Trailer slide out supports

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stormy2000

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 27, 2010
Posts
67
Location
fl
hello,

we are now 1 1/2 month of FT in a campground with our keystone trailer, as we also work too, and doing good.  my wife said we should look into getting the support beams for our slide out, from what she heard since we are stationary for a month or two at a time.

we looked online and saw some on the ppl motorhome website.  has anyone used these before? 

thank you for your input.

bill & jodi
 
They are neither necessary nor desirable, and they make the slide vulnerable to damage if the RV settles or tilts a bit when the support jacks are in place.

Are you having a problem with wiggles and jiggles? If so, you need better equipment under the trailer frame, but not under the slides. Tell us more about your wife's concern and we can probably help.
 
stormy2000-
When I bought my park trailer and had my dealer install it on a leased site for me, I asked about the supports.  His reaction was very much like Gary's.  I open my two slides (one holds a couch/dinette slide one the width of a queen bed) the last weekend in March and close them the first weekend in November.  Knock on wood, I have had no problems in the 6 years I have been doing this.
 
thank you for your input, my wife was concerned about the weight on the part of the slide-out, living room has the sofa-seat & dinette set,
  and the bedroom has the bed and underneath storage.  we have the trailer leveled and is pretty good.  and on the part of your slides
going out in march and in on november, we had wondered if we should be bringing them in once in a while so they don't get stuck or
something.

thank you,

bill & jodi
 
I'm guessing the slides are electric motor driven with rack and pinion gears (as opposed to hydraulic)?  If so, there is no need to "exercise" them.  If they were hydraulic, I would be inclined to run them in/out every couple months, to make sure the seals in the pump and hydraulic ram stay well-lubricated, but that is not a concern for gear driven systems.
 
In addition to what Gary had already said about supporting the slides, most travel trailer and 5th Wheel manufacturers state that it is not necessary and will, in fact, void any warranty (such as it may be!) if they are used.

You will often see them used with the tip-outs on some older park model trailers (Franklin models, for example) but these slides were never meant  to be moved in and out once put in place.
 
ok great! thanks all for input, that helps puts us at ease with our slide-outs.  and  oh yes they are electric slide-outs.

thanks again,


bill & jodi
 
stormy2000 said:
thank you for your input, my wife was concerned about the weight on the part of the slide-out, living room has the sofa-seat & dinette set,
  and the bedroom has the bed and underneath storage.  we have the trailer leveled and is pretty good.  and on the part of your slides
going out in march and in on november, we had wondered if we should be bringing them in once in a while so they don't get stuck or
something.

thank you,

bill & jodi

You might want to check the Keystone manual. Ours came with a recommended actuation of our electric slideout 1-2 times a WEEK! 

Mike
 
thanks will go back to the manual and review again, i may have missed that part. 


bill & jodi
 
1-2 times per week! WOW!  I wonder what they think that prevents?  :eek:

You should be aware that there aren't many professional engineers at RV factories - mostly just guys who have worked on RVs a long time. There often is little or no science or engineering data behind their pronouncements, but there may be gut feel experience based on problems they have encountered.
 
Slideouts are supported by the bottom of the slide resting on the rig's floor and by the lip around the inside edge of the slide pushing against the rig's wall when the slide is fully extended.  In particular, there's a large header beam above the slide cutout that's designed to absorb the slide's tipping forces when the slide is fully extended. The top of the slide presses against the header which keeps it from tipping out.

With the slide fully extended, there's no bending pressure on the slide mechanism itself, it's only purpose is to keep the slide's inside lip pressed firmly against the rig's sidewall.

Putting jacks under the slideout can lift the slide and interfere with transferring the slide's weight to the header beam.

The older tip-out rooms are another matter - they're hinged at their base and can benefit from additional support.
 
went back to the manual and ours does not state anything about extending/extracting the slides out weekly, thinking maybe qtrly? like we did
PMS in the Navy on our equip.  well think about that one. 

  and we won't be using the support beam as shown on ppl motorhome website, thanks for advice/ideas.


bill & jodi
 
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