Slide outs

[Komfort_23TS]

Has anyone had problems with slide outs on class Cs? Thank you

[ron_dittmer]

PSW wrote:
Hey, Ron! See what you are missing 🙂

Hey there PSW. Boy....I am full of regret. 🙂

[ron_dittmer]

cgmartine wrote:
Why do you ask? With a motorhome made up of numerous pieces of equipment, each with its own life span, and each with the possibility of failure, I would not worry about a particular unit and its potential for failure.

You make a very good point.

There are so many opportunities for trouble "in General" with a motor home. What's one or two more? Whatever trouble happens, it seems the owners are never stranded, and I have never heard of a slide out ejecting while in a sharp turn. 🙂

[cgmartine]

Why do you ask? With a motorhome made up of numerous pieces of equipment, each with its own life span, and each with the possibility of failure, I would not worry about a particular unit and its potential for failure.

[Racine96]

I am sure some had problems but others have not. It's rving.

[PAThwacker]

On our sales lot we have a Phoenix cruiser 2910T triple slideout. 2011 with 11,000 miles. Massive floor plan.

[PSW]

Like everything else on a motorhome, maintenance is essential. I inspect my slide every spring, lubricate the drives and use silicon spray to rejuvenate the seals. The reason we sold a great Class B and moved to a C was to have more room and a slide certainly accomplishes that goal. We may spend a week or two at a time in one location and the difference in comfort in a small C with a slide is marvelous for our uses. Others prefer no slide for the weight and some additional (sometimes) storage in some models. Ron (in the post immediately above) loves no slide in his Phoenix Cruiser which is the same model we have with the slide. To each his own for his own specific purposes.

Also, extended slides are great for bumping your head when retrieving gear or checking gensets, LP bottles, etc. which happen to be located underneath them. You learn on that one.....the hard way. Hey, Ron! See what you are missing 🙂

[ron_dittmer]

When slide outs first came out, they had their issues. But slide outs for the last 10-15 years are decent. It does not mean that all slide outs are created equal. There are good reliable ones, and the "not so much" kind, especially entry level rigs with a lot of years behind them. If buying a 10-15 year old motor home, you will want to scrutinize the slide out. If buying a new rig and plan to keep it 10-15 years, the odds are, you will do fine with a slide out.

10 years ago we had special ordered our motor home, specifically NOT to have a slide out. We plan to keep our rig until we can't drive any longer which could be a 35 year period of ownership. So long term reliability is one of a few primary reasons for our decision. We also don't value the extra floor space like other people do. Instead we lean heavily toward these no-slide benefits.

- 400 to 600 pounds lighter (per slide out)
- $4000 cheaper (per slide out)
- a more structurally sound house
- no hot/cold air and water infiltration potential
- no bugs, dirt, and water coming in for the ride
- an open interior all the time
- no worries about failure-to-close "properly" which I heard can happen
- no noises or other such rattles when driving
- no interference with the adjustment of the driver seat
- we opted for a more spacious booth dinette instead of a couch shoe-horned into the slide out
- The no slide dinette provided us with much more storage from the bench seats, and also from the taller, deeper, & longer overhead cabinets

CLICK HERE to see the interior of our no-slide rig which measures 23'-8" end-to-end. Over height is under 10 feet including the a/c unit. We have a lot of motor home in a little space, and we like it. Our rig fits in our garage which is the biggest of all factors.

[Camping_Woody]

I did not have any slides on my first 2 Class C MH's. The second one was special order since that was when they went "full slide out" across product lines.

Our current one has 2 slides. I think they are a lot better than they used to be and add so much comfort to RV'ing. I wouldn't get one without slides anymore. (Not that it would be easy to get one that way anyway)

YMMV

[derh20]

We have a 29' Monaco B+ with 3 slides using cables. Once in South Carolina I noticed one of the cables was frayed. I was concerned that it might break when we pulled it in, but we had no choice and the slide did retract. Called Monaco and had a cable overnighted to a RV shop in Florida where we were headed. I ordered 2 so I could have a backup incase this happened again. It hasn't, yet.

[Komfort_23TS]

Thank you everyone keep them coming!

[klutchdust]

2009 Itasca Cambria,rear slide for bedroom and front slide for dinette. bedroom slide required maintenance of the rails because it was moving slow. The lube previous owner used caused a gunky buildup and after some maintenance it works fine.A weld broke on the front slide and allowed it to move out a few inches traveling down the road. I use a slide lock so that wasn't a problem.
If you are trying to avoid slides for fear that something may happen you should also consider all the other components of these coaches that have failed for their owners. Read the tech section of this website and then decide if RV'ing is for you. I am rigorous and anal to the point when it comes to maintenance of all my vehicles and yet after each trip there are items that need attention.
Slides add so much comfort I wouldn't buy a rig without one.

[paddykernahan]

I was looking for a class B,B+,C or A.
Wanted small and no slide-outs.
Looking for simple with less to go wrong.
Looking for small so we can drive and park/camp anywhere.
Class A's were all too long and all had slide-outs.
Class B's were slightly too small (for the wife unit)
Most class B+ and C's had slide-outs.
Settled on a 22 foot B+ with no slide-out.
Not as much room but less to go wrong which is what we wanted.

When I picked up our B+ the dealer was working on a RV in the shop that had a huge hole in the side where the slide-out used to be. Noticed the gears to move the slide-out were all broken with missing teeth.
Dealer said it was usually the fault of the customer not following the instructions that caused that kind of damage.

[netjam]

There are a number of slide types (electric, Hydraulic, cable, Schwintek etc) Some are more prone to problems than others. I think the person who said "there are those that have had slide problems a those that will" was most correct.

[DouglasC]

Have had problems with both of my slide outs. Jayco fixed the front slide out (problem was a factory defect). My son-in-law and I fixed the rear slide out. Both have been working OK for years now.