Lube for battery slide

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

I took some time today for cleaning the slide for the battery rack/tray. It was pretty gummed up with old oil/grease and dirt. A generous application of WD-40 and rolling in and out seemed to loosen/clean things a lot. It is working much easier now, but I figure it needs some real lube.

What is the best thing to use to lube the slide mechanism? I have some spray white lithium grease, some NAPA “spray lube for open gears,” and an assortment of oils and greases. Since the slide is not really enclosed and is subject to dust and road dirt, I figure it is best to use something that won’t attract and retain dirt.

Suggestions on what lube is best?

Thanks!

Wayne

[FormerBoater]

Boeshield T-9.....great for the battery terminal connections as well.

Use it on my generator slide which appears to be the same design as the pictures.

Also on my living room slide-out.

Available at any marine store and online..designed by Boeing to lubricate and prevent corrosion.

[DSDP_Don]

I've started using Tri Flow for everything. It's a good bicycle and motorcycle chain lube. I was having some keys made at a lock store today and noticed that they are using Tri Flow for door locks.

[Blaster_Man]

I use a dry lube. WD 40 attracts crud, I would not use it as a lube.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

Yes, I was watching the cables as I moved the slide. As well as being careful, I was thinking in terms of planning how I may want to add cables for a solar system in the future.

The engineers/designers at Safari seemed to do a pretty good job of arranging cables so that where would be adequate slack and little chance of interference. Still, it pays to be watchful.

Wayne

[wolfe10]

As with any battery slide, make sure that you check the battery cables as/after returning the slide to its stored position to make sure none of them are pinched against coach structure.

In order to allow a slide, the battery cables have to be longer than needed to just make the connections. Easy to pinch these longer cables if not careful. Applies to all coaches with battery slides.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

I did not realize that there were so many choices of dry lubes now on the market. Probably most of them would work.

The battery slide on my Safari is like the one in Mr. Wizard’s photos, except it has a welded steel angle-iron rack the batteries sit in rather than the plywood platform he uses for the generator. Mine also latches closed by means of a linch pin.

The motorcycle chain lube also seems like a good prospect. I may even have some left over from long ago.

Wayne

[10forty2]

WD-40 Dry Lube. New product. Works great!

[MrWizard]

MY Safari has 'drawer type' telescoping slide with ball bearings

very similar to slides i bought when i made my generator tray

and the dry M/C chain lube is a good idea

[FIRE_UP]

You guys's rigs must be a bit different in terms of how the battery tray operates than our Itasca/Winnebago drawers. Ours is riding on two 1 1/4" sealed roller bearings on each side. There's really nothing to lube. So, what you're saying is, yours don't "slide" they actually "glide" on roller bearings? Just trying to understand how they work.
Scott

[Fleet_Man]

I've found motorcycle chain lube quite satisfactory in areas that get a lot of dirt and grit. The chain drive on my DR Field and Brush mower is one example.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

MrWizard wrote:
The Safaris have all steel slides with ball bearings
I use things like PB Blaster and JB_80

I'm sure you are right about the ball bearings.

I figure PB Blaster is pretty much the equivalent of WD-40. I'm not sure either will give long-lasting lubrication/rust prevention.

JB-80 looks like something to look into further.

Wayne

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

What I had in mind was something functionally equivalent to the dry lube I use on my bicycle chain. Something that won’t gum up again with dirt. As well as dry bike chain lube, I already have silicone spray on-hand.

The batteries run on a two-stage metal slide with some sort of bearings. Without yet removing the batteries and looking more closely, I would guess they have some sort of ball bearings.

The CRC Power Lube looks interesting! Teflon, eh?

Wayne

[MrWizard]

The Safaris have all steel slides with ball bearings
I use things like PB Blaster and JB_80

[FIRE_UP]

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:
I took some time today for cleaning the slide for the battery rack/tray. It was pretty gummed up with old oil/grease and dirt. A generous application of WD-40 and rolling in and out seemed to loosen/clean things a lot. It is working much easier now, but I figure it needs some real lube.

What is the best thing to use to lube the slide mechanism? I have some spray white lithium grease, some NAPA “spray lube for open gears,” and an assortment of oils and greases. Since the slide is not really enclosed and is subject to dust and road dirt, I figure it is best to use something that won’t attract and retain dirt.

Suggestions on what lube is best?

Thanks!

Wayne

Wayne,
Just wondering, what kind of material is in contact when the slides are sliding? Is is metal on metal? Or, some form of plastic that's adhered to one part of the slide mechanism? Wood? The reason I ask is, anytime you have an open-air situation like yours, a "grease" or, oil or anything like that, will immediately attract dirt and debris and, not only will those contaminates gum things up fairly rapidly but, what's called the "Vehicle" (the portion of the grease or oil, that makes it "FLOW" when it's in liquid state) will dissipate not long after it's applied and you'll be left with a gunky mess.


There are numerous "dry lubes" out on the market that are designed just for situations like yours. Obviously, the very first thing that needs to be done is, to remove the batteries, and do what's needed to remove the tray so that you can thoroughly clean both sliding surfaces efficiently. Once that's done, then, based on what you have for sliding surfaces, I'd look at what's recommended for those.

Graphite is a well known dry lubricant that will not attract dirt/debris and other contaminates and, is really good and slippery stuff. There are Silicone based sprays that dry out on purpose and leave a slippery surface.

Now, one more possible suggestion. 3M makes multiple versions of "Anti-friction" tape. We used it in several applications in the Fire department for years. A prime spot was "ladder tunnels" on some of our larger fire trucks. Once that anti-friction tape was applied, even to just one side, we had to make sure we had mechanisms in place that would keep them (the ladders) from escaping on their own, during up hill driving.

There are some that are really thin but, still very effective and there are some, that are considerably thicker and have "Kevlar" embedded in them to make the last when sharp edges have a possibility of coming in contact with the tape. But, those anti-friction tapes need no lube, dry or otherwise, what so ever, FOR EVER! Hope some of this info helps. Good luck.
Scott