Sundance slideout, broken welds (How to avoid this with a shim)

[wrgrs50s]

My slideout floor broke loose previously while under warranty and was repaired with longer screws that went through both sides of the aluminum frame. This was done while under warranty. My warranty is now out and it broke loose again, only this time it turns out it was the welds in the slide frame. I have concluded that the weight of the sleeper/sofa is bouncing while traveling, working like a sledge hammer on the floor when the slide is all the way in. If your slide is like mine you can lift the carpet and see that the slide sets about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the floor with no support at the front corners while traveling. I have repaired this by plating with screws and made wooden blocks to place under the corners while traveling to prevent this in the future. See the pictures and it will clarify what I'm saying. Pictures will show the broken welds, how I plated and screwed to repair, and the piece of 3/4 plywood used under the corner to support the floor while traveling after the repair. If you have this type of flush floor slideout, which I assume most do, it would be wise to shim under each corner when traveling. It was not an easy repair to do in such a confined area and would be very costly to do at an RV facility. I hope this post will help someone else avoid this from happening.

 

[firstone]

Thanks for the info. I have a new trailer that looks to be rubbing the carpen in that spot when it closes and opens. You can see the trail from the slide opening and a spot on the carpet where the carpet looks like someone is standing on it and doing the twist. Any ideas? It also feels like the right side has a gap between the bottom of the slde and floor where the left does not???? Is this a brokes roller or crooked slide floor or worse??? This is a new trailer.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Mike,

Sounds like it's time to visit your dealer to get the windows looked at and while there get the slideout adjustments checked.

 

[firstone]

Yea, just a real bummer. Brand new and spring time RV season. I won't see it back untill end of summer. What was the reason I did this to my self again/???

Hi Mike,

Sounds like it's time to visit your dealer to get the windows looked at and while there get the slideout adjustments checked.

 

[danemayer]

Yea, just a real bummer. Brand new and spring time RV season. I won't see it back untill end of summer. What was the reason I did this to my self again/???

I know it's a busy time of year for dealers, but there's no reason this should take your trailer out of use until end of summer. Ask if you can make an appointment for the day and time when they'll actually be ready to do the work, and tell them you'd like to wait for it. Unless you need parts, it shouldn't be more than a few hours.

 

[Rrloren]

I had my Kitchen slide adjusted just before leaving for Fl. in Feb, when we returned a few weeks later had to bring it back since same slide was out of adjustment again. Turned out the welds on the brackets on both sides were broken. Both were repaired, will be using again next week, hope they holdup this time.

 

[wrgrs50s]

Thanks for the info. I have a new trailer that looks to be rubbing the carpen in that spot when it closes and opens. You can see the trail from the slide opening and a spot on the carpet where the carpet looks like someone is standing on it and doing the twist. Any ideas? It also feels like the right side has a gap between the bottom of the slde and floor where the left does not???? Is this a brokes roller or crooked slide floor or worse??? This is a new trailer.

Hi Mike,
Your situation sounds like maybe just a slide adjustment is needed. I wish I had some useful info for you but I really dont know that much about slideouts. I can give you some reference points to go by since my slide appears to be working very smooth since I made repairs. When my slide is all the way in for traveling, I can lift the edge of the carpet, on the slide, and see that the slide floor is lifted off the main floor about 1/2" to 3/4" on each corner. This keeps it from dragging the floor while coming in and out and avoids tearing the vinyl or snagging the carpet (I'm only assuming this is how it is suppose to be). If I'm understanding you correctly, it sounds as though your slide floor is rubbing the main floor in both directions, at least on the one side. It could be a number of factors involved with the issues your describing.
I know it's a bummer bringing it in, but that's your best option while under warranty. If it's not causing serious problems you may consider using it through the camping season and bringing it in near the end of your warranty, or at least at a point that's more convenient for you. (by then you may have a few more issues that surface)
Good Luck and hope you get it fixed to your satisfaction. You might give us a shout back to let us know what you find out.

 

[ParkIt]

Mike, did you take the wall apart yourself to check? What all did you do to get in there?
I'm wondering how to do this to check the welds on the larger living/dining room slide, its always seems to struggle too much to slide in and out, would rather be proactive and do a modification as you have.

 

[wrgrs50s]

Parkit, The first sign that the welds were broken on my slide was that the floor of the slide came loose from the slide wall. In other words, When my slide out was all the way in, I could move the wall left and right at the bottom edge. To remove the wall covering to inspect it, I had to pull the finish wood trim off the front edge of the slide, gently, with a thin pry bar. It was attached with 2 inch brad nails. After removing the trim, I had to pull the white rubber seal back which was attached with small staples. Then there was another piece of plywood that was screwed and stapled to the aluminum framing that had to be removed. At this point you can see the outside edge of the metal frame. To get to it, if you need to plate it as mine needed, you will then have to seperate the wall board from the metal frame which is glued on for the interior panel and screwed on for the exterior panel. The interior panel was most difficult to get loose without damaging the panel ( I used a putty knife and pried it apart an inch or so at a time). I just pulled it apart enough to get to the broken welds so I could sandwich a plate on it (as you see in the pictures posted). I dont believe you could re-weld it with any success, it is so thin. I hope this gives you an idea of how I disassembled my slide walls. I just took my time and looked very closely to determine each step throughout the process.
I'm not sure I would recommend disassembling yours unless you are certain that the welds have broken. It's a very tedious job in tight quarters. I would however, recommend that if your slide floor is lifted off the main floor when all the way in, like mine, that you place a shim of some type under each corner to keep the slide from bouncing up and down while traveling on rough roads as stated in my original post. I'm certain that was the reason mine gave away at the welds.
Oh, and I'm not Mike but I assumed you were addressing me, the op.

 

[Bogie]

I have a 2011 Sundance 245XLT I bought used in February. This thread caused me to check the slide. When the slide is closed, at the North end (front) there is only about 1/16 inch gap between the slide floor and main floor and that gap runs nearly the entire length of the slide. At the South end (rear) there is approximately 3/4 inch between the slide floor and main floor. This increased gap starts about 2 feet from the rear end. I don't see any problems with the slide, but was wondering if this means the slide needs an adjustment. The slide wall seems to meet the trailer wall outside pretty evenly and the slide seems properly oriented when opened. As only the dinette is over this location, I don't believe there is excess weight here. It's no problem to put a small block under this corner while traveling. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[wrgrs50s]

As long as your slide out is completely sealed when in or out, I would'nt think it would need an adjustment. Mine was sealed well also and has a different gap to the floor from one end to the other. In fact, it is about an inch at the north/towards the front of the rig and 3/4 inch at the back end of the rig. My assumption was that the couch being at the rear of my unit, was bouncing up and slamming back down on that corner, which caused the welds to break. That is why I recommended placing a 3/4 inch shim under the corner to absorb the impact into the floor rather than the edge of the slide. Now the only problem I'm having is trying to remember to remove the shims each time I retract my slide.

 

[ParkIt]

Oh, and I'm not Mike but I assumed you were addressing me, the op.

Yes, I was addressing you and somehow got confused with Mike.

Using shims would be optimal on the larger slide out though I wonder if I'll need a 1/4" at top as well. Didn't have our BC very long before hauling out the heavy short couch and replacing it with a chaise which is much lighter so there is very little weight on that slide...one of the cabinet doors in the top rear corner started to separate at the frame. Not sure if that has anything to do with it since other units have had the same issue in different parts of theirs, so far its just been the one that has done this and the rest look good throughout the unit.
When ours was dropped on the bed of a truck I noticed that slide 'jumped' far more than the others, so much so it broke a fin off the ceiling fan which is why I wonder if it has one if not two cracked or broken welds.

Thanks for the write up and how to. Didn't expect to use a sledge hammer but its good to know how many layers you had to peel off first and how they are attached, I might do a peel back just to see if they are toast and need a nifty fix as you've done.

PS: worked on street legal race cars for decades, I'm very used to having to fix things in tight quarters with the loss of skin off my knuckles, tools that take flying lessons and having to leave something alone for 10 minutes before I destroy it. I just make sure there aren't any little kids around so they don't go home where their parents think they might have turrets syndrome.

 

[Bogie]

Walter,

Thanks for the reply. I may put a shim in while traveling just for piece of mind.

I can easily see myself forgetting to remove the shims before opening the slide also. Perhaps a sticky note that says "Remove Shims!" hung over the slide switch would help.

 

[rlinde3]

It seems to be a design error or poor workmanship, in our model you would have to climb over the table and
sofa to get out after trying to place a shim under the slide, also it seems that the shim would work it's way out on a long trip.