Are slideout lock bars important?

[neoflyer]

I have a 2005 Holiday Rambler Ambassador. Each of the front slideouts has an adjustable bar to be placed between the wall and one corner of the slideout trim so the slide won't move to the out position while underway. Is the bar really necessary? My fear is forgetting to remove it and hitting the slide extension switch then hearing a loud crack as the upper corner of the slide is destroyed.

[Bumpyroad]

dougrainer wrote:

bsinmich wrote:
My MH has a little women that reminds me to check slide locks and chairs for clearance with a 5 sec. delay. I would like to meet her some time.

Yes, but the problem is--like a nagging woman, Newmar owners tune her out and do not release the manual locks and then have bent lock arms and a slide out of alignment. Doug

the living room slide on my Chieftain had a pair of hooks that locked into fittings on the floor. when I last put that slideout out before trading I noticed that the rear one wasn't fastened, then I noticed that the bracket was bent all to heck, fortunately the floor fitting didn't rip out, and I was able to put the bracket in a vise and pound it back to serviceable condition. Never asked who had been playing around with the slide however. the crazy thing was that it looked like it had been forced backwards, rather than how it should have been bent if it had been extended when hooked?
bumpy

[becker]

Haven't ever had an occasion to need them. I probably should have a couple in the coach just in case.

Where do you get them?

Thanks

[wallynm]

The only time I experienced slide creep was when I was test driving a HR Endeavor and the Sales folks with me were embarrassed as H$LL.

We always use our locks and in fact on our DSDP that actually pull the top of the slide against the gasket.

A few years ago on a narrow two lane road a rig met a church bus and the slide was extended enough that it caught the old school bus just a window height. Yes there were a few fatalities.

[neoflyer]

The m/h has so many safety switches (slides won't work with key on, TV turns off with ignition key on, etc.) I wonder why they didn't put switches in the hole in the wall that the lock bars go in to open the circuit?

I'm going to put a piece of tape on each slide operating switch to remind me of the locks. I always believed, though that it's better to design against problems than to have to use check lists to avoid them.

Thanks, everyone for your input.

[bsinmich]

dougrainer wrote:

bsinmich wrote:
My MH has a little women that reminds me to check slide locks and chairs for clearance with a 5 sec. delay. I would like to meet her some time.

Yes, but the problem is--like a nagging woman, Newmar owners tune her out and do not release the manual locks and then have bent lock arms and a slide out of alignment. Doug

You only do that once and from then on you remember what it cost to fix a stupid mistake.

[Dog_Folks]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
The MFG. supplied them

That is reason enough to use them.


Use them.

x2
bumpy

X3 They spent the money to make them, and then supply them to you. Use them.

[Tom_Barb]

bsinmich wrote:
My MH has a little women that reminds me to check slide locks and chairs for clearance with a 5 sec. delay. I would like to meet her some time.

I love her, she's always right. :), and has saved my driver's seat many times.

[Rwake901]

Mine came with one for the larger slide. I've never used it or had any problems. Even the dealer said when we bought it new, here's your slide lock but no body use's them. I probably will if I ever have a problem...

[msmith1199]

Mine did not come with any and I've never used them. The good news for you though, is if you do forget, then there is a shear pin in the slide gear and hopefully it will give way before your slide is damaged.

[J-Rooster]

I haven't used mine in over 10 years!

[PFGuil49]

I have a 2005 Holiday Rambler Endeavor with electrically driven slide motors. My manual states to use the slide locks if I have a problem with the electric motors, just like “RonaldNC manual”. I haven't used my slide locks or experienced any issues with slides creeping out in my 9 years and 47k miles of travel.

Fitz

[ArchHoagland]

dougrainer wrote:
If supplied by the OEM, then they are required to be used.
1. Some are used to help keep the room from vibrating in transit(making squeaking noises)
2. Some are used to keep the room from slightly extending in transit
3. Some are used to pull the TOP of the slide in tight for a weather tight seal(Newmar in particular), but other brands as well. Doug

Good point on number 3.

I hadn't thought about leaks.

[BurbMan]

The slide is only controlled by the gear or hydraulics at the bottom. When closed the mechanism is the only thing holding it there and then only by the slide floor. Bumpy roads, etc put a lot of stress the whole assembly, the locking poles are there to keep the top of the slide in tight so it doesn't want to lean out and stress the mechanism at the bottom.

As was noted so you can put red tape on the poles like aircraft safety flags, or put a note by the slide switch. If you look on an aircraft they have a bright orange ribbon that gets snapped diagonally across the window in the door. They do this when the emergency slide is engaged, so somebody on ramp service won't open the door from the outside any deploy the inflatable slide.

[dieharder]

I bought my MH used and it did not come with one. Experienced some slide creep. Once going around a right turn (my only slide is on left side), the darn thing came out almost 2 inches. Have one now!