Monaco/Holiday Rambler "Full Wall Slide"

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CurtRR

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Posts
53
Location
Texas
I recently inspected a 2007 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40SFT with a full wall slide on the driver's side and 2 slides on the curb side.  It offers a significant increase in volume, with another wardrobe in the slide and a large bathroom on the curb side.

I was impressed, but I'm no expert.? Opinions? Positive?  Negative?
 
I have seen the ads however it's too soon to have an impression,  The full wall slide looks good, I don't happen to favor slides in what I call the patio area but that is my personal bias and has no basis I care to explain.  I don't know how well the slide is built (Which means exactly that, I do not know) so I can't say if it's good bad or indifferent.

I suspect however, it is a good thing and will be the next up & coming thing in RVs
 
Saw a Fleetwood (Expedition or Discovery - I forgot) this spring and the space it added was just amazing.  With a full-wall slide, you really only need one slide for the spacious ambience that we have with our three.  The full-wall slide is a breakthrough design like the original slide was.

Having said all that, I would personally NOT buy a full-wall slide coach until the engineering is proven.  Even smaller slides can be very problematic and they have been out for years.  There are also structual concerns about such a large "hole" in the side of the house.
 
Could the full wall slide make it difficult to position the motorhome in some campsites?
 
That's a real possibility Wendy. We sometimes have to juggle the coach to avoid a slideout hitting a tree or a utility post. A full-wall slideout would limit the options.
 
I think Fleetwood came out with a full wall slide on one or two of their models over a year ago.  I understand American coach will be offering the same.

 
Maybe we need to petition CG owners/designers to accomodate the new rigs.

We recently stayed at nice new CG that must have been designed by a fiver or TT owner, but definitely not someone who had been in a diesel coach. You stepped out of the front door right onto the landscaping and the concrete patio was nowhere near the door.
 
Worse is when the sewer dump is nowhere near where your hookups are. Ok if you're there for a day or two and can back up just before leaving but not so good for a long stay.
 
When are we going to see roof top slides.  10 foot ceilings, chandalers, ;)  I guess every wall could move out three feet in all directions.  Just where to hide all the gears and supports. ???
 
Rexhall was the first with a full wall slide (the "T-Rex"), back in 2003, if I remember correctly.  Fleetwood introduced their version of the full wall slide in late 2004 in a 2005 model Pace Arrow. Discovery's, Providence and Excursions and Revolutons followed the next year and in 2007 it will be available in still more Fleetwoods brands. 

I'd say the technology is fairly well proven at this point, but each manufacturer will probably have some bugs to shake out.
 
Gary

There were some full slide American coaches at FMCA-Charlotte, one of which had a full bath across the back end. Someone had mentioned that when the slides were in, all the toilets were unaccessible.
 
BernieD said:
Gary

There were some full slide American coaches at FMCA-Charlotte, one of which had a full bath across the back end. Someone had mentioned that when the slides were in, all the toilets were unaccessible.

That's not good !!
 
Dunno, but that didn't appear to be the case in the 2006 Discovery & Revolution we looked at.  The toilet room appeared to be accessible, but it might be a tight squeeze, though,
 
BernieD said:
Gary

There were some full slide American coaches at FMCA-Charlotte, one of which had a full bath across the back end. Someone had mentioned that when the slides were in, all the toilets were inaccessible.

Not a problem with the HR 40SFT.? 2 angled doors into the bathroom, one from the front, one from the bedroom.? It doesn't appear to be a problem with the HR Ambassador 40DFT, a 1-1/2 bath floorplan.? That would strike me as a really dumb design feature.? Hearing this does reinforce our habit of The Redhead wandering around inside the coach on demo drives to see what works with the slides in and what doesn't.
 
When the full wall slide was introduced on the Fleetwood Pace Arrow, it was touted as being exclusive and Fleetwood held the patent on the technology.  It was explained to me, but I didn't see how the combination of engineering moves made it unique enough to win a patent.  Now Monaco Corp has one.  I'm wondering if Monaco devised their own method, or if they had to deal to use Fleetwood's technology.

Other than some early electrical motor problems, I've not heard of any Fleetwood full wall slide problems.  I believe the slide itself is not "new", and the technology was in supporting the roof above the opening.

The high cost of the initial Fleetwood Pace Arrow gas model put it well into the entry level diesel price range, but for its 36 feet, it didn't have all the amenities a buyer might expect in that price range - no washer/dryer, little closet space, the toilet room located in an area where it can be seen from the front and a huge shower unit right at the side of the bed!  It was beautiful inside with the nicest decoration I've seen, but not very liveable.  I suspect there were not many sold.  The later generation models in DP's may be selling better, but I still haven't heard many reports, good or bad, from owners.
 
When the full wall slide was introduced on the Fleetwood Pace Arrow, it was touted as being exclusive and Fleetwood held the patent on the technology.

I don't know what they could have done that was that unique either, especially since Rexhall had introduced the full wall slide two years earlier.  But Fleetwood does hold some patents on their subframe construction (the stuff they weld to the chassis to support the "house") and has had them for at least since the early 90's.  They may have modifed their existing framing technology for the full wall models and applied for a new patent to cover those changes.

Patents can get issued without any in-depth technical review - basically they just require a database search on similar claim wording. If you word your claim right, you can avoid obvious conflicts and get the patent issued. The Patent Office pretty much relies on the courts to sort out any real conflicts and overlaps.
 
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