Question about slides

[fulltime5er]

We have yet to buy our fiver, and have never had an RV with slides. Is there a problem with wind,water, or "critters" coming in through the slide openings. We will soon be selling the house and fulltiming in the one we choose. I am just not informed about slides, since it has been a few years since we owned trailers, and slides were not around then. Any "tips" about them are appreciated.

[mr__ed]

stickdog wrote:
Three slides here kitchen, living room and bedroom. No problem with wind or water infiltration. Would go with more if the right floorplan had them.

I have a similar setup as above. No concerns about water intrusion or wind. Some folks retract theirs during windy conditions but I leave mine out. I've been in winds nearing or meeting hurricane force (most recently earlier this week in Albuquerque) without any problems whatsoever.

[mr__ed]

aruba5er wrote:
No water but I think that is where the mice get in??? Checked EVERY where else. That being said, I would not buy a unit without slides and I wish it had at least one more in the bedroom.

I believe you're correct about mice getting in through the slide mechanism. A few years ago when encamped in the Appalachians in TN I was getting overrun with mice. While inspecting the fiver for any areas where mice could enter I noticed the holes where the hydraulic rams go into the belly. There was plenty of room for a mouse to walk along the rams and enter the RV through those holes.

Now when I'm in suspected mouse country I stuff rags into these openings. It's helped quite a bit. (of course I have to remember to remove the rags before retracting the slides).

[silvercorvette]

restlesswind wrote:
As has been said,life in a 5th wheel with no slides will be "tight"
Make sure that you can use the one you get,with the slides in as ReneeG
pointed out.At least be able to get to the fridge and bathroom with the slides in.It makes "potty stops" a whole lot easier.We sometimes open the dining area slide at rest stops,make a sandwich and set inside on lunch breaks.
We have 4 slides on our trailer,we would not be without at least 3.
Enjoy your new adventure!

I can sleep in the bed use the bathroom and open the fridge with the slides in. and thats all I need to do for a nap at a rest stop. When I am hooked up at a C/G I open all the slides even though most of the time 2 open slides will give me all the room I need.

[restlesswind]

As has been said,life in a 5th wheel with no slides will be "tight"
Make sure that you can use the one you get,with the slides in as ReneeG
pointed out.At least be able to get to the fridge and bathroom with the slides in.It makes "potty stops" a whole lot easier.We sometimes open the dining area slide at rest stops,make a sandwich and set inside on lunch breaks.
We have 4 slides on our trailer,we would not be without at least 3.
Enjoy your new adventure!

[silvercorvette]

I upgraded from 1 to 4 slides and although 2 would be enough for most of my needs it is nice to be able to open all 4 when I need to extra room for people that visit me. If the slides are fully in or out they seal up tight but sometime if I am stopped at a rest stop and don't want to get a big rig tick off by taking up too much room I only open the slide 1/4 to 1/2 way. If the slide is not fully extended there will be a gap big enough for a critter to get in.

[stickdog]

Three slides here kitchen, living room and bedroom. No problem with wind or water infiltration. Would go with more if the right floorplan had them.

[ReneeG]

This is our first fifth wheel and three slides. The last RV (TT) we had, had one slide in the living area. Having three is super nice. We bought it new in August of 2010 and haven't had problems yet. They're tight either in or out and the slide toppers are more secure and firm than our last one. In winds, they are pretty snug but as one person here said, if we are concerned, we bring our slides in. For that reason, we tested many units with the slides in for livability in that situation. When we travel we sometimes stay at truck stops and if we wanted to know if we could live with it overnight with the slides in. We can. We can access the entire kitchen and table, the fridge, one side of the pantry so that's where I keep the coffee pot and coffee and bulk of dry and canned foods. We can get to the bathroom and bed. Last unit we had, we couldn't get to the fridge with the slide in. We had to pack a cooler en route. We adjusted, but it makes a difference now.

[Krease]

Mine has 5 slides. Talk about really opening up! I couldn't imagine not having slides in all honesty.

[Paul_Clancy]

We are up to 3 and would never go back to fewer. Slides used to mean extereme weight but no longer true. Our triple slide has a dry weight under 9000lbs and pin under 1300. Look at slide toppers to keep the roof clean and dry and cool.

[fulltime5er]

Thanks for all the quick responses. We are still in the process of narrowing down our choices, but the one at the top right now is a Landmark Key Largo w/ 3 slides.
I wanted input from people who actually use fivers w/ slides, and not rely on the manufacture's statements. We will be wintering in S Missouri for awhile, and it sometimes gets to 15, but not usually for more than a week at a time. The next week could be 40.

[downtheroad]

Simple answer...if you are going to, as you say, live in it full time, get slides...the more the better.

Go shop trailers and walk through ones without and ones with slides and then picture yourself living full time day to day in each.

[rhagfo]

We had a non slide 28' 1986 King of the Road. It was a nice unit, but was very tight for space.

We moved up to a two slide 33' Keystone Copper Canyon with a super slide in the living room and a slide in the bedroom. the difference in useable space is unbelievable!

We did our PDI in the rain and the lot was slightly sloped and the slide were on the up hill side. When we pulled them in a lot of water flowed down the sides and out the drain just as it should.

[aruba5er]

No water but I think that is where the mice get in??? Checked EVERY where else. That being said, I would not buy a unit without slides and I wish it had at least one more in the bedroom.

[jasult]

My 1995 has a large slide and zero problems. I will always have a slide on any future fiver as well