avvidclif
Well-known member
My Cyclone has the BAL cable operated slides. Recently the BR slide sounded like a cat with his tail in a wringer for the first 6" of movement in either direction. I thought at first it was the slide rollers needing oil, nope not it. A few calls to several dealers for warranty service (4-6 weeks) convinced me to try and fix it myself. I downloaded the BAL Installation guide and the Troubleshooting guide. It provided a lot of info, mainly that when a slide is fully extended or retracted the visible cables (4) should have 1" of up and down free play, 1/2" in each direction. The back BR lower cable was like a banjo string when extended. That caused the cable to rub on the side of the hole thru the frame. After figuring out how to get at the adjustments (remove the trim piece over the slide) I found that the jam nuts that lock the adjustment screws had never been tightened. One adjustment had tightened up and was causing the problem. I adjusted it correctly and tightened the jam nut and all is well, the screaming cat left. I checked and the other 3 jam nuts were loose on the bedroom slide. A little adjusting for fit and tension and then locked the jam nuts and it works great. While there I also sprayed the rubber seals with silicone spray, inside and out.
While doing this I looked at the kitchen slide cables. When the slide is extended they have 4-5" of slack. Way too much according to BAL. I saved them for another day but a quick look showed the same problem with the jam nuts on that slide also. At least the 2 I could get to by standing in the BR and reaching over the top of the kitchen slide with it retracted. The problem is to get at the adjustments on either slide the trim piece over the slide has to be removed. Once I get the BR put back together I'll start on the kitchen.
The BAL instructions don't begin to make a lot of sense until you are actually looking at the mechanism then everything falls into place. Not a big job once you figure it out.
The joys of owning an RV.
While doing this I looked at the kitchen slide cables. When the slide is extended they have 4-5" of slack. Way too much according to BAL. I saved them for another day but a quick look showed the same problem with the jam nuts on that slide also. At least the 2 I could get to by standing in the BR and reaching over the top of the kitchen slide with it retracted. The problem is to get at the adjustments on either slide the trim piece over the slide has to be removed. Once I get the BR put back together I'll start on the kitchen.
The BAL instructions don't begin to make a lot of sense until you are actually looking at the mechanism then everything falls into place. Not a big job once you figure it out.
The joys of owning an RV.
