2001 260SR slide divider

Vicky · 02-23-2013, 08:09 PM

We have a 2001 260 slide room but it's at a permanent site many miles from me. I'm planning to remove the jack-knife sofa (on the slide) when we go there in April and I read about others doing this on this website. Thank you for taking the time to explain how it works. My question...has anyone removed the "half-wall"/divider between the sofa and the dining area? I want it removed (with the sofa) to make way for a comfortable chair in the area. I have to think it might have been placed there before the covering was put on the bottom of the slide out because I can't remember any access to the bottom of it. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?

Thanks,

Vicky

**JohnB** · 02-23-2013, 08:37 PM

I have had to remove the jack knife couch on our unit to fix the slide floor.

This may help point you to how to do this.

These rug boards have to come out. The bury "lots" screws in the rug boards. The are pre wrapped then screw to the slide floor

You will not have to remove this rug holding strip but I included it to show you all the screws they bury in the carpet of these rug boards. You have to feel and sift through the rug to find them all. Then unscrew them. Once you find the last one.... The boards lift right up.

Hope this helps and good luck.

John

**JohnB** · 02-23-2013, 08:40 PM

Vicky,

If you have not seen this post, check and see that your slide floor holes are covered up on the bottom of the slide.

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...eck-11086.html

Good luck

John

Vicky · 02-23-2013, 09:56 PM

Again, thank you for the quick reply. I read this and saved it from a couple of days ago but I didn't notice your "divider" is thin, cloth covered and appears to be attached to your sofa framework. You obviously left it in place since you put the sofa back in. I wonder if mine is the same and if it's also attached at the floor? Mine is a narrow wood box type of divider - hollow, two walls - about 2"-3" thickand it's a lot higher than yours. There is some play in it and I've avoided leaning against it when I sit on the sofa for that reason. I'm afraid it's attached at the floor and wall as well as the sofa frame. I'm sorry I can't send pictures. Even if I drove the 100 miles, I couldn't get down the road to the TT due to snow.

I check the TT really closely each time we arrive and leave it and under the slide especially because I have a phobia about leaks and wood rot. ( A couple of years ago, I got on the roof and went a little crazy with the Eternabond. It's not very pretty but I hopefully won't be getting any leaks from the roof.) I know your leak seemed to have come from rain running down the slide. I also know it's no guarantee but we've got the slide-out awning that goes a long way toward protecting the slide. I'm fairly certain I have no screws or breaks in the slide floor covering but you can bet I will be checking closely in a month or so after reading of your ordeal.

**Sunline Fan** · 02-23-2013, 10:13 PM

Hi Vicky,

Yes, John has the small divider because he has the free standing dinette option instead of the booth. I know what you have though, and I assume being an '01 that you have the spindles from the top of that half wall up to the ceiling. '01 was the last year for those.

The thing is, you realize by removing that, you'll no longer have a back on the dinette bench. The bench would be unusable because you'd take all of the support out of it. If you want to remove the entire dinette bench, that's a different story.

On that note though, I wouldn't recommend removing the bench. That wall provides a lot of strength to hold the center of the slide together. It acts like a bracket.

Vicky · 02-23-2013, 11:42 PM

Sunline Fan,

Thanks for responding; however, my unit does not have the spindles and we ordered our 260 without the dinette - we have a free standing table/chairs. I found a picture of a 2003 260 that looks exactly like ours in terms of design (without the dinette). If you go to the following website....images 7 and 8...you'll see our floorplan.

2003 Sunline Solaris 260 SR, Travel Trailers RV For Sale in Souderton, Pennsylvania | Fretz RV | RVMotorized.com - 73843

**Sunline Fan** · 02-24-2013, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicky

Sunline Fan,

Thanks for responding; however, my unit does not have the spindles and we ordered our 260 without the dinette - we have a free standing table/chairs. I found a picture of a 2003 260 that looks exactly like ours in terms of design (without the dinette). If you go to the following website....images 7 and 8...you'll see our floorplan.

2003 Sunline Solaris 260 SR, Travel Trailers RV For Sale in Souderton, Pennsylvania | Fretz RV | RVMotorized.com - 73843

Oh ok, I didn't realize that. I still wouldn't recommend removing the wall. It probably is attached both to the floor and wall. The dinette walls like that are screwed from the top down. I doubt they screwed yours from the bottom, but they might have framed it, screwed it to the floor, and then stapled the paneling on over top.

The wall will be screwed in from the outside of the sidewall. This is the case with all of your cabinets and other walls too. They would screw into everything through the back of the interior wall panel from the outside before they put the insulation and aluminum (or smooth fiberglass) on. You either have to take the aluminum off all the way up to that point or just break the screws through the wall. Good news is the screw heads aren't very big- they'll be the same size ones that hold it to the floor. You'll then just have to cut/stain an oak strip to cover over that spot of where the holes are.

Here's when Gary (EMD_Driver) removed his dinette wall to do floor repair:

**JohnB** · 02-25-2013, 11:11 AM

Our layout with table and chairs may be an exception.

In this pic you can see rug lined 2 x 4's on the couch end in the middle.

In our case that 2 x 4 frame is screwed from the inside to the outside wall studs. There is only a piece of OSB covered in material as the end board and it is screwed to the 2 x 4's. This structure is a lot lower than the dinettes and as this would not create as much rigidness as a dinette.

I agree the dinette models that odds are higher (98 to 99.9% sure) they are screwed from the outside to the inside. I also agree on the dinette models that the wall screwed to the cabinets creates stiffness in the floor when the slide is in. This is especially seen when the slide is retracted as we have had folks pull out the screws in the floor or wall stepping on the slide when in. To get away from that we stuff a rug board under the slide floor when in for support in case we have to step on the slide. So the dinette by itself is not a no flex slide floor system.

Now to is it a mandate that the slide has to have this center support however it is created? H’mm prior to thinking about this I thought it might be, but now maybe not.

There is the 5er combination with table and chairs and a free standing pull out coach. A TT may even have this. EMD_Driver and Trailblazer has one like this, I think. Do not 100% remember. I do not recall anything in the middle which then brings up, is it a must? The 5er slides are heavier than the TT slides. Taller and bigger. Especially EMD_Driver’s. That one is a beast…

If we can get confirmation on the 5er’s that they do not have a middle support it may open up an option for Vicky. She is not towing down the road so road bounce is not a long term concern. The 5er slide floor uses the same 1” 2 part OSB board slide floor as the TT’s as we saw Trailbalzer slide apart before the got it from floor rot. Odds are high if Vicky did remove the center she may have to deal with screws from the outside in. One of the new high speed vibrating tools may snip them off and then put a nice piece of cap molding over it. I would say if the 5ers’ can handle no center support, then Vicky’s stationary slide has a fighting chance of being OK.

I have a camping buddy with a Sunny Brook Titan TT with table and chairs and the free standing coach. No center anything. However I am not into the exact details of how Sunny Brook built their slide like Sunline did.

**JohnB** · 02-25-2013, 06:32 PM

I forgot I had these.....

2007 Artic Fox 29V with table and chairs and pull out couch

2004 Sunline F293SR with table and chairs and pull out couch

Man, that is a nice camper.... Our color too.

The center support may not be as big a support as we thought. It does help when the slide if pulled in. But like I said on ours we did the rug board trick.

Hope this helps

John

Trailblazer · 02-25-2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

There is the 5er combination with table and chairs and a free standing pull out coach. A TT may even have this. EMD_Driver and Trailblazer has one like this, I think. Do not 100% remember. I do not recall anything in the middle which then brings up, is it a must? The 5er slides are heavier than the TT slides. Taller and bigger. Especially EMD_Driver’s. That one is a beast…

John, you are correct, our 5er slide does not have a center support. Both the couch and the table and chairs are free standing and can be completely removed from the slide and there is nothing in the slide to act as a middle support.

EMD_Driver · 02-25-2013, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trailblazer

John, you are correct, our 5er slide does not have a center support. Both the couch and the table and chairs are free standing and can be completely removed from the slide and there is nothing in the slide to act as a middle support.

Our "Beast" of a slide is the same way as Bill's....

Vicky · 05-02-2013, 11:35 PM

I'm sorry for the belated thanks to you guys for "researching" my situation. I was sure I responded to this when you sent the information but I must have been dreaming about things I was going to do in the trailer. I read and re-read it and now, after other recent issues (battery/converter) I realize even more how little differences in production make it difficult to discuss things. I'm going to photograph every angle of my trailer for possible future questions so everyone can see what I'm dealing with. I think the "wall" was probably just an oversight in production since we didn't get the built-in dinette but I'm a little reluctant to start ripping it from the wall and floor so, for now, I'll continue paralyzing my butt on that jack-knife sofa from hell.

Vicky