To Slide or Not

[Floridastorm]

Looking at Class B+ and C to purchase. Not new as I can't afford those prices. Maybe a 2003 thru 2012. Would appreciate advice on the advantages and disadvantages of a slide. Are there manual slides and electronic slides?

[timmac]

I went from a no slide class A to a 2 slide class A and will never go back to non slide, I might down size in the future but it will still have to have at least 1 slide.

Also I think slide outs will help with the sale down the road when your ready to change.

[RobertRyan]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
The 13' slide on our 5th wheel made it open up to almost "hotel-room size" - but we couldn't use the furnace unless the slide was open because it covered the floor vents!

Our former Class C was a no-slide model - and that made it perfect for traveling. We could pull into our overnite spot, toss out the electric cord - and go to sleep. We didn't need to worry about being particularly level. Packing up in the morning meant we pulled the electric cord back in 😉

In Australia slides have become fairly generic, but many manufacturers of Caravans do not offer them. In Europe they are rare as their Caravans are fairly light and a slide would add too much weight. Strangely their mainly Class C Motorhomes do not have them, although the same vehicle base(Ducato, IVECO, Sprinter, Renault Master) do in Australia. All Japanese Truck based C's have slides
Never to be seen in the US, a Renault Master with a small rear slide

[NCWriter]

Love the space, but ...it's definitely a love-hate relationship. We had a problem on our maiden voyage in our new-to-us (three-year old at the time) Class C. On our particular RV, retracting it is not a one-person job, not easy to do, and requires some muscle power, a ladder and the correct size screwdriver. With help, we got it done and were on our way home. Had to replace one of the motors.

Hopefully it won't happen again but at least we know the drill now, so the advice is good about getting familiar with your unit (as always). It's just one more thing that can go wrong at a bad time. If I were out shopping and liked two units, I'd go with the no-slide choice.

[Mortimer_Brewst]

No matter what type of RV you have, I would suggest researching the emergency procedures for the type of slide system you have. What are you going to do when the slide is stuck in the out position or you have no power? What problems have other people had with that brand of slide?
Proper maintenance can prevent future problems. What maintenance does your slide require?
Things rarely break at convenient times, so the more you can learn about the various systems on your RV the better off you will be.

[wbwood]

We've had slides in both our TT and our current Class C. The benefits of them is more room when extended. They do make a difference. The thing is to make sure that you can access everything when the slides are closed. We could not with the TT, but we can with the Class C.

My opinion is to avoid them if you can. Our next unit will probably be a Class B or maybe back to a small TT (wife isn't on board with that yet). But we will probably avoid slides. Probably won't have too much of a choice on the Class B (the ones we like don't have them).

If you are living fulltime and sit in a place for a month or more, then you will probably want slides.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

The 13' slide on our 5th wheel made it open up to almost "hotel-room size" - but we couldn't use the furnace unless the slide was open because it covered the floor vents!

Our former Class C was a no-slide model - and that made it perfect for traveling. We could pull into our overnite spot, toss out the electric cord - and go to sleep. We didn't need to worry about being particularly level. Packing up in the morning meant we pulled the electric cord back in 😉

[winnietrey]

ScottG wrote:
After having had a slide in our present RV, I would never even consider a rig without them.
As for potential problems, I've never had any reason to second guess our choice.

X2, 24ft, have had for 12 years and 65K miles, never had an issue.
Extra room really is of benefit in my opinion

[ScottG]

After having had a slide in our present RV, I would never even consider a rig without them.
As for potential problems, I've never had any reason to second guess our choice.

[photobug]

I specifically decided against a slide when buying my current rig. My last TT had a huge slide which was a nice addition when parked. However, I bought the "c" specifically for road trips, and since you can't use the slide while driving, it just takes up room. We had the TT parked next to the house and used it for an extra bedroom once in a while, but the slide needed to be extended to expose the heater ducts in the floor. It was also difficult to walk between the living area and the bedroom while the slide was in. One winter I had left the slide out so I could use the unit, it snowed enough that I think it tweeked the alignment of the slide as it wouldn't move in and out easily after that. Unless you have a slide cover, retracting the slide in when it's wet or dirty gets all that stuff inside the unit. Good luck finding a newer unit without a slide these days, when shopping last summer, I found it difficult to find a newer unit without one. No slide makes for a stronger box.

[Desert_Captain]

May I offer an alternate opinion on slides...

For me slides offer lots of potential for problems and only one small benefit, that being a little extra room. The bigger the slide the bigger the possible problems. As noted they add weight that comes right off of your OCCC, tend to leak hot air or cold not to mention water. A slide failure is usually a serious problem.

Since the OP is looking at B+/C's that would tend to indicate a smaller coach. Finding a floor plan you can live with is the most important factor and will often eliminate the need for a slide. We spend about 12 hours a day outside of our 24' C and since it is 101" wide with a full 7' of headroom throughout we just don't need one but it is just my bride and I (and hopefully another doggie someday... sigh}.

The OP should consider where and how he will use the coach the most and perhaps the need will not be there. If you travel with kid(s) then the extra space, particularly in areas of frequent inclement weather, that a slide adds may be worth it. For those that have them preventive maintenance is the key to heading off problems.

IMHO: There are two types of slide owners....

Those that have had a problem and those that will.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

[fourthclassC]

Just another opinion here. No slides for me. Weakens the "box" too much. (Lazy Daze feels the same way as they don't have any models with slides) That confirmed if for me. Additionally, my feeling is that if you need that much room and comfort a hotel would be better.

[tnrv_er]

We have a slide on a small (17') trailer. Main advantage,if not the only, is added space. A jack knife sofa sits in the slide.
We can access the bathroom and fridge when the slide is in, and use the camper withn the slide in. Which is nice if your going to spend a night in a parking lot where space is limited.
Slides are more prone to leaking. Winter camping, if you get snowed on you'd have to clean it off before retracting it, if the snow becomes frozen it's gonna make matters more difficult.
If i was going to look at a non-slide unit i'd want it to be 8' wide. I personally would have no issues with a non-slide unit if the floor plan suited our needs.

I know you asked about class b's and c's but thought some of my input might be helpful.

[Solo]

Pros and Cons as has already been mentioned. Another suggestion, if you do find a unit that you are considering with a slide, do your research on what others' experiences have been with that particular RV and it's slides. Some slide mechanism manufacturers have had a good run with their products and others on certain models have not. You cannot rely on a particular RV manufacturer producing good quality slide units year after year as they may change slide mechanism suppliers and that may change everything when it comes to reliability. Try researching Schwintek and Power Gear and you will see what I mean.

[Floridastorm]

How are the slides, when in, going down the road? Do they rattle or cause vibration? Do they upset the center of gravity? Maybe an idiotic question. But, any chance they can slide out while driving? :S

[ctilsie242]

One note about a slide: Check to see if you can use the bathroom with the slide in.

Some rigs, like the Winnebago Fuse 23A, the slide can be in, and the whole unit can be still used. You can extend the slide for more space, but it is optional.

Other rigs, you can do almost nothing with the slides in.

Another issue with slides is leaks. If they have a top awning, this helps mitigate things, but every 5-7 years, the seals need to be replaced, for the same reason RV tires have to.

Then, there are mechanical issues. Check to see if you can get the slide in via some manual process.

In general, I like slides, as they add significantly to living space. However, each model is different, and some slides may be more of a pain than be useful.