Full Width Slides?

[travelrider73]

Does anyone think there's reason to be concerned about reduced structural integrity as these slides keep getting longer and longer? We were looking at the Carriage and Lifestyle 36FWS model. The floorplan is nice. I just wonder about the longevity of these units with a slide going almost all the way down one side of the coach.

I can envision slide motor issues, alignment issues, and structural integrity issues of both the slide and coach.

Does Lifestyle, Carriage, and other manufacturers who are offering these super long slides know what they are doing? Will they last the long haul?

Thoughts?

[NHIrish]

Carriage has had them since 2007 in the Carrilite line.

[Peg_Leg]

You'll need to research how well there built. My 5er has opposed 14'x3' slide that I can walk on when there out. I have done this and they are solid but I don't make a practice of it.

[travelrider73]

Yeah, I'm hearing "We've had it since 2009/2010 and haven't had problems." Unfortunately, that's not a very long track record. I see old Tetons out there and other known quality manufacturers from the early 90s with no problems with shorter slides, but nothing that old even exists with these 30+ foot slides. I'm wondering what those super long slide units are going to be like when they are 15 years old. I'd probably trust Newmar since they are doing it in their really expensive Class A motorhomes. I wonder if Carriage/Lifestyle and some of the other "upper mid priced" brands are doing it well enough. Only time will tell, I suppose.

[Aridon]

We have a giant full wall slide on our MH (moving to a 5th once it is built) and never had any issues. Then again, Nemwar puts a lot of quality in their products so I wouldn't expect issues. Some of the lesser quality builders (not saying the unit you mentioned falls into that) I might not trust as much with such a large slide.

[NHIrish]

travelrider73 wrote:
Does anyone think there's reason to be concerned about reduced structural integrity as these slides keep getting longer and longer? We were looking at the Carriage and Lifestyle 36FWS model. The floorplan is nice. I just wonder about the longevity of these units with a slide going almost all the way down one side of the coach.

I can envision slide motor issues, alignment issues, and structural integrity issues of both the slide and coach.

Does Lifestyle, Carriage, and other manufacturers who are offering these super long slides know what they are doing? Will they last the long haul?

Thoughts?

Have had a 32FWS Carriage Cameo since 2010. No problems...lots of steel in there. Also, never a leak in the slideouts in either Carriage we have owned. The poster about leaks isn't an owner.

On edit...we spend about 6 months out of the year traveling and have about 30,000 miles on this Carriage...so it gets lots of use.

[MM49]

I only wish my TT was built as well as the slide, Winnebago unit
MM49

[Tin_Pusher]

My opinion (only): Unless the mfgrs are putting in more structure than I think they are, I'd be worried about leaks. If the relation between the side wall and the slide are not so-so, it eventually ain't gonna seal. Unless they have radically improved the sealing methods over what I see on the Wilderness.

FWIW 🙂

[Atom_Ant]

the bear II wrote:
Our 1994 5th wheel has what the manufacturer called a super slide. It is 14 feet long and 4 feet deep. It holds our sofa sleeper a desk/dining table combo plus 4 chairs. We have had as many as 8 people sitting in the slide many times through out the years.

We average one long weekend trip per month and at least one- two week to 3 month long trip every year.

20 years and there has not been a problem with the slide out or the structure surrounding it.

Super in 1994 maybe, standard in about 2000. These guys are talking the entire 35 ft of streetside wall is a single slide on the Lifestyle.

We looked at them, and they were pretty cool. It was weird to see the lower and upper all connected together in a single slide.

[the_bear_II]

Our 1994 5th wheel has what the manufacturer called a super slide. It is 14 feet long and 4 feet deep. It holds our sofa sleeper a desk/dining table combo plus 4 chairs. We have had as many as 8 people sitting in the slide many times through out the years.

We average one long weekend trip per month and at least one- two week to 3 month long trip every year.

20 years and there has not been a problem with the slide out or the structure surrounding it.

[pcm1959]

Carriage introduced and made the full wall slide since the 2009 model year and made it through their demise. Lifestyle has continued its production. It is one of their most popular models and according to owners on the Carriage/Lifestyle forum, there does not seem to be any issues.
I ordered one back in November and should receive it in a few weeks. I have never heard of anyone having any problems with sagging. The Lifestyle frame is very strong and in speaking to the Lifestyle rep while at the Tamps RV Show, he was explaining how the slide out ceiling and frame is made and strengthened.
There are many motor homes with full wall slides so I would imagine they have figured it out. Good luck. Phillip

[RVnRobin]

My concern would be, will the support beam in the opening of the rig begin to sag over time. On some new rigs, I've seem the roof of slide-outs look like they are beginning to belly down in the middle when I "sight" along the top from the inside. In my mind, I think more shorter slides would be more structurally sound. I've never seen a cutaway view of the construction around the opening or the top of the slide. I would hope the higher quality rigs would use some structural steel in there.

[WoodGlue]

It really depends of the mechanism. Is the slide hydraulic, cable or gear driven? It also depends on maintenance issues. How long is the warranty on the trailer?

WoodGlue