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Old 04-09-2010, 07:07 AM   #1
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Another Slide Problem

I have another slide problem with the 5'ver and looking for a possible solution. After our last camping trip, when we went to retract the slide the top front corner of it seemed to be catching on the inside wall board at the front top corner. As a result of this the wall board started to pull of the wall and crack. When I realized this I stopped the slide and tried several different things to release it with minimum damage. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the problem.

Last night was my first chance to look at it the damage and attempt a repair. I did mange to re attach the wall board to the trailer studs where it pulled off. I also glued back on the small pieces that broke off. The damage is not too noticeable. During the repair I noticed the wallboard on the inside of the trailer seemed to extend below the stud header in the slide opening. I thought this might have been part of the problem so I sanded off the excess below the header so the wallboard edge was now flush with the header. When I tried fully extending the room again and then retracting it, the slide again dragged on the wall board and pulled it away from the studs.

I am now stumped as to what to do. I was wondering if adjusting the vertical adjustment height on the slide would fix this or not. My other thought was to take a router to the inside edge of the slide room to put an angle on it so that it cannot drag or catch on the header/wallboard. However, before I try anything else I thought I would post the problem here. Has anyone else experienced this problem and if so what did you do to fix it?
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Old 04-09-2010, 07:58 PM   #2
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I went back to the trailer tonight to take another look at my slide issue. Operating the room the slide moves out smoothly and in the last 1 inch the slide room drops down into a pocket to allow it to sit flush with the main trailer floor then continues to extend out until the slide face is flat against the outer trailer wall.

When retracting the slide room it immediately starts to lift up as it moves in and it catches the bottom of the wall board directly above the slide room and pulls it off of the wall. Here is a picture of the slide catching on the wall and pulling it away from the studs:



This photo was taken looking down from the above the slide.In the photo you can see how the wall board is caught on the top of the slide room facia and is cracking and pulling away from the wall.
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Old 04-09-2010, 09:38 PM   #3
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Trailblazer. I am posting from the camper in a CG (YEH) on a B Berry so sorry for the cryptic message

Now I "think" I understand. When the slide comes in the bottom slide floor goes up the ramp almost imediate

That lifting is to get the slide up off the carpet. It also now seems to allow the top metal flange of the slide to catch on the luan paneling and rip it off. It sounds like a timing problem. You are getting the lift too high enough to catch the wall board before the slide is in far enough to clear

Does this sound like what you are seeing?

If that is the case now how can it happen? Here are 2 thoughts

1 when the dealer made the new floor they made it slighty wider.this would change the timing and a wider slide floor will lift faster during the inward motion creating the problem. It may only be wider by 1/8 to 1/4" but that is about all the clearance you have normally

2 the other timing problem may be the slave gear rack is a not in the right place making it come in on an angle. Maybe. If the master slide arm, the one with the motor drive, does not hit the panel and the slave drive does, then they maybe have it adjusted a little wrong where the wind up is allowing that end to come in later and the slide comes in on an angle making the slave end late.

Is only one end of the slide hitting the wall? And which end?

There is not a lot of clearance, the slide has to be in far enough before it lifts or else you may crash

Armed with this info maybe look at it and see if you can tell if the lift is even all across.

If they made the floor too wide, do not mess with the floor. The darco etc is a lot of work to deal with. If that is the problem the yes maybe trim off on an angle the wall board. It may only need 1/4" chamfer to clear. Don"t over trim as it will not seal up as good then

If slide is coming in on an angle it should show up when the slide just closes outside. Both ends should just about touch the trailer at the same time. If one end is still out and the other kissing the trailer the you can adjust the slide arms

See lippert manual for arms adjusting. Or I canvtype more

I'll check in Sat am if I have a signal

John
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Old 04-10-2010, 08:22 AM   #4
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John, you are correct, the floor starts to lift almost immediately when the slide comes in and then hits the top header. Last night I checked and everything seemed to move even and touch the walls at the same time. Looking at the slide motion last night and watching along the entire top of the slide as it comes in, it seems to catch all along the header. So far only one part of the wall board has been pulled off but I can see over time how the rest of the board will eventually be pulled off.

I think you nailed the problem when you said the dealer's replacement floor was made too long. That makes a lot of sense and explains why the slide starts to lift immediately as it retracts. It also explains why I am seeing the slide catching along the entire header. Again last night when looking at it, I took one of my wood files and put about a 1/4 inch angle on the slide where it caught the wall. I then tried extending and retracting the slide again and that section seemed to now clear the header fine while the rest of the slide without the chamfer still hit the header.

I am heading back up to where I have the trailer stored today and I will take my router with me. I will tthen use it to just chamfer the top edge of the slide about a 1/4.
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Old 04-10-2010, 08:30 AM   #5
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Bill

After thinking more on this there is one other very likely cause

Look back over my pictures on the slide floor fix

There is suppose to be a 1/4 to 3/8 chamfer on the bottom edge of the slide that touches the metal trough. My pics show me cutting it

If the dealer forgot or did not cut it deep enough that will change the timing when the slide comes in. It will lift sooner then it use to during the travel in and can raise up and hit on top like you describe

You can check if the chamfer was added by bringing the slide full in, bend down, lift rug flap and look at the lower edge even with the darco on it

My pics show the chamfer transition even thru the darco

If they forgot the chamfer my only thought now is to chamfer the wall up top full length 1/4 to 3/8

Good luck

Cooking bacon, breakfast allmost ready. Come on over. Bring your coffee cup....

John
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Old 04-10-2010, 12:59 PM   #6
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Just back from the storage lot and have put a 1/4 inch chamferr along the entire top portion of the slide. The slide now moves in freely just misses catching the header.

John, I did check the replacement floor and you are correct, the the dealer did not put the chamfer on the floor. So yes the slide has to start lifting up sooner that it would had the chamfer been there.

Anyways all is good and working now as it should, Thank you for all your help. I had figured to solve the problem I would need to put a Chamfer on the top of the slide but wasn't sure why. If you hadn't thought of possibly the length of the floor as well as the Chamfer it would of bugged me as to why I had to do this fix.
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Old 04-11-2010, 08:40 PM   #7
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Bill

GREAT!!! Glad you have the camper all fixed up. Good. This just goes to show the power of SOC. Even separated by a country does not slow us down from helping each other.

I knew that chamfer on the slide floor bottom was there but I never realized how close the slide lift timing was. Since mine always worked I never thought that hard on it. Timing is everything some times….. I only had this thing apart a few weeks ago to realize how the slide is made up. And then when you posted ripping the top paneling off…. How can that be??? The rig is a 2003…it worked all these years, “but” it has a brand new slide floor put on by the dealer. I’m sure they did not realize what the chamfer was for or they would not have missed it.

For those following along, here it what Trailblazer was missing on his new slide floor. See the chamfer on the edge of the floor patch out of mine. The OSB board on top is from Sunline and the pressure treated plywood on the bottom is my repair patch.


There is a metal trough in the camper floor that acts like a cam. When the slide retracts it follows that cam (trough) profile and lifts to get the slide up off the carpet. The chamfer allows more inward motion to allow the slide aluminum flange up on top of the slide to clear the rubber seals and wooden framework before it starts lifting. And it most likely spreads out some of the point pressure on the Darco for that instant the edge is riding the trough.













As the slide retracts, the bottom comes in first


Then the top lifts up and then retracts from the wall. This all happens quickly and the slide travels in.




And here you can see this aluminum flange (angle iron) that creates a seal to the black rubber seals on the camper outer slide flange. That angle flange has to clear the wood work area before it lifts straight up or else you have a crash.


This is a good learning for all of us with slides. The 2005 and newer slides on TT's does not have the metal trouch but the lifting action is similar.

John
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Old 05-12-2012, 09:08 AM   #8
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Very similar issue...

We bought Bill and Marylin's F344SR in February and haven't even gotten to take it on a shakedown trip yet.. I've noticed a couple of times, that the slide will "Pop" when it first starts coming in. The bottom will be in about 2" when it pops. The top will start to come in after that.

I got a few pictures with my phone and will try to get the camera out there later today.

Notice the lack of chamfer and how the board is shaped.



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Old 05-12-2012, 05:45 PM   #9
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Not meaning to hijack your thread Bill, but I want to help keep as much info in the same thread.. Hope it's ok...

Got a few pictures and videos today, with Kitty's help...

Front actuator arm. It is not clear in the pic, but the adjustment bolt has a gap above it.



Same arm, opposite side:



Rear:



Inside, where the chamfer should be:



Video of the slide floor, as the slide goes in and out:



Video of the top, as the slide goes in and back out:


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Old 05-12-2012, 07:12 PM   #10
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No Worries Gary, I think it is good idea to keep the same problem in this thread.

First, I am not sure if it is an optical illusion from the angle of the camera or not, but is the front part of your slide floor bent up. If so I certainly don't like the looks of that. If it is bent up, is it like this across the entire slide. floor.

I could not hear the pop you described in the video. At what end is it happenning at. The front of the trailer of the back of the trailer. I am guessing the popping is occurring just after the top of the slide moves up and before it starts to move it which would tell me it is the slide is catching on the main wall header.
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Old 05-12-2012, 07:18 PM   #11
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It didn't pop, when I was shooting the video... It must have known I was going to video it... The edge of the slide floor is bent like that and for the full length of the slide... I've never seen anything like it...
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Old 05-12-2012, 07:42 PM   #12
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Yeah, I have never seen anything like that before either and I certainly don't like the looks of it. Does the slide sit level with the rest of the trailer when it is fully extended or does it feel like it is leaning downward. It is almost as if the bent part of the floor has been supporting the entire weight of the slide and over time it has slowly bent up that peace of the floor. I think I would start with making sure the trailer was level side to side, then extending the slide and putting a level on it to see if it is level or it is at an angle. Can you move your adjustment bolts where you have the gap or are they like mine and rusted into place?
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Old 05-12-2012, 07:45 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trailblazer View Post
Can you move your adjustment bolts where you have the gap or are they like mine and rusted into place?
Not sure how stuck they are.. The blue wrench would certainly loosen them up... As long as I don't catch the rig on fire!
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Old 05-13-2012, 08:19 PM   #14
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Gary,

That video is "outstanding"!!! Very This adds a whole new meaning to trouble shooting over the web!

I agree, the slide floor does not look exactly right and that will change the timing with the front approx 6" bent up like that. The chamfer may be there, just buried by the Darco cover it and folded over.

Yours is not hitting the wall like Bills was. I can see the aluminum angle has cleared the pocket before it lifts.

I do not know if yours is built exactly like mine but see here. The floor is totally straight right to the end.











Here is the pile of pics for quick viewing of my repair
Slide Floor Repair pictures by JBarca - Photobucket

And the as built pics
T310SR Slide pictures by JBarca - Photobucket

A level over the floor with the slide in should turn up if it is straight. Also while in grab a whole of it and try to wiggle that last 6"

I would try that before trying to adjust the slide out of this. If you adjust the slide then the fit up when closed will change and may create a gap when closed on the side of the camper. Need to figure out the problem and then try to come up with a fix. If the floor is dead straight and there is no flex to it... well it is an optical illusion or something else. How do we explain the bend up in the last 6" if it is not bent? More like cracked. I hope the cracking and popping is not the floor cracking and flexing. It would be like the 2 pieces of USB board glued together to create a 1" thick bottom split/cracked from the cantilevered overhung load.

H'mm maybe the glue got hard and separated between the sheets. That happened on mine. After seeing it I screwed screws in of just the right length to make very sure they would not come out and touch the Darco. Need to stop a good 1/8" to 3/16" less. My original floor was made from 2 pieces of 1/2 USB board.

See here


and here as I step cut it 1/2 way to make a good fit up joint to my patch.




Maybe place a level across the floor, look for any gap in the middle or end then run it in and put and see if the gap changes.

Good luck

John
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Old 05-14-2012, 11:52 AM   #15
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John,

That odd looking bend is not an optical illusion. The other three slides we had, were all straight. When this wet crap finally stops, I'll do the level on the floor. If I went in there now, I'd track a lot of mud in Sunny. That wouldn't go over very well!
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Old 05-14-2012, 08:34 PM   #16
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ah, yeh. Better wait...
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