Forum Discussion

Jetstreamer's avatar
Jetstreamer
Explorer
Oct 09, 2014

Material on the bottom of slide out starting to fray

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.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Oct 10, 2014
    I've been watching this thread with interest because the material on the bottom of our long slide on our Fuzion is doing the same thing. I may have to give this a shot when I have it home the next time.

    Thanks for the info.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Oct 10, 2014
    Paul Clancy wrote:
    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.


    Thanks!
  • Paul_Clancy's avatar
    Paul_Clancy
    Explorer
    Oct 10, 2014
    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.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Oct 10, 2014
    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?
  • Charlie_D_'s avatar
    Charlie_D_
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2014
    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.
  • Generator_Jim's avatar
    Generator_Jim
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2014
    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
  • Paul_Clancy's avatar
    Paul_Clancy
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2014
    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.

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