Keystone Laredo jerky slide - common issue?

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merlinmurph

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Apr 27, 2016
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164
Location
Hopkinton, MA
Our 2014 Keystone Laredo 294RK TT has a large (13' ??) kitchen and living room slideout that has been jerky for a few years now and, of course, is getting worse. This uses the BAL Accu-Slide cable system. It is now at the point where the slide may even stop while going in or out. I give it about 5 secs and it will continue. It also helps if I assist it by going outside and pushing it while my wife holds the button.

Two years ago, there was an independent RV repair guy in our campground repairing our neighbor's MH. I asked him if he could look at our slide. Interestingly, he had previously worked at a dealer for Keystone and mentioned that the slideout slides on something that can wear out. Does this sound familiar to any Keystone owners?

Over the weekend, I worked on the cables for the first time after watching some YouTube videos. The cables are now in better shape and I fixed a potential future problem with the cable holders(?), but the slide is still jerky.

Anyways, I'm curious if any Keystone owners have experienced what the repair guy had mentioned - that something wears out under the slide.

Thanks,
Murph
 
I would also get in touch with Accu Slide, I am having an issue (not related to yours) with mine and they are very helpful.
 
From our personal experience, we have to say that BAL Accuslide customer service is exemplary.
Ours is a 2019 fifth wheel and the large deep slides were never good.
We were able to be near Elkhart Indiana last year and they sent an engineer out at no labor cost to sort them. He also told me to forget the you tube videos, which I had tried. I now know how the professionals do it.
 
merlinmurph said:
Ok, that settles it, I'll contact BAL. Thanks.

@TonyL: I'm curious, what was your issue? Was it the method BAL uses to adjust cables?
Click to expand...
Not so much the method, it's just a matter of tightening some nuts.
More how they set the slide before adjusting by making sure it was fully out by manually pulling the cables. They also check tension about 6 inches from the adjuster, not outside as on you tube video.
The biggest issue is the silly foam blocks that's supposed to stop the nuts from working loose. These have been replaced with locknuts.
 
Just be advised that if you can get to Elkhart for them to adjust the slides for you, due to liabilities, they do not touch anything to do with the structure of the trailer.
You will need to remove the trim in front of the cables and motor, and replace it.
They also will not fit or secure anything like cable pulleys or replacement motors as they will not be held responsible for the integrity of the fixings.
This was made clear at time of booking and having talked to the engineer, I can perfectly understand why. I removed all the trim and when they had finished, resecured it in a way that enables fast removal for future adjustments.
 
The cables go through pulleys which might be visible with the slide partially in. See if they are rotating as the slide is operated.
 
Ahhhh, gotcha. I was picturing the "tracks" you see on some other types of slides.
I'll check.

We're heading out on Sunday for a 1-week trip, we'll see how it goes.

Thanks.
 
Bearcatrp said:
Sorry about that. Old school. I have rollers underneath the slides on my 5th wheel. Something to check on yours besides other possibilities on your issue.
Click to expand...
I have rollers underneath a small wardrobe slide, but I don't see what is under this large slide.

Thanks.
 
Ours has rollers attached to the floor at the slide out opening, and since it's a bed slide there a few more at the end of the bed.
Did you get a chance to contact Accuslide?
 
Haven't contacted BAL, yet.

I checked out a Keystone RV forum and there are a number of threads about "jerky slide". The slide moves on a bar for the length of the slide and it can cause friction. People have had success by:
1. Put the slide all the way out and clean the bottom
2. Apply a lubricant to the area of that bar using WD40 Specialist Dirt and Dust Resistant Dry Lube PTFE spray.

I looked underneath and there is no access to that bar at all. There is a small seal, about 1/2", that seals the slde bottom.

I'm going to give this a shot by spraying lube right where that seal is and it should work its way in. Anybody see anything seriously wrong with this? I've seen some issues people have had when they put a lubricant on the slide, generally because they use a lube that attracts dirt.

Thx for all the help.
 
I'm not aware of any bar on an accuslide system. The slides have rollers underneath and the slide has what is called a slipper that bears on the roller. It's a 6" wide piece of plastic. If you gently flip down the seal underneath, you can see the rollers.
 
Well, I don't think whatever is underneath the slide (what I called a bar) would be part of the Accu-Slide system. I would think the A-S system consists of the cable system to move the slide - period. I could be wrong.
Like I said, my small slide has rollers underneath - they are clearly visible. This large slide doesn't show any rollers and the conversations on the Keystone forum indicate that the slide just slides on a long "bar". I looked underneath and there really is nothing to see, even if I peel back the small seal.

Thanks!
 
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