Ray, I think I got it figured out! Di Slides! Di Slides!
I only did the kitchen area but it would be easy enough to do the entire floor. I would have to figure a way to have the edge of the laminate under the slide out carpet be flush so the slide would have clearance. Possibly an aluminum carpet transition piece would be thin enough to cover the edge of the laminate without adding too much thickness. The laminate actually should not be any thicker than the carpet and padding combined so it might just be a very simple mod. I used laminate with the attached sound deadener (padding) from Home Depot.
Back in the old days...I was riding my pet mastadon into work. All the NCO's were sitting around the coffee table discussing the woes of the world. I explained to them that I needed some plastic shims with a taper to level something I was working on installing on my truck.
One of the guys there said, "Come with me, Son". He took me down to the basement and talked to the guy that worked the plastics for prothetics. I told the guy what I wanted to do...and he said "Sure..." he walked over to a bin and pulled out two pieces of plastic that were about 1.5 inches long and a 3/4" wide. He asked if these would work...and I responded that they were too short...and too thick. He ran both pieces thru a rolling press...and shazam! I got my shims.
I was going thru the board archives here...and found something about some plastic inserts that could be used to keep the slides from dragging on the floors (a retrofit for the Sundance I think)...and I imagined that they would also work to keep the slides from dragging on my new laminate floor. The prices from the manuf. was a little steep. So, went looking for a field expedient method to save some money.
What I found were some cutting boards that were made of the same plastic as I had gotten in Alaska...and the same plastic that the liner of my peg leg is made from. I bought a couple and took them home. Did some measurements and cut them into strips the width of the flooring pieces. Found a guy that had a rolling press...and ran those plastic strips through....and pressed them down until they were about 1/8" thicker than the flooring and trimmed them to the width of an piece of flooring.. Cleaned the area up...and using some of that marine flexible epoxy. The pieces could also be drilled and counter sunk if you wanted to screw them down. But, the epoxy seems to be holding it like it was welded on.
A quick check...(drum roll please), when the floor is retracted into the trailer...it raises the slide up j_u_s_t enough that the slide rolls right over it...and does not touch the floor.
I think this setup might work and hold for a while. If I start having problems I can either redo it...or look for some harder plastic.
What you think, gang?