Rebuilding a slide out.....sorta
Hi all,
I just purchased a new to me 39ft Pilgrim 5th wheel. I got what I feel is a stellar deal on it because it was in a lot and a vehicle next to it caught on fire. There was some damage to the DS front in the area of the bedroom slide. For the most part some of the seals melted and some heat damaged the underside of the slide. All of the damage is for the most part cosmetic. Point being I already have it and aside from that the unit is almost pristine.....plus the price was absolutely right.
Anyway on to my question......The bedroom slide floor is a 1" thick piece of OSB that appeared to be laminated with something on the bottom (think a type of formica). It probably was originally parklands 'Duro-Slide' or something similar. My original plan was to replace the floor with new wood but after examining it I don't think it will be necessary. There is some minor crazing on the bottom and the veneered finish is gone but it didn't get deep at all. No structural compromise at all. My thought now is as a preventative measure to treat the floor with something like the "Rot Doctor CPES" or something similar then put a plate on the underside of the floor using either 1/16" UHMW plastic or very thin aluminum. I am doing this because the only problem I see so far is when the slide comes out it rides on 2 nylon pads that travel across the underside of the slideout when it is in motion. I thought that by putting this plate or cover over the underside (maybe with screws or with adhesive) it would A) protect the underside where it was burned. B) Strengthen the floor somewhat. and C) Give the pads a surface to ride on. There should be no clearance issues if I use 1/16" thick material.
What do you guys think of my logic??? What material do you recommend??? Any alternative suggestions?? (besides the usual...take it to a dealer)
Thanks,
Steve
I just purchased a new to me 39ft Pilgrim 5th wheel. I got what I feel is a stellar deal on it because it was in a lot and a vehicle next to it caught on fire. There was some damage to the DS front in the area of the bedroom slide. For the most part some of the seals melted and some heat damaged the underside of the slide. All of the damage is for the most part cosmetic. Point being I already have it and aside from that the unit is almost pristine.....plus the price was absolutely right.
Anyway on to my question......The bedroom slide floor is a 1" thick piece of OSB that appeared to be laminated with something on the bottom (think a type of formica). It probably was originally parklands 'Duro-Slide' or something similar. My original plan was to replace the floor with new wood but after examining it I don't think it will be necessary. There is some minor crazing on the bottom and the veneered finish is gone but it didn't get deep at all. No structural compromise at all. My thought now is as a preventative measure to treat the floor with something like the "Rot Doctor CPES" or something similar then put a plate on the underside of the floor using either 1/16" UHMW plastic or very thin aluminum. I am doing this because the only problem I see so far is when the slide comes out it rides on 2 nylon pads that travel across the underside of the slideout when it is in motion. I thought that by putting this plate or cover over the underside (maybe with screws or with adhesive) it would A) protect the underside where it was burned. B) Strengthen the floor somewhat. and C) Give the pads a surface to ride on. There should be no clearance issues if I use 1/16" thick material.
What do you guys think of my logic??? What material do you recommend??? Any alternative suggestions?? (besides the usual...take it to a dealer)
Thanks,
Steve
