Big Country Slide out is chipping underneath

My 2009 Big Country 3250 is chipping under both bottom slide outs. The black coating is peeling off the plywood. It looks like a poor design, which is disappointing because I like many of the innovative features of my rig. What can I do to stop the chipping? I read something about a repair kit from heartland......any info?

Follow these threads for information on what to do:

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/15265-9.00-to-prevent-slide-floor-de-lamination

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/17687-Installing-Polyethylene-Strips-Under-Slides

Thanks JohnDar, I read both threads. What method do recommend? Home Depot trim or Heartland repair kit. Do I need to do both the "L" angle and the protective strip for the rollers. How do I check if my slide out has rollers?

jandjtrumpet said:

Thanks JohnDar, I read both threads. What method do recommend? Home Depot trim or Heartland repair kit. Do I need to do both the "L" angle and the protective strip for the rollers. How do I check if my slide out has rollers?

Click to expand...

Heartland is the only source I know of for the plastic strips, so you'll have to go there. Out of warranty, they run something like $35 or $40 per kit (two strips and a tube of #105 Sealant/Adhesive) after S&H. If you're a club member, you can get 10% off. They also sell the aluminum angle, but I don't know what the cost is.

If you can find the drip edge that Alan and others used, all you have to do is cut it to length and mount it. Not wanting to haul 10 foot sections, and not readily finding it, I went to an aluminum siding dealer and had them bend up the pieces I needed in 36" lengths and cut them down to final size.

I suggest that you first mount the aluminum angles. You will need to remove the trim piece at the bottom of the slide walls, though. On the inside of each angle leg, run a bead of caulk and then put it in place. Using the original trim strip you removed, drive the screws back into their holes and run a bead of caulk along the top edge. You may find a screw in that trim that is set so far back that you can't remove it. So long as it's protected by the rubber seal, just remove the screws you can and cut the angle so it just reaches that hidden screw. GENTLY flex the trim outwards and insert the angle. Then reattach the trim as mentioned earlier.

Once that's done, you can mount the plastic strips. Move the bottom rubber slide seal so you can see the rollers. Note: only the kitchen slides and bedroom slides seem to actually ride on rollers. On the kitchen slide, you want the plastic aligned with the two outboard rollers, not the inboard ones. The living room and entertainment slides move over a long plastic strip and have no rollers. For those, I just attached the plastic strips near the bottom legs of the aluminum angles on the small entertainment slide. For the large living room slide, I did the same on the outboard edges, but had enough cut-off from the other slides that I was able to install two more strips roughly 1/3 the distance from the others, ending up with four strips under it. There is some debate over whether or not it is necessary to jack the slides up to install the strips past the rollers or strip, or just install up to the roller. I chose the latter method. In operating my slides, I have not encountered any problem with carpet snags or the slide hanging up.

It seems that, on mine at least, that the bedroom slide comes with aluminum angles from the factory. On that slide, I only attached the plastic strips for the rollers to run on.

View attachment 10476 Angle installed.

View attachment 10477 Plastic Strips on main slide

View attachment 10478 Angle and Strips

View attachment 10479 Bedroom slide

Sorry this got so long-winded.

Thanks for all the info...I'll do it ASAP. You were so informative. Are the plastic strips really necessary? mine hasn't flaked in the center yet?

No problem. As for the plastic strips in the center of the main slide, since I had the material left over and the slide rides on a long plastic strip, not roller, I figured to add them and take care of any sag that might occur in the center of it. None of my slides had damage on them, but there was a minor amount of black flaking off the edges of the plywood floors in some areas. So, I did the modification as a preventative measure. The bedroom slide was showing some visible grooving from its rollers, however, but no loss of coating.