Slide out or in?

[Monarch4me]

I was reading on another site that your slide should be extended before leveling … I’m guessing it depends on what your manual says? Mine states the slide should be out before leveling .

 

[Rene T]

I always leveled the rv 1st them opened the slides. The side of the rv that had my big slide, I would leave it high just a little so that when the slide opened, the weight would make the rv come down a little then the rv would be level.

But you should do it exactly like your manual says to do it in case you have a warranty issue.

 

[Ray-IN]

I was reading on another site that your slide should be extended before leveling … I’m guessing it depends on what your manual says? Mine states the slide should be out before leveling .

You are doing it right, following the mfgrs owners manual. Other mfgrs have their own directions, some say level first.

 

[Monarch4me]

You are doing it right, following the mfgrs owners manual. Other mfgrs have their own directions, some say level first.

It really doesn’t make much sense to me to leave my 25ft slide out with my levels up but I’ll go be the manual..

 

[jackiemac]

Different for a trailer, or at least ours. Slides are the last thing we do.

 

[John From Detroit]

I went with level extend re-level if needed
Why
If you are not level the frame may be slightly "Torqued" and slides may bind when extending/retracting.

 

[Onyrlef]

" Yeah, I know the owners manual said I should extend and retract the slide out(s) with the jacks up, but a guy on an RV forum said that's a bad idea, so will you fix it for free? "

 

[xrated]

I do exactly what the very thick owner's manual for my Momentum 5ver says to do. Unhooked from the truck after placing wheel chocks, then activate the auto level system, THEN open the slides, making sure that you have a window or door open to allow for the displacement or compression of air when the slides are moved.

 

[DonTom]

Mine states the slide should be out before leveling.

My 2022 Class A says level first, put out slides and then level again. However, mine has never needed to be relevelled again because it stayed level as the slides were out after first being levelled with them in. However, I do recheck it after the slides are out.

FWIW, I think this is the correct way. IOW, level first.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Each RV builder has their own directions and there doesn't seem to be any consensus. My 2004 American Tradition came with one set of slide instructions (deploy slide then level) but a year later Fleetwood issued a letter to owners recommending the opposite (level then deploy slides).

I've done both way dozens of times and see no pros or cons either way (and I'm an engineer type guy attuned to those sorts of potential stress/damage things). The various rationales I've seen for either method only seem to make sense if the terrain is extremely uneven, like a 20-30 degree slope. Something that is probably beyond the range that the leveling system could compensate for anyway.

That said, I will agree that the best advice is to follow the manual. Especially during the warranty period. But if the situation made an alternative method more desirable, I would not be afraid to do it.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Yeah with my rig being a diesel riding on air bags I always let the air out of the bags, level the rig manually (we never use the auto level), then we'll deploy the slides.

 

[Laura & Charles]

Our first coach’s manual said to level first, then deploy the slides and retract the slides with rig still leveled. This made sense to me so that none of the slides would have gravity working against it.

The current coach’s manual says (in multiple places) to NEVER deploy or retract the slides with jacks extended.

The jacks and slides share the same hydraulic system. I cannot say with any certainty that’s got anything to do with this instruction but I know one time I retracted the jacks (slides still out as instructed) and I left the jacks’ system turned on. Then I retracted the slides and found, when I did my final walk around, that the front jack had extended. Did operating the slides with jacks’ control system turned on cause the jack to extend? I don’t know and haven’t been able to find any else who knows.

I still subscribe to the idea that the slides shouldn’t have to work against gravity and level with the air bags before deploying the slides. (The owner’s manual doesn’t direct to do so, but it doesn’t direct not to, either.)

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

To me, it only makes sense to have an RV as level as possible to then deploy the slides. Folks who have TTs that don't have powered leveling jacks level their trailers immediately when setting up camp, then they open up the slides. Opening up the slides while uneven would seem to put more force on one end of the slide over the other when not level front to back, or it would seem even worse of a strain on the slideout system if not level side-to-side, especially cable-operated slideouts. I would think both scenarios would be multiplied in an uneven force when Closing the slides.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

To me, it only makes sense to have an RV as level as possible to then deploy the slides. Folks who have TTs that don't have powered leveling jacks level their trailers immediately when setting up camp, then they open up the slides. Opening up the slides while uneven would seem to put more force on one end of the slide over the other when not level front to back, or it would seem even worse of a strain on the slideout system if not level side-to-side, especially cable-operated slideouts. I would think both scenarios would be multiplied in an uneven force when Closing the slides.

I get the rationale but I think it's making a mountain out of a mole hill. A few degrees off-level ought not to be outside the slide's acceptable operating parameters.

An similar debate concerns extending/closing a slide without first open a window or door to relieve the change in internal air pressure.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I get the rationale but I think it's making a mountain out of a mole hill. A few degrees off-level ought not to be outside the slide's acceptable operating parameters.

An similar debate concerns extending/closing a slide without first open a window or door to relieve the change in internal air pressure.

I've never owned an RV with a slide, but my experience tells me they are nowhere near that airtight. Now maybe if you could close the slide in a matter of a couple seconds it might make a difference, but I'm thinking slides take noticeably longer to open and close.

 

[DonTom]

I get the rationale but I think it's making a mountain out of a mole hill. A few degrees off-level ought not to be outside the slide's acceptable operating parameters.

An similar debate concerns extending/closing a slide without first open a window or door to relieve the change in internal air pressure.

I look at them both as "rather be safe than sorry". It's easy to level first as well as open a window a bit.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[jymbee]

An similar debate concerns extending/closing a slide without first open a window or door to relieve the change in internal air pressure.

Seriously?!

I had heard about that one!

 

[Believer45]

I have two slides on the driver side of my Windjammer 3008W. I have trailer bubble levels on the back and side of my trailer to see where we stand. I first "level" the trailer side to side with 1x12 boards setting about 1/4 of a bubble lean to the passenger side, disconnect the truck and level front to back dead on. I lower the power stabilizers and chock the wheels then put out the slides and awning. End result is I am virtually always dead on level in all directions when all is said and done.

I will say I have never pulled a vacuum extending my slides without opening a window or door.

Dave / Believer45

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I've never owned an RV with a slide, but my experience tells me they are nowhere near that airtight. Now maybe if you could close the slide in a matter of a couple seconds it might make a difference, but I'm thinking slides take noticeably longer to open and close.

They aren't, but there is still a noticeable pressure delta while the slide is moving. And if you open a window a bit, you can feel the air movement. So it's detectable, but probably not a significant factor. Yet I've seen more than a few heated debates.

 

[Babe2201]

I did it both ways when we had our TT with good results. At the end I found I liked it best to level it and try to leave the side the slide was on a tad bit high to offset the little bit it would lower when the slide went out. I think the most important thing is to not put the stabilizer jacks down until the slide is out.