Large slide with a sagging dinette

[DanInMO]

After returning from a 2800 mile trip in my 2022 Thor Freedom Elite 24HE, I noticed that the seal under my dinette is getting squeezed down and I have a faint black mark on the floor where the seal lands when the slide is in. I also have minimal clearance under the floor of the dinette; about .5" when the slide is in. The clearance under the edge of the dinette is about 1 & 7/8" when the slide is out; big difference.

The dinette seats now both tip down toward the middle of the dinette; it looks like the dinette is dropping. I have attached a photo of the forward seat, with markup.

The slide works great, and I have never had any strange symptoms. The bubble on my level shows that the slide and the side of the RV are parallel. The Lippert/Schwintek rails look like new, and I see no signs of failure in the mechanism.

I would like to figure out what is going on before the flooring is damaged when I retract the slide. There is basically no support under the dinette when the slide is in, and that design seems to be turning into a problem.

I am already approaching "too long, did not read" territory, so I will stop here. Any suggestions or thoughts on my issue are appreciated!

DanInMO

[Grumpy Grampa]

Check the roller wheels that move along the floor, when slide is going in and out. Some time the little wheels will stick and not turn, add a little oil, a drop or two in each wheel mechanism.

[JimOIB]

And make sure the rollers are actually touching the bottom of the slide. I had an issue on my 24F where they were not touching and taking the slide load. Mine were an easy adjustment using a 7/16” socket. With the slide out I pulled back the bottom seal and could get to them - snugged them tight then a 1/4 turn more. YMMV.

[DanInMO]

Grumpy Grandpa and JimOIB,

Thank you very much for your replies, I appreciate it!

Grumpy Grandpa, on this model, the rollers are attached to the wall and do not roll along the floor, which is covered in linoleum. I don't think the linoleum would take the weight. The bed has plastic skids or "skis" to take some weight in the back, but the front of the slide seems to depend on just the slide frame and slide rails to keep the dinette in position, off the floor. I know this discussion would be easier if you could see what I have...

JimOIB, I think my rollers are in a good position. When I have the slide extended, I can see that the rollers are lightly marking the aluminum panels, attached to the underside of the floor, that the rollers run on. My seal attached to the bottom edge of the dinette has plenty of operating space when the slide is out. My observation is that the seal is getting very tight when I retract the slide. The space under the dinette is reduced as the slide comes in.

This is my first thread on Thor Forums. I am not sure I attached the photo correctly on my first submission, so I am trying that again on this reply. Hopefully you get to see the photo, and see that the right dinette seat drops as it gets closer to the center of the dinette.

Thanks for your help, I will be interested to see if you have other thoughts, or if other owners have experienced a similar problem with this very large slide.

DanInMO

[DanInMO]

If it helps at all, here is a picture of the bottom of the front of my slide, under the dinette. It is easy to see the aluminum panels where the rollers run.

DanInMO

[ducksface]

I may be reading and seeing this all wrong but the question needs asked.

How much weight is sitting at that dinette?

It may need an angle iron bolster regardless of weight.

[DanInMO]

Hah, well, I can totally understand that question!

My wife and I are lightweights. I am under 150 and she is under 120.

I don't know if this slide is designed to take all of the weight with the metal frame, or if it is a combination of the wood components and the metal frame. If the wood is structural, it could be slowly warping in the hot and humid summer weather.

To be transparent here, there were some factors to consider on our return trip:

• We camped for 2 nights with the slide in because our sites were so far out of level that I did not dare to run the slide out. Class C with no levelling system, just blocks...
• One night my wife slept in the dinette when the slide was in because she does not like sleeping in the front bunk, over the cab.
• The eastern half of I-70 through Indiana is in incredibly bad shape - it just pounded the RV for miles. I took US-40 part way with much better conditions, but I should have stayed with it longer.
• We do sometimes put our laptop bags on the dinette floor when rolling, but they probably weigh no more than 20 to 25 lbs. added together.
• I am not in the habit of draining the hot water heater before hitting the road, but after going through this "school of hard knocks", I may make that part of the teardown routine before leaving a site. The water heater is in the slide.

The angle iron bolster sounds really interesting. I have some kind of a right-angle brace under the rear dinette seat, but the front seat has nothing similar. It is a bit crowded in there with the water heater and a long drawer.

Of course this dinette has seatbelts for passengers, so in theory it is designed to take some weight while rolling, but theory and reality can be far apart.

Thank you for your reply ducksface. I see that you often contribute to the forum.

DanInMO

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by DanInMO

After returning from a 2800 mile trip in my 2022 Thor Freedom Elite 24HE, I noticed that the seal under my dinette is getting squeezed down and I have a faint black mark on the floor where the seal lands when the slide is in. I also have minimal clearance under the floor of the dinette; about .5" when the slide is in. The clearance under the edge of the dinette is about 1 & 7/8" when the slide is out; big difference.

The dinette seats now both tip down toward the middle of the dinette; it looks like the dinette is dropping. I have attached a photo of the forward seat, with markup.

The slide works great, and I have never had any strange symptoms. The bubble on my level shows that the slide and the side of the RV are parallel. The Lippert/Schwintek rails look like new, and I see no signs of failure in the mechanism.

I would like to figure out what is going on before the flooring is damaged when I retract the slide. There is basically no support under the dinette when the slide is in, and that design seems to be turning into a problem.

I am already approaching "too long, did not read" territory, so I will stop here. Any suggestions or thoughts on my issue are appreciated!

DanInMO

The slide out is out of alignment and needs to go to a dealer. These things are supported by rollers on the bottom and some have steel plates they roll on, some have wood. Pray you have steel!! The adjustment is not a hard thing for a qualified tech to fix. The sooner the better because you can do damage to the motors and/or gearing.

[DanInMO]

My slide has steel plates on the bottom for the roller contact areas. There are 3 rollers on the front section of the slide, and 3 rollers on the rear section of the slide. It appears that all rollers are attached to the wall of the RV, no internal rollers that I can see.

My slide layout is: dinette in the front, then the wardrobe, and the bed is in the rear.

On the inside of the RV, the bed has skids to support it, and they take some weight when the slide is in. I can't tell what takes the weight of the wardrobe, and there seems to be nothing under the dinette. Placing a roller or skid in the middle of the kitchen floor to take the weight of the retracted dinette would create an unsightly trip hazard, so it appears that Thor expects the slide frame to hold the dinette.

I left my RV at Camping World on Tuesday, 8/29. They should be able to look at it soon. I am still in the warranty period. The slide gears and rails look like new, and the experienced customer service rep said that the slide looks like it is fully retracted; the seals are compressed all the way around, just based on a quick look during the drop-off process.

A slide is comparable to a shoebox turned on its side. It looks like the bottom edge of that box is sagging where there is no support in the retracted position.

Thanks for your advice "knucklehead", I appreciate input from anyone who has some experience with these problems. This is my first RV, and apparently I have a lot to learn.

I will update this thread when I get the assessment back from CW.

DanInMO

[DanInMO]

I have an assessment from Camping World. This is what the technician reported, with a minor edit by me to remove a name:
“Could not find anything out of the ordinary with the slide out. Level on roof of slide out and no gaps. Wiper seal on interior base of slide is what is leaving the marks. Can easily be cleaned with a household cleaner. Seal prevents debris from getting under the slide causing damage to motors, seals, rollers, floor, etc. Slide operates as it should. All exterior components all look new and as they should as well.”

So even though the dinette is visually sagging when in, and the wiper seal marks are a relatively new symptom, and my wardrobe is resting on the trim where the floor steps up, and that trim now has a dent where the wardrobe pounds the trim, they feel that I have nothing to be concerned about.

To get a second opinion, I took my RV to another shop that has no obligation to do any warranty work. The assessment there was similar - the slide works well and there are no major issues. Some drop when the slide comes in is to be expected. They acknowledged that they have no spec on what the clearance should be, between the dinette floor and the RV floor when the slide is in.

I still have concerns that I am seeing these symptoms on an RV that is one year old, with less than 6000 miles on it. Of course I will continue to monitor the symptoms. I may contact Thor Customer Support to see if they have advice or input.

DanInMO

[JimOIB]

I have a similar coach albeit a 2017 Four Winds 24F. Here are the measurements when my slide is in and out. I do notice the slide tips in slightly at the top during retract and tips out slightly during extend. I believe this is caused by the shift in weight as the slide moves over the floor rollers - slide pivots on them. I estimate we have a minimum of 60-70 extend/retract cycles a year and have not had any issues with the slide.

As far as the wardrobe - it comes in 2 sections. The upper section is attached to the coach wall and rests on the slide floor that extend over to the bed. The bottom section is attached to the upper. One of the pix shows where my lower section had shifted...again. At one time there was a 1-1/2 inch gap between the two. The bottom section is just screwed into the top section and some of the screws had backed out and others split the wood due to the slide movement. The OEM didn't use wood screws to attach the two pieces. Hope this helps.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Mine is a 24F with the same slide setup/construction as you and jimOIB. I have had no slide issues to date.

The dinette frame is constructed of lightweight 1x pine. I suggest checking the panel where your dinette bench drawer slides in. It's possible that the underlying slide structure is fine, but the drawer structure (front panel) is crooked - bottom not parallel with the floor.

I'd start by leveling the coach. Then remove the seat cushions and plywood seat panels. Then remove the drawer.

Aside from the plumbing mess under the left seat, you should have good access to the slide floor.

Using a short engineers level, check level in several spots and both directions on the exposed dinette/slide floor.

Do the same on the floor in front of the slide for reference.

Now... run the slide out and repeat.

My guess is if everything checks okay, it's an optical illusion created by the crooked installed drawer frame.

[wrapped]

👍👍agree that the panel may have dropped some.

[DanInMO]

JimOIB, I think my slide also tips out slightly when extending and tips in just a little when retracting, but it seems to end up in the right place, contacting the seals evenly in the "home" positions, in and out.

Your wardrobe observations/experience are definitely eye-opening, wow. I don't think my wardrobe is separating like that, I have seen no gap, but it is definitely worth a second look!

Thank you for the pictures, they always help.

Chateau_Nomad, you have provided a good procedure for the measurements and analysis, thank you. While going through this, I have torn the dinette apart as you suggested, just to get a good look. It is back together at the moment.

My driveway is nowhere near level, so I will have to get my hands on the engineering level you mentioned and go find a level spot, maybe while camping in the great Fall weather. I will mention that both seats tilt down toward the center of the dinette when the slide is retracted, and they straighten up when the slide is extended, resting on the rollers. My original picture only shows one seat in the retracted position, but just eyeballing it, the dinette seems to shift its shape when coming in. That didn't happen when the RV was a year younger.

Many thanks for the replies, I will work on the items you guys mentioned.

DanInMO