New Camper Owner Question

[CHLL]

We are new to the camper camping scene. We have done tent and cabin camping, but are excited about using our camper as much as possible. We are having an issue with the slide out of a 2001 Solaris T-267 SR - it opens fine, but won't go back in without lifting a bit with a jack. What problems should we look for? Thank you!

[JohnB]

Welcome CHLL!

Congrats on the new Sunny!

On the slide, your vintage camper may have the Barker Manufacturing slide drive or the Dewald/Power Gear slide drive. Around that time era, Sunline had to change the manufactures due to supply issues.

I am not sure which you have, posting some pics of the slide drive under the camper can help us, help you with which you have.

Some big picture general things to look for that align with your wording is excess drag on the slide.

1. Make sure the camper battery is charged up. The systems need full power to work the slide correctly.

2. Or even better as a test, is the camper plugged in to shore power when this is happening? Does it work on shore power but not on battery power?

3. Are you sure the camper power converter is working and charging the battery correctly? If you need help testing this let us know.

The above 3 talk to having enough power to the motor to pull the slide in/out. The next talk about drag in the system.

4. Under the camper/slide, the gearing and sliding surfaces in the slide drive system can get real dry, full of rust and dirt, and then it takes extra power to pull the slide in or out. This is where pics come in to help see what you have and what it looks like. Cleaning rust out and lubing the right parts with the right lube can help reduce the drag in the gearing, rollers and slide pads.

5. Above the floor of the camper, the black rubber slide seals around the top and front and back of the slide, can act as a big drag brake against the sides/roof of the slide. There is a lot of friction on the slide seals and that can create excess drag. I use 303 aerospace UV protectant on the seals to help lube them and keep the sun UV breakdown low. You can also use spray on silicone on the seals to help lube them, but it may or may not last long but could help tell you the seals are part of the problem. DO NOT use any kind of petroleum based lube on the rubber seals. That will break down the rubber over time. The RV stores do sell slide seal lube too which is about made up sometimes of UV protectors and silicone.

6. You may have a combo problem, rusted, dirty dry slide drive parts (rollers, gears etc) and dry slide seals at the same time. It is a common problem if the prior owner did not know how to maintain the slide drive system. Annual checks and maintenance go a long way in keeping the slide system moving smoothly in and out.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new Sunny!

All questions are welcome.

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by CHLL

We are having an issue with the slide out of a 2001 Solaris T-267 SR - it opens fine, but won't go back in without lifting a bit with a jack. What problems should we look for? Thank you!

Something else just came to mind, explain more on the "lifting it a bit with a jack"?

When the slide moves, does the slide sort of "jump/bounce" for a moment as the slide travels in or out?

When you jack up the slide, where do you place the jack, how high do you lift it and how far in/out is the slide from the side of the camper, 2", 4" 6" etc sticking out from the side of the camper?

Once you are past the place where the jack was lifting, does the slide finish closing up by itself or do you have to help it the whole rest of the way?

Does the slide movement stall out always happen in the same spot?

Pending which slide drive brand yours has, there are bronze bushings on the pinion shafts that have worn out over time and let the gear drop down. That gearing issues causes a binding in the gear teeth.

Would need pics of your slide arms, the rack and pinion setup and the motor drive setup to better help explain where to look for these worn parts. The two brands that you may have, are different enough that I did not want to give you the wrong places to look.

Hope this helps

John