To slide (out) or not to slide out??

Pro slide!

dadmomh wrote:
You didn't mention the size you're thinking about or the number of people using the TT on a regular basis. Regardless, slide! Issues are few and far between. You will find from time to time that someone has had a problem, but that's likely 1 or 2%. When we bought our HTT, DH was adamant NO SLIDE. Things change and we did buy one with a slide. Our camping buddies always wanted to come to eat in our camper if the weather was nasty or if we were getting a serious game of dominoes started...they said ours was just so much more comfortable. When we moved from our HTT to the TT, a slide was not even up for discussion....YES! You do have a manual override IF the occasion arises when you have a problem, but those times just rarely happen. Thinking down the road, if and when the time comes that you want to make a change, a slide is a huge selling feature.

That is the reason, it varies in Australia,How many people use the RV? If it is two and it already is like a slightly smallish Apartment, they will not go for slides., maybe a Annexe On the other hand others like more space so they go for slides

You didn't mention the size you're thinking about or the number of people using the TT on a regular basis. Regardless, slide! Issues are few and far between. You will find from time to time that someone has had a problem, but that's likely 1 or 2%. When we bought our HTT, DH was adamant NO SLIDE. Things change and we did buy one with a slide. Our camping buddies always wanted to come to eat in our camper if the weather was nasty or if we were getting a serious game of dominoes started...they said ours was just so much more comfortable. When we moved from our HTT to the TT, a slide was not even up for discussion....YES! You do have a manual override IF the occasion arises when you have a problem, but those times just rarely happen. Thinking down the road, if and when the time comes that you want to make a change, a slide is a huge selling feature.

Don't overlook the fact that a single slide can add 700-800 lbs to the weight of a TT...that weight can add up quickly and you will be in range for a 2500 or 3500 Silverado. Also, take a look at some slide models at an RV show or your dealer and you will really see how much a difference they make.

Slide outs are a must have for me. At this point most mechanical and operational issues have been resolved. That does not mean there are never slide out mechanical issues,but for the most part slide out work without issue.
RV tires seem tires have a higher failure rate than slideouts...go figure.
Yes you need to make sure there is nothing in the path when using slide out.
Yes slide outs add weight to the RV.Yes you need to consider the effect of the slideout on the interior when they are in the retracted position
Nevertheless slideouts add space without enlarging the towing footprint of the trailer.

pro slide out here

I should have mentioned making sure you can access everything with the slide in for pit stops and just in case you are somewhere you can't put the slide out. My Jayco Eagle is completely usable slide in, or slide out.

Our current TT does not have a slide, and when we were shopping we deliberately looked at models that didn't. This was because we envisioned using our rig for extended cross-country trips and did not want to deal with any potential mechanical or weight issues. While that may seem inconsequential to some it was important to us at the time. Also, our current rig is a "wide body" model, at 101" across. We really have never felt claustrophobic in our trailer, even when cooped up inside during bad weather. That said,

Terryallan wrote:

And you have to make sure you can use the camper with the slide in as well. On some, you can't get to the bathroom, or fridge with the slide in. A deal breaker for me

Our next TT (and we're about 2+ years away from that) will probably have a slide. By then it will be just the two of us, so it's not a space issue, it's the nature of the floor plans we like. Our criteria include Terryallan's observation. We were at an RV show recently and I was amazed at the number of units that would fail on these two points.

We are also one of those who definitely would not have an rv that did not have a slide. Our fifth wheel had three and our coach has two. Never had a problem with any of the slides. The extra room is well worth the money. But, as mentioned above we always want access to the bathroom and kitchen/dining room without the need to put the slides out. We also want to be able to get to the bedroom to sleep if we can't put the slides out, for example during a bad wind storm.

My first camper didnt have a slide , we enjoyed it , My next camper has a slide , we love it .