Stabilizers down or Slider out first?

[cannelle]

On our 24F Four Winds, should the stabilizers be lowered, then the slider run out, or the other way around? Without the stabilizer down the slider causes a definite tilt to the RV, however I am concerned about the heavy slider being too much load for the driver side stabilizer.

We own a 24F 2018,always level and stabilizers out first than the slide out, Our dealer mechanic stress to us always do this when on shore power or generator never on batteries only. most of the time you have to compensate for the weight of the slide when leveling and the left (passenger side) will need to be adjusted as there is a tendency of lifting off.
there are stabilizers not levelers . with time you will get the hang of it and know you need how much higher the slide side need to be to compensate the slide weight

 

[16ACE27]

Levelers are there for the benefit of the coach.
Stabilizers are there for the benefit of the occupants.

So it doesn't matter if the stabilizers are deployed before or after the slide is extended.

It does matter that the coach is level before extending the slide.

 

[JimOIB]

I too have a 24F, 2017. When my slide is extended the head of the bed is about 1 inch low. My goal is to have the bed level after extending the slide which means the coach will be out of level before the slide goes out. To do this, I raise the drivers side with one extra leveling block front and rear tires- I use the Camco yellow leveling blocks. Once the slide is out the coach is level and I extend the stabilizers. This works for me, stock coach with stabilizers.

He is my thinking for doing this. With the slide extended it causes the coach to lean on the drivers side due to the shift of weight around a point. The points are the drivers side wheels. It is a cantilever with no offsetting force. By raising the coach 1” on the drivers side I’ve created an offset so when the slide goes out it causes the coach to lean to level. Then stabilize to eliminate rocking. This method not only gets the bed level but the dining table as well.

The problem with stabilizing first, IMHO, is it changes the dynamics of the cantilever. With the stabs up the coach leans freely around the suspension, frame and wheels of the coach. With the satirizes down first, you’ve created a fixed point with a lot of stress on that point creating a fixed pivot resulting in the coach moving on that point and causing the passenger stab to no longer contact the ground. In my mind this creates more stress and twisting on the slide

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

jimbo12 - We have a 2020 24F, and before I had Bigfoot Levelers installed, we more or less used the method you describe. I think the key issue is to get the coach level before extending the slide - ESPECIALLY "front to rear" level - which can cause diagonal stress on the slide track mechanism.

If the coach is SLIGHTLY off side-to-side... BUT perfectly level front-to-rear, the drive motors/gears/tracks have fairly equal stress on them. After a while, you get a feel for how much tilt the extended slide causes. If possible, my "almost level" starting point favored the driver side being higher. If after extending the slide, I would "cheat" and use the stabilizers to adjust - especially the rear driver side, where the head of the bed is. So I used the stabilizers for "mini level adjusters" as well as stabilizers.

We travel a lot into the mountains of West Virginia, and many campgrounds have less than ideal sites when it comes to finding level ground. After fighting this "challenge" without hydraulic leveling, I gave in and invested in the Big Foot system. For larger rigs in mountainous terrain, they are a life saver... fairly expensive, but a high priority for us.

 

[rapinboston]

Like other people with full wall slide, i have a 24' Freedom Elite, i put driver side front and back on double lego blocks. Then put out slide wich brings vehicle level. Then use rear stabilizers to tweak bedroom.

 

[phalexander]

I think you are all over thinking it and that in actual practice it doesn’t much matter. The jacks are plenty strong enough to level with the slides out. The owners manual with my gas class A (SO is crystal clear in its instruction to put the slides out before leveling. My dealer said the opposite and leveling first always made the most sense to me. I called my manufacturer and asked and he laughed and said if he had a dollar for every time he’d been asked he wouldn’t need to work any more. He assured me that it makes no difference whatsoever and even sent me a technical service bulletin that said as much. That said, I usually level first just because I’m sitting there in the driver’s seat with the engine running and it easier to do it that way.

 

[dkoldman]

So RV Mfgs don't agree, so it really MUST not matter?

Per my Manual from (SOB - Winnebago)

It says BEFORE extending
1. Level the Motorhome & set Parking Brake
2. Start Engine for maximum power (it will not extend unless key is at least in accessory position)
3. Press and hold slide out switch until room is fully extended
4. Remove Ignition key

I have always followed that procedure, but what is not clear to me is what is meant by Level? i.e. If my coach is perfectly Level without the use of the levelers; is there any need to drop the levelers before extending slide?

Update:

I will add during out PDI at Daler in Florida, the Tech has us Auto level, put slide out and then Auto level again if that makes any sense.

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Also consider some slide boxes are more shallow and not as wide... such as a dinette slide vs a full wall. I'm sure a smaller box won't have the amount of force a larger, heavier full wall slide has... especially a deep one.

I prefer not to trust a lightweight aluminum Schwintek track system to support a LARGE tilted slide box... seems like a recipe for gears jumping teeth and uneven wear over time. Maybe it makes no difference, but I'm not willing to experiment with physics.

I'd like to hear from slide repair experts as to reasons why the Schwintek systems fail. Are there any cases where excessive wear was caused by operating the slide while considerably unlevel? What's the most common slide failure?

 

[HMCSW]

On our 24F Four Winds, should the stabilizers be lowered, then the slider run out, or the other way around? Without the stabilizer down the slider causes a definite tilt to the RV, however I am concerned about the heavy slider being too much load for the driver side stabilizer.

Level first. Our Aria actually has a lock and will not let the slides out first to make sure.

 

[16ACE27]

This thread is about stabilizers and slides, not levelers. It SHOULD be common knowledge to level an RV before deploying slides - that may mean blocks, it may mean using leveling jacks if you have them.

Stabilizers are not leveling jacks.

 

[dkoldman]

This thread is about stabilizers and slides, not levelers. It SHOULD be common knowledge to level an RV before deploying slides - that may mean blocks, it may mean using leveling jacks if you have them.

Stabilizers are not leveling jacks.

My question starts with "common knowledge to level an RV before deploying slides"

If the RV is confirmed level without use of blocks or the leveling jacks; is it okay to extend the slides without blocks, stabilizer and or leveling jacks? I had assumed that is what OP was asking, but I was asking from perspective of using leveling jacks as stabilizer?

 

[16ACE27]

My question starts with "common knowledge to level an RV before deploying slides"

If the RV is confirmed level without use of blocks or the leveling jacks; is it okay to extend the slides without blocks, stabilizer and or leveling jacks? I had assumed that is what OP was asking, but I was asking from perspective of using leveling jacks as stabilizer?

There is no requirement to deploy leveling jacks before deploying a slide if the RV is already level.

But realize that deploying a large slide on one side of an RV only may cause the RV to become unlevel: it may also become unlevel even if the leveling jacks are deployed as many have complained about.

The level requirement is to minimize stress on the slide while transiting from one position to another. Don't overthink it.

 

[crazylegs]

If your motorhome slide is nested into the side of the motorhome, like the Entegra luxury diesels (slide is flush with the outside when closed), then you need to put the slides out first or the stabilizers may shift the frame slightly and jam the slide.

If you have a motorhome where the slideout is larger and overlaps the outside of the motorhome when closed, then you need to stabilize first and then put the slides out to minimize the additional torque on the suspension.