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HELP! diy project gone bad

newclassaguy
Explorer
Explorer
Hi, Im new to this forum. I just inherited a 2006 damon challenger motorhome from my dad. I have been working to make it my own. But my biggest project so far has gone bad and I need help.

I replaced the carpet with vinyl plank flooring. It looks great, but when I bring the slideout in/out it is marking the new floor. I called a local rv dealer and he told me that i was stupid for removing the carpet and the only way to fix it was to pull the slide completely out of the coach and add rollers to the underside. He said it would cost around 2 thousand dollars.

I was sick to my stomach. I called a guy who does mobile rv repairs. He laughed and said the other guy was full of... He claimed that the slide was adjustable and he could fix it. He came out and adjusted on the slide. since my coach was not sitting level and the leveling jacks are also broken we couldnt really test it. The next day I moved the rv to a level spot and tested. He did not fix the issue. Now I have a grove in my brand new floor due to the head of a screw holding the trim on the slide out. I had him come back to see what happened and now he says I need to add rollers to the underside of the slide. He claims the rollers should be no more than $100 and it would take him 3 hrs ($300 labor). After already paying him $175 just to fiddle with the adjustments im worried about paying him more and still not having a solution.

I have been considering fixing it myself and I have 2 ideas, but need advise before starting.

Idea 1: Rollers. All the rollers I find are an inch or more in diameter and I worry that will be too much. I did find some rollers that are designed to be countersunk into the wooden floor of the slide. But i would need to raise the slide to get them installed.

Idea 2: glue carpet to underside of slide. my issue he is what type of glue would hold


I am completely open to suggestions and any advice is appreciated. I am supposed to go to the beach in september so im kinda in a rush to get it done.

Thanks.
2006 Damon Challenger on Workhorse
20 REPLIES 20

cavie
Explorer
Explorer
Call a different mobile tech. It is not a diy project.
2011 Keystone Sprinter 323BHS. Retired Master Electrician. Retired Building Inspector.

All Motor Homes are RV's. All RV's are not Motor Homes.

CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Explorer III
JB Weld will hold the carpet. But I'm skeptical that carpet will hold up and the problem will occur again.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland

Bob

newclassaguy
Explorer
Explorer
I took the screw out and ground the head down so it is now recessed, but the slide is still dragging on the vinyl. I have a large piece of carpet but dont know how to fasten it to the slide. Glue comes to mind, but it would have to be pretty strong glue.
2006 Damon Challenger on Workhorse

time2roll
Nomad
Nomad
newclassaguy wrote:
Now I have a grove in my brand new floor due to the head of a screw holding the trim on the slide out.
One screw, one groove?

Hard to believe the entire slide is held up by one screw so maybe just recess the screw or get some plastic material to cover the screw. Or how about mount the old carpet to the bottom of the slide since most seem to think carpet works well to create a sliding buffer.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
โ€œanyone heard of using a 2x6 on top of the slide-out, outside and bringing the slide in?โ€

Iโ€™d be very careful with that plan. You donโ€™t want to break or bend anything.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

newclassaguy
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Thanks fred, traveler, and corky, I might just have to try something like that until i can come up with a more permanent fix.


Burbman, how did you attach the HDPE to the slide?


anyone heard of using a 2x6 on top of the slide-out, outside and bringing the slide in? I'm told it will raise the floor of the slide temporarily. people use this to replace existing rollers.
2006 Damon Challenger on Workhorse

BurbMan
Explorer II
Explorer II
Hi and welcome to the forum! I asked the same question here before I took the carpet out of our trailer and replaced with vinyl plank...as you now also know, RV manufacturers use the carpet as a cushion for the slide in many RVs.

In our Terry travel trailer, we had a 13' slide that didn't run on rollers, the factory used small blocks of High Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) under the side edges of the slide and next to the outside wall. As the slide came in, the edges of the platform would ride on these blocks, so they acted like rollers.

It worked great until we had some water damage in the corner and the block sunk into the flakeboard floor letting it drop and in the process letting the slide dig a nice groove in the floor.

I cut some new blocks from a piece of HDPE I got here at Interstate Plastics and was able to raise the slide up again.

I mention this because you may not be able to get underneath the slide and cut the recesses for rollers without removing the slide. You might be able to slide a pair of HDPE blocks under each corner and let the slide ride on those. Even if you only had 1/4" you could slip something in there.

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
go back ti vinyl. fooling with the slide is a mistake.

Corkey05
Explorer
Explorer
I have used the slickers before and they work quite well. Simple and replaceable, but the real benefit is there's no damage to the floor because they do such a good job protecting it.

From Amazon

The above link is to Amazon, but most RV accessory outlets carry them.
2008 HR Endeavor PDQ - Ford Edge 4 Down
FMCA F374292

fredcrowley
Explorer
Explorer
Like you I removed the OEM carpet/linoleum from our 43' 5th wheel, and installed vinyl plank flooring. Ran the slides in and out carefully the 1st time and saw where some faint marks were visible. To solve the problem, I made my own "slide planks". I used some spare vinyl planks from the flooring job, and put heavy duty rubber shelf liner strips (cut to size) under the spare planks to keep the "slide planks" from slipping when the slides are brought in and out. When I'm ready to bring the slides in, I set these planks down (with shelf liner between the loose plank and the vinyl plank flooring). The faint marks the slides originally made show me where to set the "slide planks" down (there is always a silver lining somewhere). When I move the slides out, I pick up the "slide planks" and store them under the bed. Works like a charm!

CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Explorer III
There is a plastic slideout runner that is used to prevent floor markings. Leave in place or remove/reinsert. Maybe a temp fix for the upcoming trip.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland

Bob

ksg5000
Explorer
Explorer
Don't have a a slide but people do this all the time without having to spend 2K - someone will provide you with a fix. Don't panic.
Kevin

CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Explorer III
Removing plank material for the roller is one option. Or even mounting a little lower in the floor.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland

Bob

valhalla360
Nomad III
Nomad III
This is why they put in carpet...to give it something to slide on. In the days before slideouts, vinyl flooring was the standard but slides would eventually damage the flooring, so they switched to carpet. Your's is likely doubly problematic as the planks are much thicker than vinyl.

It's possible that fiddling and rollers might help but hard to say without knowing the thickness of the planks and how much headroom there is at the top of the slide. In the end, putting carpet back in might be an option.
Tammy & Mike
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