Slide Out Extends Slightly in Transit - What to do?

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Pierat

Pierat

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Posts
1,853
Location
Vancouver, Washington
Yesterday we drove to Clarkston WA from Missoula MT, via Coeur d'Alene. When we stopped at the campground, I saw the bottom of the rear (bedroom, street side) slide protruding about a half inch from the side of the coach. The top was nearly flush. (Photo attached.) This is the first time I've noticed this although previously I've seen that slide when closed to be about a quarter of an inch inside the side surface of the coach. After we parked, the slide extended normally. I am concerned whether it will be safe to move the coach or is that slide likely to bounce out as we go down the road? All the mechanism seems to be enclosed somewhere and is a mystery to me.

Background: After we bought the unit at DeMartini in April, one of the bottom corner angle-shaped trim pieces on each of the slides detached and was loose inside the coach when extended. DeMartini's service department reattached the pieces and said they were fine.

We have a service appointment at Oregon Motor Coach in Eugene OR on 9/22/09, and I'd rather have them work on it if I can wait that long, as they seem to know these units. As always, your advice is invaluable and much appreciated.
 

Attachments

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Actually that is a feature. Works like an air foil to deflect the air and gives you about 3 more miles per gallon ;D ;D ;D
 
Dang, that can't be good. I assume you've tried putting the slide out and then back in? Looked around and don't see anything stuck in there?

 
It was fine when we left Moscow ID, and out when we arrived in Clarkston WA, so I don't think anything is jammed in the mechanism (but I'll look). The slide extended fine. I'll have to try retracting it again to see what happens.
 
Isn't there some sort of bracket that you're supposed to put in there before traveling to prevent just such a thing from happening?

I don't have a slide, but a friend of mine does and he has to install a brace over the top of his slide ( from the inside ) before moving the trailer.
 
[
Pierat said:
After we parked, the slide extended normally. I am concerned whether it will be safe to move the coach or is that slide likely to bounce out as we go down the road?

As always, your advice is invaluable and much appreciated.
Click to expand...

My feeling would be that you would be OK driving to OR to get the repair done. It's a hydraulic system -- and unless you have fluid all over the ground, that fluid will hold the slide in. Activation of the plungers under the slide is the only way it will come back out. If there is a leak in the lines and air is present instead, the slide can creep in or out. But unless most of the fluid is gone and the lines a filled with air -- I don't think it possible for it to creep very far. You "will" need to check for fluid on the ground at each stop tho. And, I hope your slide has safety latches.

My 15' slide has a latch on each end that I connect to the RV floor each time I bring it in. There was a discussion here awhile back as to whether those type of connectors was really necessary. In this case, they would be nice for you to have. Returning from AZ to NCal earlier this spring, one of the plungers on my slide started leaking around the main seal. With the fluid it lost, the slide crept about an inch on the bottom. I noticed this in Mojave, CA. I then connected the latches and drove to a dealership in Los Banos, CA. The entire plunger had to be replaced and ordered from HWH back east -- so was forced to spend 3 days in Los Banos. The excitement of the night life there was almost too much for me. :)
 
Some slide mechanisms require an internal locking brace (or at least the company lawyers do), while others have a lock built into the motor or elsewhere.  But in Pierat's case, the top stayed in anyway and the bottom slipped out, so a top brace would have no effect.

When we found that ours did that from time to time, the problem turned out to be that the "rack" of the rack & pinion slide mechanism was barely engaging the pinion gear and occasionally it jumped a gear tooth and slipped out. Eventually we started having trouble getting the slide to come in, because the gear began to slip. In our case, the final fix was to shim up the rack to get a firmer engagement with the pinion, but on other coaches there may be other ways to adjust the alignment between rack and pinion gear.

Of course, if you have a hydraulic slide mechanism instead of rack & pinion, then this is irrelevant.

I would not be concerned about driving it, other than to keep an eye on it.
 
Thank you all for your help. The mechanism is entirely automatic so we have no braces to engage by hand. It is a relief to know I can drive it; a tech with whom I spoke gave a similar response. I'll look for leakage at each stop and get it repaired week after next. Thanks again!
 
i installed 2 ea 2"X4" boards inside on top of  both slides to prevent my slides from extending while underway.
my bedroom hwh slide once extended 9" while i was going over a bridge on I-5. i made a slide restraint for the bottom of the rear slide similar to the factory restraints on the bottom of the front slides. :(
 
It appears that the inner part of the slide "box' isnt supported at the floor while in the 'in' position, therfore allowing it to tilt.>>>Dan
 
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