slide out issues

[jkfirecap]

Good Morning and I appreciate all in info I receive from the site. Unfortunately I do a lot of reading and not much info being new to the Class A game.

We purchased a 17 venetian A40 in July and have enjoyed several trips in it. Last month on the way back from San Diego I started getting a rubbing sound from the slide right behind the drivers seat. When I got home I did some investigating and found the plastic glide under the slide out broken. I called the dealer to order one and they one-could not find the part, 2-said they would research and call me back and never did. So I went bought some plastic from a fabricator and made it myself. I tried to load pictures but they will not load. That part went fine and I do not think this has any bearing on my issue.

When I started the work I did not level the coach it is parked on the side of my house. Not perfectly level but close. I later leveled the coach I was in and out some much I did not want any issues and. Then I had issues, I went to slide in the slide I was working on and it is hitting the cabinet. After lots of reach I decided to lift the stabilizers and see if that helped. Maybe I broke something sliding out without the jacks down. sure enough slide comes in plenty of clearance. I then level the coach with the jacks and slide goes out no issues plenty of room. When I go to slide in then it hits cabinet again. left jacks and plenty of room to come in. I tell this very long story to get to this.

1-Is this normal to have this much flex in the frame.

2-Is there an adjustment to move it forward.

3-must you have the levelers down to slide out.

I go no manuals for anything, I did download the manual fromt he Thor website, it's so generic.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Have a Merry Christmas.

[Bob Denman]

I am guessing... ; but it sounds as if you've got something loose and/or misaligned.
Perhaps when the plastic guide broke?

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by jkfirecap

Good Morning and I appreciate all in info I receive from the site. Unfortunately I do a lot of reading and not much info being new to the Class A game.

We purchased a 17 venetian A40 in July and have enjoyed several trips in it. Last month on the way back from San Diego I started getting a rubbing sound from the slide right behind the drivers seat. When I got home I did some investigating and found the plastic glide under the slide out broken. I called the dealer to order one and they one-could not find the part, 2-said they would research and call me back and never did. So I went bought some plastic from a fabricator and made it myself. I tried to load pictures but they will not load. That part went fine and I do not think this has any bearing on my issue.

When I started the work I did not level the coach it is parked on the side of my house. Not perfectly level but close. I later leveled the coach I was in and out some much I did not want any issues and. Then I had issues, I went to slide in the slide I was working on and it is hitting the cabinet. After lots of reach I decided to lift the stabilizers and see if that helped. Maybe I broke something sliding out without the jacks down. sure enough slide comes in plenty of clearance. I then level the coach with the jacks and slide goes out no issues plenty of room. When I go to slide in then it hits cabinet again. left jacks and plenty of room to come in. I tell this very long story to get to this.

1-Is this normal to have this much flex in the frame.

2-Is there an adjustment to move it forward.

3-must you have the levelers down to slide out.

I go no manuals for anything, I did download the manual fromt he Thor website, it's so generic.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Have a Merry Christmas.

The flex in the frame is dependent on the weight of and location of the slide. Freight liner only made the frame. Thor engineered/designed the house and slides and sent the specifications to MorRyde for modifications.


Each manufacturer has their own recommendations for slides, jacks and air bags. I suspect it all depends on the type of slide mechanism (in-wall, in-floor, level floor, etc) Actual adjustments to the in-wall slides are usually accomplished by removing the slide and re-centering and leveling it on the installation fixture. RV repair places usually use a forklift and a couple skilled techs. Laztdays uses a rotating cradle so they can work on the slide floor.
Thor Customer service is the best location for slide advice. They can have a tech at plant 850 (where your coach was manufactured) call you back on complicated issues.

[jkfirecap]

I reached out to Thor and they referred me to a dealer. THere are no dealers in LV, closest is Phoenix or So Cal. I think i'm going to have a mobile RV mechanic come give it a look and see how I feel about what he has to say. If I don't feel comfortable I may be taking a road trip!

[Bob Denman]

Good luck!

[Judge]

You do need to make sure the coach is level.... within reason.... when using the slides.

As far as flex in the chassis when using the levelers is concerned..... I will no longer use Auto Level because of the stress it places on the chassis.

Coaches that have large slides.... especially full wall slides.... have very little structural wall support. When you use the levels, the chassis and the walls are going to flex from the twisting of the frame.

While Auto Level is good in theory, it can't see, think and reason like you and me. I have seen Auto Level put more stress on the coach than is necessary to get things level. I think it contributed to the structural issue with my front cap / cab-over of my Magnitude.... although the real issue was screws that were too short and not enough screws.

Eventually the front cap started moving enough to break screws and the amount of flex became very visible and even some gaps depending on how the coach was leveled.

I now put down three small levels on the floor... one up front.... one in the middle... and one towards the rear once parked. I then manually drop the jacks until they just touch the ground. Then I manually level the coach with as little jack movement as possible.