave some extra leg room for those sitting on the sofa when it was out. Made enough room to have a coffee table where it would not have been possible before.

Whether something like that is worth $15k is another matter.
 
I know this is an old thread, but the same thought occurred to my wife and me a few days ago. After visiting the Tampa RV show, we decided there was nothing offered that we liked better than ours. Ours needs a little tweeking, though. I would like to be able to figure out how to get a king size bed. We also would like to add a second slide to the living room. Like Sarge, unless we include the kitchen, it would be a short slide.

Has anyone else pursued this?
 
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