Underneath my living room slide there is what looks like a black fiberglass woven type of material. I noticed the other day upon some routine inspection that on one end of the slide that woven type material is starting to fray ever so slightly from the contact it has with that plastic ramp that the slide rides on. It's only fraying about the first four inches from the back of the slide and the rest of the length looks perfect. I'm looking for some advice on maybe something is out of adjustment or how much I should worry about a future repair job.

It's Darco fabric. Mine was repaired by a dealer tech using uhmw poly strips (same as what the bar is made of) sealed to the slide bottom with Sikaflex and countersunk screws. Now the slide slides on Uhmw poly against Uhmw poly. It is a known issue across many brands that use the Darco and plastic bar design.

JeffGet it repaired NOW. Water got into the floor of my slides on my 05 Fleetwood and the dealer estimated $4 to 6,000 to repair each of the 4 slides. It seems that the plywood has to be in one piece for the floor and the only place to get it is at a specialty RV parts place somewhere in northern Indiana. I ended up trading it in for a big loss.JimL

Yep-Darco wrap and it is a known problem on Primetime RV's and others that are Forest River products. There is a year old post about the issue on the Prime Time forum and Forest River refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem.Be very careful with the edges. They are the first to catch water and the ends will swell.

Paul Clancy wrote:It's Darco fabric. Mine was repaired by a dealer tech using uhmw poly strips (same as what the bar is made of) sealed to the slide bottom with Sikaflex and countersunk screws. Now the slide slides on Uhmw poly against Uhmw poly. It is a known issue across many brands that use the Darco and plastic bar design.Where can one get the poly strips?

rhagfo wrote:Paul Clancy wrote:It's Darco fabric. Mine was repaired by a dealer tech using uhmw poly strips (same as what the bar is made of) sealed to the slide bottom with Sikaflex and countersunk screws. Now the slide slides on Uhmw poly against Uhmw poly. It is a known issue across many brands that use the Darco and plastic bar design.Where can one get the poly strips?Order a sheet on line plastics international.com or professional plastics.com and then cut into strips. I believe a table saw was what the tech used. 1/8 thick sheet.

Material on the bottom of slide out starting to fray

whiskyrunner
Explorer
Oct 12, 2014
home depot sells 15/32 x 4 x 10 ft plywood,, special order
shadows4
Explorer III
Oct 12, 2014
Generator Jim wrote:
I guess I didn't explain it correctly. The plywood has to be in one piece to prevent buckling in the center of the floor. Three of my slides were more than 10 feet long.

JimL

With a router, some clamps and wood glue you can make the plywood any size you want. Where there is a will there is a way. Good luck, John
Generator_Jim
Explorer
Oct 12, 2014
I guess I didn't explain it correctly. The plywood has to be in one piece to prevent buckling in the center of the floor. Three of my slides were more than 10 feet long.

JimL
shadows4
Explorer III
Oct 12, 2014
Generator Jim wrote:
shadows4
If you know of another source please publish it on the forum. My two dealer sources only came up with the one source somewhere in north central Indiana.

JimL

Home Depot,Lowes your local lumber yard. Its just plywood.
Generator_Jim
Explorer
Oct 12, 2014
shadows4
If you know of another source please publish it on the forum. My two dealer sources only came up with the one source somewhere in north central Indiana.

JimL
Charlie_D_
Explorer
Oct 11, 2014
sidney wrote:
Charlie D. wrote:
sidney wrote:
Our Darco was beginning to fray just a little bit on one side of our main slide. Our dealer used 4 inch wide sticky back Darco on the ends of each slide too beef it up. It seems to be working... But if it starts to wear I'm thinking of trying this stuff.

http://www.eplastics.com/Slick_Strips

I am wishing you luck but reports from the Forest River forum says that it is a temporary fix and will bunch up and tear after a while.

Are you referring to the Darco tape or the plastic strips from elplastics?

Darco tape. Some posters have tried the plastic strip and have had some success although they have not been using them for a very long time yet. Strips are not thick enough for countersunk screws and some have tried staples. Seems the best attachment may be double sided tape.
sidney
Explorer
Oct 11, 2014
Charlie D. wrote:
sidney wrote:
Our Darco was beginning to fray just a little bit on one side of our main slide. Our dealer used 4 inch wide sticky back Darco on the ends of each slide too beef it up. It seems to be working... But if it starts to wear I'm thinking of trying this stuff.

http://www.eplastics.com/Slick_Strips

I am wishing you luck but reports from the Forest River forum says that it is a temporary fix and will bunch up and tear after a while.

Are you referring to the Darco tape or the plastic strips from elplastics?
shadows4
Explorer III
Oct 11, 2014
Generator Jim wrote:
Jeff
Get it repaired NOW. Water got into the floor of my slides on my 05 Fleetwood and the dealer estimated $4 to 6,000 to repair each of the 4 slides. It seems that the plywood has to be in one piece for the floor and the only place to get it is at a specialty RV parts place somewhere in northern Indiana. I ended up trading it in for a big loss.

JimL

Are you saying the only place to get the plywood is an RV specialty parts store? If so, sorry but I think that's a bunch of hogwash.
Charlie_D_
Explorer
Oct 10, 2014
sidney wrote:
Our Darco was beginning to fray just a little bit on one side of our main slide. Our dealer used 4 inch wide sticky back Darco on the ends of each slide too beef it up. It seems to be working... But if it starts to wear I'm thinking of trying this stuff.

http://www.eplastics.com/Slick_Strips

I am wishing you luck but reports from the Forest River forum says that it is a temporary fix and will bunch up and tear after a while.
sidney
Explorer
Oct 10, 2014
Our Darco was beginning to fray just a little bit on one side of our main slide. Our dealer used 4 inch wide sticky back Darco on the ends of each slide too beef it up. It seems to be working... But if it starts to wear I'm thinking of trying this stuff.

http://www.eplastics.com/Slick_Strips

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