Slide adjustment ?????????

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Lv2kamp

Lv2kamp

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Posts
15
Location
St Louis, MO
I have a 2001 30' Excel by Peterson Ind. and the larger of the slides isn't coming all the way in at the top.  It lacks an inch from touching.  Is there a way to adjust this?  And if so how easy would it be for a mechanical mind person to do or should I take it to a shop and spends $?????.?? who knows what?

Thanks
Bill 
 
It is rare for a slide to physically go out of adjustment, so actual adjustment of the slide should be a last resort.  Usually  a slide appears misaligned because something is stopping it prematurely. Most slide motor systems are designed to stop when the resistance exceeds some threshold, so it will stop short if there is excess friction or something blocking the path. You would be well-advised to spend a lot of time investigating the slide path for bumps, snags, debris under the slide, etc. You should also clean and polish the underside where is slides over the lip and/or interior floor - this can sometimes make a huge difference. Some slides have rollers on the bottom and a stuck or damaged roller can cause the slide to stop early. So can loose rubber seals that get caught between the slide rim and the sidewall.

Adjustment is mechanically simple in most cases, a set of bolt & nuts to be backed off or tightened. The complex part is that tweaking one typically throws another off and soon you may be screaming in frustration. Make sure you clearly mark the original positions of each adjustment bolt somehow, e.g. by counting threads or placing a mark on an adjacent surface, so you can get it back to the OEM position.
 
Gary,
First off I really appreciate your input and help.

The bottom of the slide goes all the way in but the top stays out about an inch.  I can hear the motors load up and click as the slide comes in all the way.

To bring it in you have to start bring it in and about half way in you have to stop and go to the middle of the slide and push it down because the incoming lower edge is about 5inches off the floor.  Once you step on it and push it down it stays down as you continue to slide it in but the outside top is still out about an inch.

Thanks
Bill
 
Obviously something is out of whack, but it's difficult to guess from afar what it may be.  You shouldn't have to push it down at the halfway mark - something has already gone wrong at that point. I think it is going to take something more than a few turns on one of the positioning bolts.

What make of slide mechanism is it, e.g. Power Gear, Lippert, etc.? From your description I assume it is gear driven as opposed to hydraulic.
 
It sounds as if your slide is either overloaded or hanging up at the top. It should never tip out as you describe. It could also be off the track or have a broken guide beneath the slide. Fully extend the slide and you should be able to inspect the track(s).

Ernie
 
Could you possibly put a small block, say 2" under the floor before stepping on it thus not setting down as much? This might help because it seems there is more going than just a misfit at the top. Why is the inside slide edge so high when coming in? Have someone observe where the pivot points on the heavy outside mechanism are as you step on the inside edge.

Most flush floor slides simply back up a ramp onto the floor, then the inside edge tilts downwards a bit as it hits the flat floor and  rolls along until in fully. Perhaps a pivot point in the mechanism underneath is binding causing it to stay tilted .

HTH
 
Thanks to all for the advice and giving me a little more insight on "How it works".  I'm very mechanical so as soon as warmer weather get here I'll be under it checking everything out.

It is the larger of the 3 electric slides and all that's on it is a small recliner and the dinning table and chairs so I know it's not over loaded.

Again Thanks to all.

Bill
 
If there is nothing blocking it or you don't see anything obvious, I vote for taking it to a pro. You should be able to locate someone reliable near you. Penny-wise and pound foolish is my motto.  ;)
 
Trailer Slideouts ?  deploying and maintaining.

1.  Make sure trailer is completely levelled before slideout is deployed.
2.  Make sure that support jacks are deployed under the frame on four corners of the trailer.

My trailer?s slide out is mechanical/electric -- that is to say that an electric motor turns a long screw system at two sides of the slideout. My trailer is a 29 foot Fleetwood Prowler. Though I?m happy with it now, I had to do a lot of work to get it up to my standards. There were issues with the quality of the interior finish, and improper construction that resulted in water leaking into the trailer under the floor -- that one cost me quite a bit of money.

I have run into a situation where the slide out became slightly scewed on one occasion. I dealt with this by adjusting one of the two screw nuts. I had to use physical force (by hand) to get the slideout aligned with the trailer before making the screw adjustments.

I have a full manual for managing all adjustments for my electric slideout (made by Lippert Components. If you are interested, I can email it to you.

Dick Steiner
 
The poster has not been on the Forum in nearly 4 years.  Do not hold your breath waiting for his reply.
You may want to try an on line search.  I did find a Lippert brake manual on line a month ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 827 (members: 34, guests: 793)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,913
Posts
1,387,287
Members
137,666
Latest member
nativoacai
Back
Top Bottom