Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Bottom line: Go ahead and use it as you see fit.
Use of retracted slide
- Thread starter tlmgcamp
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Skipper
Well-known member
Did he mean not to sit in dinnette as the slide is moving or not at all once it is fully retracted? I can see a possible misunderstanding.
OP
OP
tlmgcamp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Posts
- 841
He said not to step on slide when it was retracted
OP
OP
tlmgcamp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Posts
- 841
Thought I would follow up on this. I just got off the phone with Lippert who said that I should not be using the slide in the retracted position. Kinda sucks as those quick lunches at the rest stop while in route are now going to require parking where I can safely extend the slide that contains the dinette
Boat Bum
Well-known member
Wow, that would be a deal breaker for me.
OP
OP
tlmgcamp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Posts
- 841
Reminder to self...never trust a salesman
LarsMac
Well-known member
That's absurd. We often stop and take lunch breaks and even spend a night without extending our slide.
Larry N.
Well-known member
All of my coaches that have had slides have been used with the slide(s) retracted, lunch, sleeping (on some), travel (passengers beyond the couch capacity) and so on. If the slide is so poorly supported when retracted that you "can't step on it" then it's very poorly done indeed, and I'd be afraid to move the coach with it retracted (and obviously with it extended, also).
Note that all of my slides had/have storage in them, too. Either someone doesn't know what he's talking about or else you need to get a replacement, since you were initially misled into buying such a beast
.RRR
Well-known member
Well from what I have seen Lippert isn't known for quality of construction.
GeorgetownBob
Member
When the slide is retracted the outside side wall supports the slide and when the slide is extended the inside sidewall of the trailer/ motorhome supports it.. so sitting in it in either position will be no problem... My 2 cents worth
Old_Crow
Well-known member
In the almost 7 years I've owned and lived full time in this coach I've used the slide retracted a lot. Still works fine. When Wally Docking or overnighting in a rest stop, I never extend the slide. If the weather report says it's going to snow, I will retract the slide on purpose.
I smell a statement crafted by a lawyer here somewhere.
I smell a statement crafted by a lawyer here somewhere.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Did you ask if it was OK to use it when extended? Their lawyer would probably answer "No" to that as well. For one thing, Lippert didn't build the actual slide - just the mechanical mechanism to move it in & out. They don't even know if the floor is sturdy or if it has walls, let alone how much weight it can support. There is no way they can give a definitive answer to your question.
My answer is that a slide I cannot step on or sit in when retracted doesn't meet the basic product requirement of an RV slideout, what lawyers call "fitness & merchantability" for the intended purpose. And if I can't put a bit of extra weight here or there, how can I trust it as I drive down the road? Or place some of my stuff in the drawers or fridge or whatever furniture is built into that slide? Is Lippert going to nix that as well?
Moho81
Well-known member
When we bought ours last year the guy doing the walk through with us said to not sit/stand on the slide while it was retracted or in motion as it could damage the mechanism.
At first it made sense that you don't want the extra weight on the slide but then as I am stocking all the storage areas with various things that probably weigh as much as I do I started to doubt the accuracy of that statement.
For us in the end it really does not matter anyway because trying to maneuver around with the slide in is impossible so we always have to extend it out even if its just a little bit to grab something towards the back real quick.
At first it made sense that you don't want the extra weight on the slide but then as I am stocking all the storage areas with various things that probably weigh as much as I do I started to doubt the accuracy of that statement.
For us in the end it really does not matter anyway because trying to maneuver around with the slide in is impossible so we always have to extend it out even if its just a little bit to grab something towards the back real quick.
DutchmenSport
Well-known member
I have been on RV forums for the last 20 years (not just this one), and over the last 20 years the question of standing on retracted slides always comes up and there are always 2 sides to the answer.
Yes you can. No you cannot.
I've had 2 different campers (an Outback Travel Trailer and a Montana Fifth Wheel). We used the slides retracted in both campers. It seemed to never hurt them. The Outback had a Rack and Pinion system on all the slides. My Outback has all cable driven slides.
Sometimes, I wonder if the whole issue of "yea" or "nay" got started by someone who had a bad experience, perhaps with a slide repair, and the manufacturer blamed the problem on walking on the slide retracted as a way to get out of doing a warranty repair! I wonder if that's how it all started. It takes only 1 person to start a rumor that somehow turns into "supposed" fact, but no one has actually claimed a problem happened to them personally, themselves.
Caution and common sense is king here. Your slides are no exception. I've had 6 cables break in 4 years now. All broke when nothing but RV furniture was on them. So.... go figure?
Yes you can. No you cannot.
I've had 2 different campers (an Outback Travel Trailer and a Montana Fifth Wheel). We used the slides retracted in both campers. It seemed to never hurt them. The Outback had a Rack and Pinion system on all the slides. My Outback has all cable driven slides.
Sometimes, I wonder if the whole issue of "yea" or "nay" got started by someone who had a bad experience, perhaps with a slide repair, and the manufacturer blamed the problem on walking on the slide retracted as a way to get out of doing a warranty repair! I wonder if that's how it all started. It takes only 1 person to start a rumor that somehow turns into "supposed" fact, but no one has actually claimed a problem happened to them personally, themselves.
Caution and common sense is king here. Your slides are no exception. I've had 6 cables break in 4 years now. All broke when nothing but RV furniture was on them. So.... go figure?
Boat Bum
Well-known member
My full wall slide has a dinette and jack knife couch on it and both are equipped with seat belts for sitting on retracted while driving.
Larry N.
Well-known member
As have the full wall slides in two of the coaches I've had. The other one didn't have full wall, but the driver's side couch on a slide had seat belts.
And given the various lawyer-driven placards around the RV, I think the lack of a placard stating to not use it until it's extended speaks for itself.
Boat Bum
Well-known member
That's actually a good point, with so many product safety warnings you'd think they'd need to warn you against the hazards of doing this. If they tried to deny warranty over this I would imagine it would have to be clearly stated the proper use of the slides.
They have to tell us to remove sun shades from our windshields before driving for crying out loud.
Ray-IN
Well-known member
If it will ease your mind, buy/or make and use a few tapered door stops(wedges) under the slide floor when retracted, for support.
Ray-IN
Well-known member
IMO lawyers have made the phrase "personal responsibility" a lost skill.
OP
OP
tlmgcamp
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2016
- Posts
- 841
UPDATE...To save the effort to re-read this whole thing, the issue was that, when shopping, we were told that the dinette slide could be used in the retracted position. After a dozen or so cycles, the slide was crooked. Using the seams in the flooring as a judge, it was tweaked by about 1 1/2 inches. I got it fixed under warrantee and was told by the dealership (not the one where I purchased) that I was not supposed to use in in the retracted position. This was very disappointing. I emailed Lippert who promised a 24 hr reply. After 2 business days I tried calling. After being on hold for a while, I was told that the slide should not be used in the retracted position. A few days after that call, I got the attached email. I am going to go with the written response, but not with a great deal of confidence.
