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Old 08-23-2009, 09:15 AM   #1
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Slideout floor separating from wall under couch

Being sort of mechanically inclined, it has always bothered me that the slideout is not supported when in the in position except by the trailer wall and slide mechanism. The inside edge of the floor is just hanging in midair and bouncing down the highway has got to put a lot of stress on the floor and trailer wall. This is expecially true for the floor below the heavy couch.

Well, I noticed recently that the floor at the rear of the slideout under the couch is separating from the rear slideout wall. See the photos.







I am tempted to remove the couch and install angle iron to better attach the floor to the wall.

Then, when traveling, put some kind of support under the inner edge of the floor.

Any help or experience with this issue will be much appreciated.

Thanks
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Old 08-23-2009, 08:54 PM   #2
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Hi Paul

H'mm, does your slide use prop rods to hold the top of the slide when retracted?

My 2004 does but I "think" in 2005 they stopped using them. I know in mine, I would not travel without them installed to keep the top of the slide from bouncing so. As with mine the top is pretty wiggly with out them.

This is what Sunline gave out for mine. I did have to work on stopping the rubber bumpers from wear thru but that was fixed with a washer inside so the pipe (EMT conduit) would not cut thru




Here is the manual excerpt



Does the top of yours wiggle when retracted? Pending the heavy wiggling, it “might” have an effect on the floor doing a tap, tap, tap’ing it with every road vibration.

The unsupported floor, a tip I picked up from a fellow Sunline owner was to use a rug board under the slide when retracted. He had his floor in the center have an issue as his DW had to get to his top cabinets each camping trip. So he made up a rug board and I followed his lead as I have to step on mine to get around and thru the camper when the slide is in.

This is now what I use in the middle. I also have a plastic rug protector to step on so I do not mess up the carpet.







I do not have any floor separation at the edges like yours. But again mine is a 2004. Can you take some pics of how your floor is attached? I can do the same and we can compare notes. Sunline may have changed some things in 2005 as I know there are other small differences in the way the slides are made.

Right now these are the only pic’s I have on line. Can get more on Monday












Hope this helps

John
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Old 08-24-2009, 04:33 AM   #3
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wow if those pics don't bring back memories,like john said my slide seperated from the floor also but in the center at the dinette partition,I did just as you mentioned and reinforced it with angle brackets(it's solid now) and now support the slide when in the closed position.
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Old 08-24-2009, 08:23 PM   #4
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John, Rich,

Thanks for the replies and photos.

My slideout has no support other than the slide mechanism and being against the outside trailer wall when in. The slideout floor, like yours, is about 4 inches above the trailer floor when in and the whole length front to back is unsupported.

I haven't quite determined exactly how the floor is attached to the wall. I plan to do some careful disassembly of siding this weekend to examine the slideout wall and floor joint.

I am certain however that the slideout needs to be supported when traveling down the highway. It's just too much weight to be cantilevered like it is on a rather flimsy trailer frame and wall.

I like your carpeted step. I believe I will make 3 of those about 4 inches thick to fit at the ends and in the center to support the slideout floor.

I will take some photos of what I find. I think this could be an issue that other slideout owners need to be aware of.
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Old 08-25-2009, 07:35 PM   #5
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Here is an update on my slideout floor problem.

John, My floor is not wrapped like yours appears to be. It is a 1 inch thick slab of particle board.

I discovered today that the holes for the carriage bolts that appear to be the only thing holding the floor to the wall were countersunk way too deep and one has pulled through. The countersink holes look to be 3/4 of an inch deep, leaving only 1/4 inch of the particle board to hold the bolt.


In this photo yhou can see that the particle board is separated where the bolt has pulled through.


In this photo you can see how deep the countersink holes for the bolts are.


Here is an underside view of the bolt that has pulled through.


Photo of floor with slideout in. This is the undamaged end.

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Old 08-26-2009, 12:23 PM   #6
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Unwrapped particle board??!?!! SHAME on Sunline for this! This material (especially the 1" edge along the bottom) is exposed to all types of moisture. To use particle board is bad enough, but to not wrap it is unforgivable. Would wrapped plywood have been THAT much more expensive? And it would have been lighter!

When I picked up my fifth wheel I noticed a small section of swollen wood on the small bedroom slideout. Here's a photo of the fix, which was very well done except I need to replace the screws with stainless hardware.



Aluminum angle piece screwed up from the bottom and sides into the wall to hold the whole thing together tightly. Aluminum goes under the molding piece along the bottom of the wall. Then non-sag lap sealant along the top of the molding. This prevents ANY water from touching the wood floor of the slideout.
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Old 08-26-2009, 01:15 PM   #7
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Jeff.

Thank you very much. So, I'm not alone in this little slideout floor problem.

Are those bolts or screws up through the aluminum angle into the floor? If bolts, how did they get inside the wall to install nuts and washers? I'm guessing there is a 2 x something as the framing member at the bottom of the wall.

Are there any signs of wear on the surfaces that the angle is sliding on?

I'll have to come up with some idea for how to waterproof the particle board floor.
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Old 08-26-2009, 08:00 PM   #8
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Hi Guys

This is interesting stuff.

Ihsoultions (Jeff) started out a short while back with slide constructions issues on his 5’er and we have had a few others with reported slide issues. Since them I have over the last few months been on a quest to investigate my own, a 2004 unit and several other brands for construction and the type of seals used to educate myself on how slides are made. So far I have Jayco Jay Flight, Jayco Eagle, Skline Nomand, SunnyBrook Titan, Forest River Sandpiper, Northwood Artic Fox and Keystone Laredo for other brands to compare to our Sunlines. I will get a post up soon with pics as how a slide is constructed as that is a post all on it’s own.

This much I can tell you, I do not know who copied who but there are many things the same and some different. The RV industry has a certain way of how a slide is made and most all of them follow that guideline. And some can shock you on the high end brands I looked at as to, why in the world did they do that….. Unfortunately Sunline is no longer here to help us thru any of these issues, so it is up to us to overcome or take it to a dealer and the dealer will use industry standard repairs. Believe it or not, Sunline so far with mine (2004 unit) is ahead of the other brands in my opinion and maybe even the Sunline 2005’s and foward. It still has some things I found I need to correct after investigating this thanks to Jeff for putting me onto this, but I’m glad I have what I have to start with. What we are seeing here is RV industry standards at work.

The fiber board is a bit shocking I must say. I would not have chose that but Sunline did for some reason. Why? Good Question. They use OSB board everywhere else, why not here? I do not know if it is a special marine type glued board verses the standard housing industry interior countertop particle board. I for, sure hope not wraped or not.

Paul, can you see any types of markings on the board to lead us to what it actually is? Other then glued saw dust…

This much I have found out, in 2005 and forward Sunline changed the slides along with other attributes of the camper. Exposed board of what ever it is, is on the 2005’s until the end. Slide support rods for travel, Transit bars also disappeared. And floor lift clearances seemed to get less when retracted. Mine also has a metal plate on top full length of the inside slide end,(where the carpet hangs off when retracted) Paul’s does not or at least from his pic I can’t see it.

Paul you obviously need to correct your issue as fiber board has very little strength in tension but a lot in compression. The deep counter bored holes looks to be a miss for sure. Jeff’s angle looks like a good idea but make sure it will go thru the camper OK as his may lift higher then yours. For yours, may have to add the angle on the inside corner. Lift the rug and install. Now what to cover the board with? That is a good question. You and all the other owners of 2005’s and forward have the same issue if it is one. I saw this at Junes M & G. Many are just black painted board from the outside looking up. Since Sunline made so many like this, I’m hoping…that it is exterior rated glue or else they would have had a very large warranty issue on there hands. Wish we had a RV slide Guru here to fill in some of the pondering questions as I would like to talk to them too…

Good luck and keep us posted. We continue to learn from each other as time goes on.

John
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Old 08-26-2009, 08:46 PM   #9
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Paul, these are approx. 2" long galvanized screws if I recall. Dipped in caulk before screwing in. Each one of those screws pulled the whole thing up, so I know good contact into the wall studs was made.

This is a small bedroom closet slide which is a little different than what you're dealing with. Mine runs along a set of carpeted blocks, and slides straight out, as opposed to the normal tilting mechanism you have (and I too, on my two other slides).

John, my unit is a 2005 and has wrapped wood slide floors, and ONE prop rod (though, it may have shipped with all three, but the dealer only gave me one, and it was for the smallest slide). I do use it when in transit. I may rig something else for the other slides, though at this moment I'm not sure I see a need to.
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Old 08-27-2009, 04:44 AM   #10
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my guess is that they used partical board for the floor because it is smoother than osb allowing the slide to roll in and out smoother.
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Old 08-27-2009, 07:06 AM   #11
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I may be wrong, but I thought Lippert built the slide rooms for Sunline and Sunline just added the siding and interior finishes.
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Old 08-27-2009, 08:33 AM   #12
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When Jan and I visited the Sunline factory in '06 they were building slideouts there. I have some photos somewhere. I'll see if I can find them.
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Old 08-27-2009, 09:50 AM   #13
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Here are a couple photos from our factory tour in June of '06. We were very impressed and at that time, as everyone else, had no hint of the events to come later in the year. Had I known, I would have taken many more photos.




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Old 08-27-2009, 10:32 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ihsolutions

John, my unit is a 2005 and has wrapped wood slide floors, and ONE prop rod (though, it may have shipped with all three, but the dealer only gave me one, and it was for the smallest slide). I do use it when in transit. I may rig something else for the other slides, though at this moment I'm not sure I see a need to.
Jeff, h'mm your 2005, was it manufactured early/mid year 2004? It would be on the VIN sticker.

And then there is 5er's verses TT's. The changes may not have made it into the 5'ers or since they sell for more new, they may have left the higher cost components in place, maybe. Don't really know.

The prop rods. Mine are nothing more then EMT conduit with rubber chair foot stoppers on the ends. I had to add a washer inside to stop the conduit from cutting thru. Simple and so far they work. If you want pics, let me know.

Thanks

John
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Old 08-27-2009, 10:36 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 264SRinPA
I may be wrong, but I thought Lippert built the slide rooms for Sunline and Sunline just added the siding and interior finishes.
Mike, from my findings, Lippert made the mechanical slide mechanism and mounted it in the TT frame. The wood room, was made at Sunline.

There seems to be only a few slide mechanism makers out there.

So far I have found:

Lippert
Barker

I know there is more as the style is slightly different, just have not found the "who" makes them yet.

John
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Old 08-27-2009, 10:44 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rich2500
my guess is that they used partical board for the floor because it is smoother than osb allowing the slide to roll in and out smoother.
Rich

You may have a point there as part of the reasoning. In the 2005 TT vintage the slides did not seem to lift up off thr floor as much as the 2004 and older vintages. Mine whille it has a Darco liner, barely if even that touches the carpet. It does a real heavy pivot and high lift action in the first approx 2 to 3" of retract travel. Mine has a metal formed trough embeded in the floor to help create that cam action. Does yours?

You can see here some of the floor embeded steel in this pic


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Old 08-27-2009, 10:55 AM   #17
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John and others with slides,

I don't have a slide, obviously, so I can't look in my trailer... but I was wondering for those looking for a prop rod--which sounds like an important item--whether a typical trigger clamp converted to a spreader would work. Could a longer one be sawed off to just the right length? How would this clamp compare in strength and functionality to a prop rod, which I have never seen.

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Old 08-27-2009, 11:51 AM   #18
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John, my 2005 fifth wheel was built in April 2004 and delivered to the dealer in July 2004. It sat exactly five years (almost to the day) from delivery to the day I picked it up.

Mine also has the metal plate you speak of, and makes a big climb in the first couple inches. The bottom edge has nylon angled runners screwed in the whole way across.
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Old 08-27-2009, 12:05 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnB
Quote:
Originally Posted by 264SRinPA
I may be wrong, but I thought Lippert built the slide rooms for Sunline and Sunline just added the siding and interior finishes.
Mike, from my findings, Lippert made the mechanical slide mechanism and mounted it in the TT frame. The wood room, was made at Sunline.

There seems to be only a few slide mechanism makers out there.

So far I have found:

Lippert
Barker

I know there is more as the style is slightly different, just have not found the "who" makes them yet.

John
John, the reason I say that is 2 yrs ago when I was on Lippert's website looking for another set of stabilizers, I think I remember seeing a section where they made the shell for the slide rooms. I'll e-mail them and see.
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Old 08-27-2009, 04:28 PM   #20
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Ok, here is what I found out. Sunline did build the slideout. While the web page is no longer available, the reply from Lippert was, what I saw were probably just pictures showing different slide rooms that manufacturers use on their system.
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