Are slides worth the extra space ?

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YES on the slide!

We looked at both since we are first timers this past year.  It's just the Bride and myself no kids, but we do have a large dog.  We did exactly what wincom6 said, but without the dog of course.  I could not imagine being rained in with 110 lbs of italian mastiff with out our slide.  Our next rig will have at least two slides to open up the living area even more and the half bath feature.
 
We (my wife and I) have two TTs, one with slides and one without. They get used for two different purposes. The TT without slides is a really nice 19? TT that we use when we want to get away from it all and hit the back roads. I also use it for hunting which in most cases is in the snow (6" to 18") which makes a slide almost impossible to use.

The other TT is a 32" with two slides and it is a road queen. We don't take it off road. With this TT we stay in RV parks most of the time and I use it mainly when the weather is good. We will sometime stay in it for a couple of months at a time and because of how we use this TT the slides make staying in it very nice.

Even though there are only two of us I couldn't imagine staying in the small TT with no slides for a long period of time and I couldn't imagine taking the larger TT off road to some of the places we take the smaller one.

I guess the moral to all of this is: It all depends on how you use the TT and what you want the TT to be able to do.

One other thought: From my experience the slides, on the newer TTs, are very reliable and don't seem to be much trouble. Maybe I have just been lucky.
 
To my family slides are a life saver.  The 30 foot motorhome without slides was fine for us, even 2 adult guest as long as the weather was nice.  We would eat outside, and the adult guests had a tent.  Inside was for showers and cooking on the stove.  Maybe an evening movie but if fires were allowed then we wouldn't even have that.  Then one day it rained the entire weekend, the tent leaked and 4 adults and a child cooped up in a motorhome without slides was unbarable.  Even my wife and I were getting in each others way.  The current rig with just 1 slide out, is night and day.  The dinnette is wider, the couch has a full pull out sofabed and the chair actually reclines.  Even on rainy days with the cousins in tow we dont worry about being stuck inside.  If its just an overnight they generally sleep on the sofa bed instead of their tent. 

For just 2 people who camp alone, and actually camp not spend most of their time in RV resorts.  Then probably a slide isnt worth is, but to us we would NEVER go back!  Shorter, yeah, I could stand to loose between 3 and 5 feet from my rig (really wanted a 32-34 footer). But loose the slide, no chance!

Jeff
 
Another yes here. In 2009 we went from a 27' with no slides to a 29' with typical slide (couch and dinette). Basically, the only difference in the floor plans is a sideways couch (old) and longways couch (new) but there is a HUGE difference in elbow room.

When you are shopping, check the interior usability with the slide closed. Ours, for example, blocks the bathroom when closed. It has to be opened about a foot to unblock the door. We've learned to deal with this inconvenience but it can be stressful waiting a few seconds for the slide to clear if one has to stop for an emergency potty break.  :eek:
 
As Joezeppy said, be sure to check liveability with the slides closed.  In our case we lose access to a cabinet at floor level and 3 small drawers in the back corner (well you can crawl over the bed to access the top drawers if needed).  All other cabinets, closets, bathroom, etc are fully accessable.  Really opens up and is great when the grandkids are around for floor space with the slides open. 

It gives us great flexibility whether slides out or closed for a quick overnite stay or the rare site where a tree is in the wrong spot. 

Our first class A did not have any slides and while it did serve it's purpose well, having the option is great.  So far in 3 years of heavy useage we have not had any problems with the slides except a couple of operator induced (BE SURE you clear all areas before use ! ) and luckily, no damage done.

So bottom line for us ... a definite Yes!

Howard and Kelly
 
Liveability is very important; The showrooms always have the whole thing opened up, but I've seen rigs where the bathroom door cant be opened when the slide is closed, or the fridge is inaccessable.  These things would be deal killers for us.  We loose access to some cabinets and thats about it, oh and the living room gets WAY smaller when closed (As expected!) We keep coffee supplies in those cabinet and we just relocate them if we are planning to be on the road for a night or in a rest area.

Jeff
 
I'm not so sure that folks should shy away from older units with slides.  My rig is a '97 Bounder with a hydraulic slide, which has had no problems at all in it's 16 years. 

Yes, the slide mechanism is large and bulky by todays standards, and does limit some basement storage space, but it is also very strong and rugged, and surprisingly simple in it's design and construction.

I lose access to nothing with the slide in or out.
 
I guess at some point all these "yes" answers become redundant but her's another yes. Another consideration though is that just because 1 slide is good doesn't necessarily mean 4 is 4 times better. As advised, check them out carefully for access AND think of how you will use your new trailer. As most on this site, we sat in so many floor plans it made us dizzy but we searched for the one we were comfortable would meet our needs. We looked for access with slides open and closed and we chose one that allowed total access to the bathroom and refrigerator as a top priority. Also, we chose one that did not have slides on both sides. Yes, apposing slide configurations give an incredible amount of room but we frequently camp in heavily treed campgrounds and many times we would not fit with everything opened up.

As far as mechanical issues goes, we do have a problem with our 2 year old unit with the electric motor. It frequently fails to open. It's simply resolved with a cordless drill and the tool they provide to connect to the motor. It appears electric motors can get flat spots on the windings (at least that's what we are told) and if the motor happens to stop on that spot it will not run. We simply give it an inch of movement manually and then the motor works fine. It hasn't stopped us from using our trailer all the time. We are leaving the trailer at the dealer on our way home from this trip to have the motor replaced. Even if I didn't get it fixed for convenience, we would continue to love our slides.

Good luck with your search.
 
After owning a 20' foot motorhome without slides and then upgrading to a 31' foot travel trailer with 1 slide....

YES! Absolutely Yes! There is enough room for 2 adults and 1 dog to be comfortable without tripping over each other or being in the way. Even cooking in the kitchen 2 people can work in the kitchen. If I ever upgrade again I will go for 2 slides for sure.

As for taking care of your slide make sure the lube point are dealt with accordingly when it required and it should glide in and out without a problem. Oh yeah... To reduce stress on the slide motor open a door, windows or a vent to allow the air to displace in or out.
 
As most have said most like these slides and the added cost, weight, and potential problems. The one biggest thing I believe is of course personal preference, but a real concern is if they are useable at all if you do not put the slide out. With them in many limit a lot of items such as cabinets, doors and are just smaller closed than if you didn't have them. They may not be too useful while traveling either and your stops are for a bite to eat and a quick snooze. So really two sides to this question and really no wrong answer either, personally I don't want them and the RV I have does not have them and thats how we want it, each to their own that's why there are some with and some without!
 
Manuel.. you make lot of sense.
I, Carson (see my post above) am not promoting for or against.

Seems to be a bit of unclear thinking going on about the subject matter. Is it the old 'keep up with the Jones's syndrome' ? Or is it it 'bigger is always better' ?.. or 'what will my peers think'... or 'why not - I can afford it' or, should one really think about it on whether it is necessary.    2 people per RV..most common or 6-8 people with pets...good luck

  Once again, Full timers have special requirements but average RVrs/Campers should not wish their home comforts to be extended to a box on wheels.

JMHO... I rest my case)
 
carson said:
Seems to be a bit of unclear thinking going on about the subject matter.

Not sure what you see as unclear.  Seems to me that people have pretty clear thoughts on their preferences.  What it comes down to is a personnal choice. 
 
Here's another definite yes.  Once we have a slide most of us wouldn't want an RV without one.  You received a lot of good comments here about usability with the slide(s) in, so pay attention to those.  Your concerns about problems are well taken, but are now pretty rare.  When they first started putting slides in RVs there were quite a few with problems, but most were fixed and today they're pretty reliable.  We have two, both on the driver side.  We wouldn't want three or four, but that's a personal need, desire, or whatever.  The important thing is to find the RV you and your family like and go with that.  Floor plan and livability go hand in hand and should be your number one criterion.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
Floor plan and livability go hand in hand and should be your number one criterion.

Absolutely.  And as mentioned above, usability with the slide in is important.  Our TT is fully accessible with the slide in, which became important this past summer when the house A/C went out and we were living in it for 4 days.  Where it's parked next to the house, there isn't enough room to open the slide.

But it all comes down to preference.  I'd rather have a floorplan without a slide that I like than one with a slide that I didn't.  But all things equal, the extra space is nice.
 
Poppys 5th Wheel said:
Another consideration though is that just because 1 slide is good doesn't necessarily mean 4 is 4 times better.

This s a good point. We love to sit out under the awning, for example - so much so that we eliminated any TT that had a slide on the awning side that either took up space under the awning or was situated so that it necessitated a smaller awning.

Mopar1973Man said:
Oh yeah... To reduce stress on the slide motor open a door, windows or a vent to allow the air to displace in or out.

Never really thought about this but makes sense. As luck would have it, our switch is right near the door so 99.9% of the time, I'm standing in the open door while opening/closing so I have unwittingly done the right thing!
 
Mopar1973Man said:
To reduce stress on the slide motor open a door, windows or a vent to allow the air to displace in or out.

I haven't thought about this with respects the operation of our electric slide but, now that I think of it, when we open our manually operated bedroom slide it's quite difficult to pull it out if a window is not open.  When I forget and attempt to pull it, it's like something in the trailer is pulling it back in.  My initial response is to offer some words of wisdom to the DW.  She replies with a few words of her own.  ;)   
 
Thank's to you all. This RV forum is the best. Gee, with spell check too ! Do to inexperience I have been a lurker on several forums. This forum offers the best and most logical advise. So once again, thank you all for helping me negate Murphy's Law !
Jubal
 

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