Hi Kathy,
I'll pass along what I have found. My slide is over both TT axles and not centered over them.
I can extend and retract the slide here in my yard on level concrete with no stabilizers down and there are no moans and groans from the slide mechanism. It goes in and out smooth. The camper is hanging off the suspension and tires. And I know the frame is flexed some small amount with no stabilizers down. The tire area is rigid and in front and behind the axles has some small amount of frame deflection.
When in the campground, I level the camper left to right with wood under the tires and the tongue jack up and down to get the camper level in both directions and I then stabilize with the Bal stabilizers. Now here one needs to be careful in the stabilizing process. I only use the stabilizers to stabilize, not to try and force the camper into some form of level. I touch the ground, take out all the play and only lift a very small amount.
If one try's and forces the camper with the Bal units, the bigger the camper the bigger the frame twist will be. And if the frame has a larger degree of twist the slide will moan and groan.
My slide mechanism is a Lippert rack and pinion drive system. This system allows a certain amount of the TT frame twist not having to be exactly perfectly level and flat and still work the slide OK. There is a point where frame twist will be large enough the slide does not work as well and smooth.
In my case I do the stabilizing first and let the slide out. And when breaking camp, I pull the slide in first then raise up the stabilizers. This way the frame in the same position going out and in.
I could if I wanted to in the CG let the slide out and bring it in after I leveled the camper with wood and the tongue jack. It will go out fine however the camper will now hang down harder on the slide side and actually twist the frame some. By stabilizing before in the CG, I minimize this effect as the stabilizers are supporting the frame on that side.
Some folks with a slide may have different experiences and it may be the difference in the location and size of the slide. The actual type of slide system is also a variable. A small light slide will not be affected by frame twist as a large heavy slide. A slide that is over the axles may be more affected by frame twist than a slide totally forward or behind the axles. And then there are cable slides and rack and pinion or hydraulic.
Added to this there is frame size and how heavy the camper is. I have a 10" frame and 32 feet of it loaded almost to 10,000#. Some one on a 8" frame loaded heavier or lighter may have a different experience.
So you can get a comparison, see here as my slide is a large super slide over the axles and not centered over the axles.
With all that being said, the big thing I would not advise is to on purpose to force the Bal stabilizers to try and do a large amount of lift to level out the camper. That will twist the frame and potentially create slide movement issues.
Where is your slide in relation to the axles? Got any pics?
John
__________________
Current Sunlines: 2004 T310SR, 2004 T1950, 2004 T2475, 2007 T2499, 2004 T317SR
Prior Sunlines: 2004 T2499 - Fern Blue
2005 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.8L V10 W/ 4.10 rear axle, CC, Short Bed, SRW. Reese HP trunnion bar hitch W/ HP DC
Google Custom Search For Sunline Owners Club