Slideouts: Benefits and drawbacks

[deltabravo]

For those considering a camper with a slide out, or without, I will offer my 3 cents worth:

Benefits:
More space!
I love the expanded floor space I get in my AF811 with the slide out.
I can imagine that with 2 people, the extra space would even be more advantageous, because you can walk past each other without going sideways.

When I was camper shopping in mid to late 2009, I also considered the AF865, but went with the 811 because it was shorter, and it would also more easily accommodate installing a power inverter.

Shorter camper, with less weight was a huge consideration for me at the time due to payload capacity of my truck, as well as the fact that I always have a trailer with me when the camper is on the truck.

Knowing what I know now, after having lived with a slide out for 3.5 camping seasons, would I buy a camper with a slide out again? Probably so, because I love the extra floor space.

Drawbacks (or minor annoyances):

1. The back portion of the camper is very cramped with the slide out retracted. The camper really isn't intended to be used with the slide in, though I have gotten in and out of it with the slide in.

Loading groceries enroute is a PITA with the slide in.
Getting in the bathroom is also a challenge, unless you are good at doing a side-step dance maneuver while shimmying through the narrow space between the wall where the sliding bathroom door is and the dinette.

2. Without a slide topper awning, you will likely get water in the camper when you retract the slide if the slide roof is wet. The water won't all get squeegeed off the roof by the rubber flapper seals when you pull in the slide. What water remains up there will run off the roof, and into the camper interior once you start moving down the road.

The first time I encountered the above was when I was returning from the Overland Expo two years ago. The weather got cold coming through California, and I hit snow near Mt Shasta. I stopped for the night, and put out the slide, never giving a thought to the snow accumulating on the slide roof. (DUH!! What the heck was a thinking?!? ) The furnace ran a lot that night. In the morning, I had to climb up on the roof and clear the snow off the slide roof. NOT FUN! Once the slide was in I had to clean the residual snow/water off the slide roof with some towels.

Later down the road, I realized I should have left the slide in. It would have prevented the snow/water problem, and probably would have provided better warmth too, with less air space to heat.

Last night I stopped for the night, and shortly after parking, it started to rain, so I immediately retracted the slide after I remembered the problem above.

Neither of the above are meant to sound like a person shouldn't / can't extend the slide during inclement weather. The instances I encountered as described above were minor concerns / issues for me because I was just stopping for the night, with the intent to hit the road as soon as I woke up.

So, what is everyone elses list of benefits and drawbacks of a slideout?

[Area13]

Wow, looks like I made a mistake getting my new Snowriver with a slide. It's going to break, i'm going to get cold and I can't offroad. Dangit! I guess i'll just drop it off of my truck, put a tarp over it leave the slide out permanently!
One less thing to worry about......

[jimh406]

My double slide is only about 8 years old. It's been fail free.

[TTBeachBum]

JumboJet wrote:

TTBeachBum wrote:
In the new Lances, I hate that you do not have access to the camper with the slide in. To me it is burdensome on the road to have to put the slide out at a gas stop/bathroom break. This is a current debate going on at this household: DH wants the slide/I do not.

My DW can fit through the Lance 1050S with the slide-out in. I have to slide it out 10" before I can fit through.

that's good to know, he was looking at the 1050s dry bath. Thanks for the input, I may be more open minded.

[Aida]

We are not overly large people and it's just the 2 of us so there's no need for a slide for us. I'm much happier with out it. My friend at work purchased one with a slide out and guess what it broke 2 days later 800 dollars poorer and it leaks. No thanks guys I don't want the added expense.

[JumboJet]

TTBeachBum wrote:
In the new Lances, I hate that you do not have access to the camper with the slide in. To me it is burdensome on the road to have to put the slide out at a gas stop/bathroom break. This is a current debate going on at this household: DH wants the slide/I do not.

My DW can fit through the Lance 1050S with the slide-out in. I have to slide it out 10" before I can fit through.

[billtex]

TTBeachBum wrote:
In the new Lances, I hate that you do not have access to the camper with the slide in. To me it is burdensome on the road to have to put the slide out at a gas stop/bathroom break. This is a current debate going on at this household: DH wants the slide/I do not.

Our new Eagle Cap is fully functional/accessible with slide in. One more reason we passed on some of the other brands...

805gregg; we would love to see pics of your rig. Post one in the pics thread!

Tx, Bill

[805gregg]

We just went from a 9'6" Lance with no slide to a 10'6" Lance with a slide and dry bath, no going back for us we love the extra room

[TTBeachBum]

In the new Lances, I hate that you do not have access to the camper with the slide in. To me it is burdensome on the road to have to put the slide out at a gas stop/bathroom break. This is a current debate going on at this household: DH wants the slide/I do not.

[jimh406]

The first slides were not as reliable. Many manufacturers have modified their slides over their lifetimes several times. For that reason, I wouldn't want a slide camper older than 2006 or so with the exception of the newer campers like Chalet that are essentially new to market and somewhat unknown still. Slides have more moving parts than nonslides, but that's obvious.

Slideouts are heavier for equivalent lengths, but to have the same amount of space, you need a longer nonslide model. If you count double and triple slides, it's not even close when you compare space for the same length. The net is you get to have a shorter camper for the same weight as a longer one with the same amount of space or more which means less overhang and less trouble with trailering.

Like the DRW vs SRW debate, there isn't one answer that's going to suit everyone. Of course, everyone gets to decide what their tradeoffs are.

[crosscheck]

Slide out benefits have been well documented in the previous posts so i'll just go for the cons.

The first weekend after we bought our TC with slide, we went camping in early Nov. when a winter storm was coming through. Wind started howling and snow flying. Had to stuff coats, blankets, towels under and around slide to keep the draft out as it was uncomfortable sitting at the dinette.
Next morning bringing in the slide there were weird noises coming from the upper part of the slide. Extended slide, climbed up 11'+ on a slippery, snowey roof and found there was 1" of ice on the slide cover. Had to remove by hand and finish by brooming off the rest. Luckily I stopped the slide when I did.

Had to do this a number of times when up at ski areas in the winter.
When camped on the beach in the Baja, big wind came up and had to stuff clothing etc around the inside of the slide to keep sand from getting in to the interior. Still found its way into the gearing.

Even though it is only 300", the slide is up fairly high and we had the heavy fridge on the floor making the vertical COG in an already tall TC that much higher. On rough roads with a SRW 1 ton with lots of suspension mods/tires, it still added to the rock and roll.

The slide is just one more piece of equipment to breakdown if you are in the bush and I found that there is a lot of weight on the frame. After many km,s on rough back roads, mine was out of square. Still worked fine but had warped the angle iron it was resting on. I blame it on the rough road to Bahia Gonzaga,Baja.

When making emergency stops we had to open the slide a ways so we could open the bathroom door to enter.

When working around the TC with the slide out, my head found the corners too many times. Still have the scars.

Ask my wife and she would have the slide TC back in a heartbeat.

Dave

[joe_b_]

If we reach the point where we only have one RV, I suspect it will be a TC. We have a 5th wheel with double slides, one being a bunk room for our grandsons, 8 and 10 y/o. Our TC is a non-slide and the pair work just fine for us in the way we like to use them. The 5th wheel gets used when we are planning on staying a week or more in one site. The TC is our traveling machine and the one we take on our trips to Alaska, every two or three years. The way we use our TC, not sure having slides would be too much of a benefit to us. We seldom spend more than a night or two at one location on the long trips. We also take the TC when we want to tow our Jeep to use at our destination, such as western Colorado.

This past summer we were in Grand Junction and stopped at the local Lance dealer, Mattas Marine, to look around. My wife fell in love with the new 1172 with the back slide containing a sofa and wanted to trade our 845 on the spot. LOL
Our last Class A also had slides, so on the larger rigs I really like slides, but on a TC, it is a take it or leave it situation for me. We go to Alaska to be outdoors and the TC is perfect for us. Most days we will travel from about 7 AM to close to 5 PM, the evening will be spent outdoors around a campfire and then to bed about 10 PM. Not much reason we need more room in our TC. If my wife and I bump each other in the hallway, so be it, as this has been happening for the last 40 years. LOL To me I don't see many pros or cons to slides in a TC. We normally spend about 135 to 150 nights a year out in one of our RVs and have for many years. We are considering adding a bunk house Class C to our stable of vehicles, which could end up replacing the 5th wheel if that happens. It won't be the first time we have had that combo of vehicles since we have been married.

[noteven]

Artum Snowbird wrote:
Having a slide in a camper usually gives you a lovely wide opposite seating dinette. Very few non slide campers will comfortably fit four adults for dinner or games.

Because the seating is set up to be opposite instead of wrap-around our best mod so far is removing the two pedestals and putting in a dream dinette. It took a bit of careful measuring with my stud sensor to mount it, but now it is rock solid and goes up and down without a hitch. It was also quite simple to put in a nice wooden wall side piece that limits the upward rise to just the perfect height.

Snowbird/SnowRiver campers were designed to use both in or out without issues for average sized people.

And I carry mine with 19.5's on my F350 CC 4 by 4 SRW too.

What Artum Snowbird said. The bathroom in our Snowbird has a sliding door for full acess with the slide in. We carry our Snowbird on a 3500 SRW Dodge code name "The Fargo".

[billtex]

A few Folks talking about a second switch for slide, why not just go wireless?
Can it be done? Something to think about...
The new slides don't even have a switch...

B

[msiminoff]

I can't imagine being able to travel as comfortably our as long with our family of four if we didn't have a slideout. Yes, there are some drawbacks, especially in cold weather, but the additional living space is worth it to me!

I LOVE the idea for a 2nd slide-out switch! Sounds like a perfect winter project. I'm gonna take a look to see how challenging it will be to route new wires from the slide-control unit (under the bed-step) to my cabover area.

The back portion of the camper is very cramped with the slide out retracted. It's really not intended to be used with the slide in...

I am able to access everything in my camper with the slide in, including the bathroom. Of course there's a lot more space with it out, but for quick stops for lunch or potty-breaks I don't open the slide. Here's a photo showing the available space with the slide in.


Cheers
-Mark

[av8rds]

steve68steve wrote:


To the person who justifies a slide-out because they're campground hosts and wouldn't want to live in a non-slide all that time:
My wife and I went back and forth on this very topic for a while before buying an RV. If we were going to full time, or sit parked in one spot for long periods, we wouldn't use a TC for that - we'd get a TT.

good for you?

That was certainly one of the positives I have listed in the past, being able to host on poor weather days. Would I buy it just for that reason, no, but it is very much a positive aspect to me.