Minnie woes

[smokeater1]

When trying to decide which RV to buy, one big question was slides, or not ?  Some of the higher end ones do not offer them at all.
We bought a new 2005 27' Minnie. After 6 months of ownership and about a dozen weekend trips the rear slide started slowing down and not shutting off automatically , nor closing up as tight as before. It's under warranty and Winnebago has a new motor and gears on the way to my dealer. All good. But I just wonder later  how much trouble in general people have with slides ?  I'm sure an out of pocket repair would not be cheap ! We almost bought a Lazy Daze because of no slides but they discontinued the 26" island bed model. Anyone else having slide troubles ?

Thanks, everyone...

 

[John From Detroit]

To slide or not to slide,,, that is the question..  Slides do offer more room when open, however they take away when they are closed (The walls don't you know) and it takes time.  They also affect basement storage,  Some rigs (IE: mine) you have to duck under the slide in order to get at the basement storage, others, the storage moves out with the slide, but forget about pass through bays on those parts. (pass through means you can put, oh, say an 8 foot something in from one side, and remove it from the other, shorter stuff too)

All in all... I choose slides

How long should they last trouble free?  Years of course, Years, however routine maintance (lubrication, cleaning and inspection) is highly recommended.

See your owner's manual for specifics on lubrication and inspection

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It's a mechanical device - problems do happen. And they do need some maintenance from time to time. Sometimes alignment gets out of whack (or was never i"n whack" to begin with).  But by and large, they seem to work pretty well.

 

[TNROY]

Slides are another mechanical operation and will require regular maintenance to function properly. As stated above, they offer much welcomed extra space when they are out, but rob space when they are retracted. I was in one motorhome that I could not get comfortable in the driver seat with the slide in. On many rigs (poorly planned in my opinion) there may be several cabinets that become completely blocked and unusable with the slide in. They are very popular, and it seems difficult to find a rig today that does not have a slide or two - or more. It is personal preference, great extra space, but at the cost of more maintenance.