[SOLVED] Buy if slide out is sluggish?

[SlowBro]

I'm looking at maybe buying my first RV with a slide to full-time on the road, but the owner demonstrated that it's sluggish when sliding out, he had to give it several shoves at the top to get it to move. He thought maybe it just needed a lube. This is a super slide which contains the couch and kitchen.

Would this be a very bad sign and I should avoid, or is he probably right that it only needs a lube? We would be sliding it in and out quite often since we would be on the road.

[dougrainer]

Huntindog wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Lots of people talking about the battery. So the question is. Was it plugged into shore power? If it was. Then the battery is not the problem. It will work with a dead battery, or no battery if plugged to shore power.

Not always. One of my TTs actually had a warning sicker next to the slide button stating that a battery was required for slide operation,

The reason is simple. A slide can draw more amps than the convertor is capable of.

CORRECT. Lots of slides pull a lot of amps and the Power Converter CANNOT supply the amps(power) required to operate a motor driven slide room. Doug

[Huntindog]

Terryallan wrote:
Lots of people talking about the battery. So the question is. Was it plugged into shore power? If it was. Then the battery is not the problem. It will work with a dead battery, or no battery if plugged to shore power.

Not always. One of my TTs actually had a warning sicker next to the slide button stating that a battery was required for slide operation,

The reason is simple. A slide can draw more amps than the convertor is capable of.

[Terryallan]

Lots of people talking about the battery. So the question is. Was it plugged into shore power? If it was. Then the battery is not the problem. It will work with a dead battery, or no battery if plugged to shore power.

[wa8yxm]

If the unit has sat long enough the battery may not be up to moving the slide.
Have the seller put in a new battery and try it.

Otherwise,, Bad connections (Corrosion most likely at the battery)

Seen the "Green Monster" thread elsewhere in these forums.

[SlowBro]

dougrainer wrote:
If the slide does NOT operate as designed(which it is NOT), then you need to tell the seller to get it fixed. You never know what may be involved. It may take $100 or it may have a structure problem that can cost Thousands of dollars. As a Master Tech, I would not buy it until it was fixed. I would not try to "guess" what may be involved. Doug

Thanks Doug, that is what I'll do. Marking this one solved.

[dougrainer]

If the slide does NOT operate as designed(which it is NOT), then you need to tell the seller to get it fixed. You never know what may be involved. It may take $100 or it may have a structure problem that can cost Thousands of dollars. As a Master Tech, I would not buy it until it was fixed. I would not try to "guess" what may be involved. Doug

[2oldman]

SlowBro wrote:
Do you mean something like this, where he removes the idler gear from the rack and re-adjusts manually?

Yes. I had to do that once.. I don't remember exactly what happened, but it became misaligned where one side was moving before the other.

My big living room slide, after 18 years of faithful use, is sometimes difficult to bring in because of the 'lift' it has to do when it's first coming in. To help it, I put a couple slide out support jacks under it and lift the rails just a tiny bit. I think it's just old age sag.

I don't know if the slides you're looking at have exposed rails.

[Ranger_Smith]

Could be anything . . . Should not have to push on slide to get it going.

[SlowBro]

2oldman wrote:
Slides shouldn't need lube, that attracts dirt. I would check for misalignment.

Do you mean something like this, where he removes the idler gear from the rack and re-adjusts manually? Looks pretty easy. Or do you mean like bent rails or something more severe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cycjHrNMnlg

[Grit_dog]

Personally, there are sooo many RVs out there, I wouldn’t even consider one that was “lived in” full time unless significantly less $ than comparable.
Think of the RV part as a high mile car. Far more use and wear n tear on all the components than the majority of newer used RVs. And then the fact that it has sat and not been towed is sort of akin to the person who parks their car and never uses it.
Not saying this isn’t the right one. But consider not just what you’re buying but how it was used.
And people who don’t fix stuff and then just say, “Oh it’s a simple fix” are either lazy, liars or both. Either way it’s a red flag.

[2oldman]

Slides shouldn't need lube, that attracts dirt. I would check for misalignment.

[SlowBro]

way2roll wrote:
As mentioned, could be lots of things. Low battery, misaligned, not lubed, or something very serious. I have to think that's one of the things that would scare me away from an RV. A non working slide is a big deal if it needs fixed and possible could leave you stranded. I would have to ask, if it just needed lube why didn't the seller take care of that already?

That's a good question. It is otherwise well-maintained, and he was living in it, parked all the time, not really traveling, so he might not have thought it important. I'll ask him to lube it if we get serious, and if he's not willing we'll pass, and if he lubes it and it doesn't improve, we'll pass.

[way2roll]

As mentioned, could be lots of things. Low battery, misaligned, not lubed, or something very serious. I have to think that's one of the things that would scare me away from an RV. A non working slide is a big deal if it needs fixed and possible could leave you stranded. I would have to ask, if it just needed lube why didn't the seller take care of that already?

[MFL]

It could be a number of things causing improper operation of slide, but having a mobile tech check it out, before purchase, would be best. Then you will have a better idea, of the seriousness of the problem. Many slides do not require any lube, or special attention, but being in proper adjustment is critical, for regular use.

Jerry