When is it Time for Slide Out Repair or Maintenance?
If your RV life includes a motorhome or 5th Wheel with slide outs, you know how great they can be. These ingeniously designed sections tuck neatly away when you’re on the road and open for extra space once you park your RV.
An RV slide out can give you more living room, bedroom, or kitchen space without making your vehicle harder to drive or tow. For some of you, they’ve made it possible to hit the road with your entire family.
For others, these added spaces have made every RV trip more comfortable and luxurious. For everyone, they’re a little bit magical. Press a button, and the rooms slide right out. Press it again, and they slide back in. Magical.
Unfortunately, those magical rooms tend to be more prone to malfunction than other parts of your rig. They’re complicated, with a lot of moving parts, and they can be finicky. It’s important to know when to have them checked out. The last thing you need is a broken slide out on your long-awaited vacation.
If you own or are considering buying an RV with slide out rooms, know how to care for them. Like every other part of your RV, slide-outs need regular maintenance to function reliably. They also need prompt attention at the first signs of damage or wear.
Maintenance
We’ll never stop saying it: you need a good maintenance schedule for your motorhome or travel trailer. From the simplest teardrop trailer to the most complicated bus conversion with multiple slide outs, your home on wheels needs regular attention.
While those of you with a mechanical green thumb might tackle your RV slide outs yourselves, most of you should rely on a professional to care for these temperamental rooms.
When you set up your regular maintenance schedule, talk about your slide-outs. Ask if they need more frequent service. Find out how to take the best care of the system you have. There are a lot of slide-out systems out there, so don’t assume that yours is similar to a friend’s or one you’ve rented.
RV Slide Out Bummers
There are a whole host of ways a slide out can go wrong. They can get stuck, refusing to open. They can get stuck and refuse to close. They can open or close only part way.
They can be crooked, blow fuses, and leak. In short, they can make your entire RV trip miserable. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your slide outs can be the icing on your RV life cake.
We’re going to tell you a few ways to care for them on your own, and some signs that it’s time to bring your vehicle to a professional.
DIY Slide Out Maintenance
The first thing you can do to maintain your slide outs is something you should do for your whole RV, regularly. Inspect the seals. Look for dryness or damage that could lead to costly leaks.
Run your fingers along the seams and seals to check for moisture or soft spots. If you find any, head to your shop right away. Water damage is the cause of some of the most expensive RV repairs.
One of the best ways to maintain your RV slide outs is to keep them clean. Pay particular attention to the roof. When you’re surrounded by nature, some of it is going to end up on your RV.
The roof of your slide out will collect leaves and twigs and dirt while the room is out. Here are two things you can do to help protect that roof.
- Get a slide-out awning. These awnings extend and retract with the slide out, protecting the flat roof from nature’s debris.
- If you don’t want or have awnings, clean the roof before retracting the slide out. The collected debris, left to sit, will retract with the slide out. Sticks and twigs can damage slide out seals and wreak other general havoc.
Other areas to keep clean include tracks and floor rollers. We’ve established that nature is messy. Slide out components are particularly vulnerable to that mess.
If you’re very handy or have a professional give you some pointers, consider learning how to lubricate your slide out system.
Slide outs either work with an electric or a hydraulic system. Both need lubrication to function well, but inspecting and applying lubricant is not the same for both types. Learn what kind of system you have and the right way to lubricate it.
Knowing how to add some lubricant to your slide out might get you out of a jam if your room won’t slide in at a campground. Some lubrication may allow you to retract the slide-out so you can get it to the shop for service.
When to Get Professional Slide Out Service
Some of you probably do all of your RV maintenance, and maybe most of your RV repair, on your own. But most people don’t have the experience or skills necessary to take on these big jobs. And they have no interest in learning them.
If you’re in that majority, you know you need a reliable local RV shop to take care of your travel trailer or motorhome. Even the most dedicated DIYers have a shop they turn to for advice and larger repairs.
So if you don’t have a regular shop, it’s time to find one. Get recommendations from friends and family, look at reviews online, and engage in local online RV communities. You’ll feel more at ease on every trip knowing someone you trust is maintaining your vehicle.
The most important service is, of course, your regular maintenance. That’s how you keep your RV slide-outs functioning smoothly and working as expected. It is the very best way to avoid sticky situations on the road as well as costly RV repair.
But how do you know if your slide out needs service, despite your dedicated maintenance? Slide out repairs are some of the most common we see in our Leisure Coachworks shop.
Here are a few signals to bring your rig to your local shop and have those slide outs serviced:
- Noisy Opening or Closing. You know how your slide out is supposed to sound as it opens or closes. If it’s making more noise or different noises, have it checked out. The fix could be as simple as lubrication or as complicated as misaligned tracks.
- Crooked Slide Out. Is that room a little off kilter when you open it? Time to take it in. Your gears could be misaligned, your timing gear could be damaged, or you could have other broken parts. Get thee to a shop.
- Leaking Slide Out. Damaged seals, not leveling your RV, and plumbing issues can all cause water leaks. Get service right away to keep a small problem from becoming a big, expensive problem.
- Slide Out Won’t Open or Close. This is the big one, folks. The one you hope to avoid. After making sure you haven’t simply blown a fuse, the causes of complete failure of a slide out to move are as numerous as there are systems.You may have a simple switch malfunction or hydraulic fluid leak. Maybe there’s a power problem. Or you may need a replacement slide out motor.If you get stuck at a campground with extended slide-outs, give your local shop a call for help. They may be able to walk you through manually retracting the room without causing further damage.
DO NOT force a slide out. No matter how tempting it is to just try and shove one that’s stuck halfway in or out. You could easily do more damage and end up with a bigger RV repair bill.
How to Love Your Slide Out
You’ll get the most out of your slide out rooms if they work well and consistently. Slide outs that continually break down are stressful and suck the fun out of your RV trip.
The best way to love your slide outs is to do two things: learn how they work and get them serviced regularly.
When you know the basic mechanics of your system you’re better able to spot signs it needs service. You might even be able to troubleshoot an issue by phone if you’re traveling and a problem strikes.
The regular service you set up will help you avoid having to use your smarts, and that’s how you enjoy your vacation. Prevention is everything when it comes to slide out wear and damage.
A little knowledge and a lot of maintenance will give you the confidence you need to enjoy your slide outs without worry. If you have any questions about RV or slide out maintenance or repair, contact us at Leisure Coachworks. Give us a call or stop on by our full-service shop in Fontana, California.
