Leave slide out?
Hi all—just bought a 2010 Bighorn with three slides, that will be parked on a leased lot and lived in for six months of the year in Florida. The question is can it be left parked with the slides out...
Forum Discussion
I think it really is a matter of your own personal preference and comfort level what you do. I don't think leaving the slides in, or leaving them out makes any difference.
As stated above, birds, wind, UV damage, falling debris from trees, acid rain, excessive weather conditions, sand blowing in the wind if you are in a sandy area, of course, all of these things are good reasons to pull the slides in, especially if you are not physically not with the camper for an extended period of time.
Personally, when actually using the camper, the slides are out. When not actually using the camper, the slides are in.
I finished my "winterizing" on my 5er just this morning. The water lines and refrigerator were all done Saturday. This morning I removed all the food items and everything that was wet.
We still use the camper through out winter at home. We will continue to sleep in it every night for quite a while. But not tonight.
This morning, after getting all the liquids out of the camper, I pulled the slides in. Why? Because we expecting snow to start in just a few hours and run till after midnight tonight. Why the slides?
Well, I don't want an inch or a foot of snow on top of the open slides, eventually turning into ice. In the event I need to pull the slides in, like... bug out in a hurry, I know the slides are clean, ready to go.
Once the snow passes, I'll extend them again, and will be sleeping in it again.
And an fyi, last winter was the first winter we had with our new 5er. Ours has the Lippert 6 point leveling system. Last winter we were preparing for our winter Christmas trek to South Carolina and the jacks were so frozen, they all went into "error" and I could never get them out. In the Spring, I took the 5er back to my dealership and they had to physically, with a wrench, retract 2 of the jacks that errored because they were jammed up with ice earlier and screwed up. So, while the snow and ice are falling, my 5er jacks are all retracted. yea, it looks funny with the nose all the way down, but it will just be over night and then leveled again.
In Florida you may not have these kinds of issues, but only you know the weather conditions and environmental threats that may cause unwanted damage if the slides are left out. It takes only a few minutes to clear the path the slides take to retract, and takes only a few seconds to push the button. I don't see why you wouldn't retract them and have peace of mind everything is buttoned up while you are not there.
As stated above, birds, wind, UV damage, falling debris from trees, acid rain, excessive weather conditions, sand blowing in the wind if you are in a sandy area, of course, all of these things are good reasons to pull the slides in, especially if you are not physically not with the camper for an extended period of time.
Personally, when actually using the camper, the slides are out. When not actually using the camper, the slides are in.
I finished my "winterizing" on my 5er just this morning. The water lines and refrigerator were all done Saturday. This morning I removed all the food items and everything that was wet.
We still use the camper through out winter at home. We will continue to sleep in it every night for quite a while. But not tonight.
This morning, after getting all the liquids out of the camper, I pulled the slides in. Why? Because we expecting snow to start in just a few hours and run till after midnight tonight. Why the slides?
Well, I don't want an inch or a foot of snow on top of the open slides, eventually turning into ice. In the event I need to pull the slides in, like... bug out in a hurry, I know the slides are clean, ready to go.
Once the snow passes, I'll extend them again, and will be sleeping in it again.
And an fyi, last winter was the first winter we had with our new 5er. Ours has the Lippert 6 point leveling system. Last winter we were preparing for our winter Christmas trek to South Carolina and the jacks were so frozen, they all went into "error" and I could never get them out. In the Spring, I took the 5er back to my dealership and they had to physically, with a wrench, retract 2 of the jacks that errored because they were jammed up with ice earlier and screwed up. So, while the snow and ice are falling, my 5er jacks are all retracted. yea, it looks funny with the nose all the way down, but it will just be over night and then leveled again.
In Florida you may not have these kinds of issues, but only you know the weather conditions and environmental threats that may cause unwanted damage if the slides are left out. It takes only a few minutes to clear the path the slides take to retract, and takes only a few seconds to push the button. I don't see why you wouldn't retract them and have peace of mind everything is buttoned up while you are not there.
