Slides & Locks

IF the RV does/did not come with slide locks they are not needed. Electric slides, if NO slide lock, they have a mechanical lock on the end of the slide motor(electric brake system). IF you have Hydraulic, then the MOST a room will move if you have a leak or major leak will be about 2 to 4 inches OUT and then will stop. Having aftermarket slide locks on a Hydraulic slide may cause those locks to be shoved THRU or bow out the sidewall if the Hydraulic leaks. There is a LOT of force on a Hydraulic room even when the pump is not running. The MOST a electric room will move(electric brake released or failed) is about the same, 2 to 4 inches. The only way it would extend further is if the motor activated. A LOT of RV's have electric relays that are disengaged when the Ignition key is on, which means it locks out power to the slide room. But, some do NOT and require the Ignition ON or the chassis engine ON to operate. Doug

I have a motor home with 2 slides and never, ever move it without the slide locks locked in place! It is part of my "pre-flight" check.

They make after market locks and if I were you I would get some and use them. Several years ago in NM an RV slide extended on a mountain road curve and it sliced at window level a bus load of kids going to church camp. We always lock and load.

Roman Duck wrote:
We just purchased a 2000 Damon Escaper. It comes with 1 slide on drivers side. My question is; Is it nessacary to use travel locks to secure the slide while traveling?. The MH dosen't have any locks stored or in place. Is this an item that we should purchase and use?; if so how many ;locks should be used? 1 or 2 . Thanks for the anticapated response's
PS. the slide is powered by electric and not hydralic

My 2000 Escaper had one lock that went right above the driver. I used it all the time, but didn't see the reason for it because the rear of the slide had no way to lock it.

Dave

I haven't used a lock on my Winnebago since it was new 2004! I owned a Fleetwood bought it new in 1999 and the DW kept extending the slides with the locks in place and they would pull out of the wall! I got tired of putting them back in! On my 2004 Adventurer the slide actually lifts up before it extends so I can't see any point in using the locks.

Our 20 ft. slide has 2 locks which we always use. We put a little sign beside the button that deploys the slide that says "Slide Locks Off?" Just a reminder to check before pushing that button - so far it has worked!

The main purpose of slide locks is to hold the slide tight against the inner seal so that when traveling/flexing on rough roads no water will get in during a downpour.

We have had rigs that came with locks and rigs that didn't. When we had them we used them. If not, we didn't.

If you do use them, just make sure you remember to remove them before deploying the slide....CRUNCH!