How's Your Slideout?

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by fman88

.....

The SO has been trouble free except recently I found an issue when popping the slide out. .....

I find this sort of funny. It has been trouble free except now we are having trouble with it.

I had an SOB with a slide out. It was a small trailer with a relatively small SO but the effect of these things are amazing. I really understand how those with SOs like them. They do offer an amazing amount of space inside the trailer. If you full time an SO might be for you. I would never bash them.

There are two things that you need to know. They make the trailer heavier and they are yet another mechanical doohicky that will need care and attention. When properly cared for you probably won't have any trouble but trouble is always close by. This wouldn't stop me from buying one if I could find one at a decent price and had a larger TV.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ZoominC6

4. When locking just touch the interior skin without over torquing the arms. The slide will not move even if you don't lock it (per my dealer) and the locking arms are an added safety precaution. You can over troque the locking arms causing one or both to not release when unlocking.

Happy Trails!

This one is interesting since when we were instructed on how to use the slide, the person doing our demo told us to hold the lock button in until the the motor on the arms shuts down. Never have experienced an over torque issue here.

Haven't done a lube of the slide either, but its probably in fairly decent shape since my trailer is stored indoors. I talked to my dealership and he recommended that it's probably time to lube it though. Any recommendations on what to use?

Jack

[Airslide]

Hi,

I had an issue with my S/O regarding the adjustment. I have it here in my link
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f252...sic-47113.html

There are lots of pictures that show the slide mechanism so you can clearly see what to lube. You might also see if there is binding or rub marks somewhere that can be contributing to the overcurrent.

Cheers.. Vinnie

[fman88]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the information. My AS has manual stablizers. Yep I'm careful when I lower and not to create uneven tension. I better back off at the gym. I thought maybe the lock switches(2) were not making contact and closing the circuit. They were good. I'll crawl under the slide and regrease the moving parts again. I used some light motor oil for the tracks. Also replaced the tywraps that hold the harness onto the moving arm of the slide. Alignment of the slide looks good.

I read to use armor all or silicone on the slide rubber boot. Any comments? Have a great weekend everyone.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by fman88

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the information. My AS has manual stablizers. Yep I'm careful when I lower and not to create uneven tension. I better back off at the gym. I thought maybe the lock switches(2) were not making contact and closing the circuit. They were good. I'll crawl under the slide and regrease the moving parts again. I used some light motor oil for the tracks. Also replaced the tywraps that hold the harness onto the moving arm of the slide. Alignment of the slide looks good.

I read to use armor all or silicone on the slide rubber boot. Any comments? Have a great weekend everyone.

I use silicone at least once a year. Hard to get the outside top seals due to the awning.

Jack

[TinShack]

After 10 years of trouble-free use, I just had a failure to retract problem with the slideout on my 2005 28'. I was able to retract it manually as described in the Airstream owners manual. It's a pain but can be done. After following the troubleshooting process of check fuses etc., I determined the problem to be the control unit by using my handy dandy voltage meter.

The controller is not a serviceable part so I had to replace it. In my search for a replacement part, I found the original unit made by Power Gear (p/n 510116) is no longer available and that Power Gear was recently bought out by Lippert Components. Lippert has a direct replacement that can be used and it's part number is 140-1144/383605 ($249). Unfortunately this replacement was not available and wouldn't be for another month.

The other solution is to replace the unit with their part number 523511/383622 which is a kit made up of a controller and wiring harness that uses part number 140-1163 & 140-1138. The cost of this kit was $175 from Lippert, but I was able to find one online from a company called PDX RV LLC for $143 including shipping. This kit requires the controller to be positively switched instead of negative, so a 3 amp fused positive lead needs to go to the slideout switch in place of the negative wire.

Long story short, the kit works fine but does require some extra work to fish a positive lead from the positive battery input at the controller to the switch. Here is the tip sheet from the manufacturer that details the process.