Slideout Floor Thickness

Billcanfish · 10-03-2023, 06:49 PM

I recently purchased a used 2010 Keystone Montana High Country 343RL RV.
The floor to the living Room large slideout (roughly 4' x 11') had been replaced due to a window leak. Previous owner replaced with 2 thickness of 3/4" plywood making it 1.5" thick. I drags a lot going in and out. I would like to
replace it and want to know what the original floor thickness was. Previous owner thought 1" ? Also what is the best covering or sealing materials to use to seal the exposed wood?
Can anyone confirm what Keystone uses?
Thanks!

wiredgeorge · 10-03-2023, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billcanfish

I recently purchased a used 2010 Keystone Montana High Country 343RL RV.
The floor to the living Room large slideout (roughly 4' x 11') had been replaced due to a window leak. Previous owner replaced with 2 thickness of 3/4" plywood making it 1.5" thick. I drags a lot going in and out. I would like to
replace it and want to know what the original floor thickness was. Previous owner thought 1" ? Also what is the best covering or sealing materials to use to seal the exposed wood?
Can anyone confirm what Keystone uses?
Thanks!

I am certain that the original floor wasn't 2 x 3/4" plywood. Most likely one sheet and may not have been plywood. Do you have carpet through the area where the slide has been dragging? If memory serves, the bottom of my "super slide" is painted black. I think newer units may have the stuff sold by Rec-Pro (can't recall name):
https://www.recpro.com/rv-underbelly-material/

You might be able to adjust the slide depending on the type. This video will help you figure that out and when you figure out the type, you can search for adjustment videos or ask here as someone likely has done it already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYDBvuWnHrs

Mikendebbie · 10-04-2023, 02:04 AM

I did these sketches for another thread - but they will give you an idea for how the slide floor is built. I think the flooring is 3/4" plywood.

Billcanfish · 10-04-2023, 03:06 AM

Thanks very much, Very helpful!

Billcanfish · 10-04-2023, 03:14 AM

Thanks for your reply! Yes, I do have carpet where the slide travels. I'll take a look at the coatings you provided and the video on the cable systems. I've replaced a couple of cables already so am getting familiar with the process but always looking for suggestions!
Thanks...

BeeMagicUSA · 10-04-2023, 05:21 AM

PLEASE !!! Can you draw something similar to help me with my problem associated with Hideout 2014 slide-out roof/ceiling ? A seller hided the fact the roof is in a bow shape ( have no idea how its happened) and now all rain water is coming in regardless of the angle I et up my camper on a ground.
Keystone Customers support suggested to bring the camper to a dealer, but it is no possible. Want to understand in general if I can do repair/fix on my own. How to remove a ceiling safely and what to expect after such opening ?

wiredgeorge · 10-04-2023, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeeMagicUSA

PLEASE !!! Can you draw something similar to help me with my problem associated with Hideout 2014 slide-out roof/ceiling ? A seller hided the fact the roof is in a bow shape ( have no idea how its happened) and now all rain water is coming in regardless of the angle I et up my camper on a ground.
Keystone Customers support suggested to bring the camper to a dealer, but it is no possible. Want to understand in general if I can do repair/fix on my own. How to remove a ceiling safely and what to expect after such opening ?

You will probably have better luck getting answers if you start your own thread in the proper forum area. This thread is about floor.

Billcanfish · 10-04-2023, 05:41 AM

Please ask "Mikendebbie", they sent me their sketch....
Thanks.

rhagfo · 10-04-2023, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikendebbie

I did these sketches for another thread - but they will give you an idea for how the slide floor is built. I think the flooring is 3/4" plywood.

Your sketch may be correct for a non flush slide, most super slides are flush slides and made of a single sheet of the OSB that the makes up the trailer floor, mine is about 3/4".

**JRTJH** · 10-04-2023, 06:22 AM

The 2010 Montana High Country line was one of the first to offer the "Helium Technology" in trailers.... What was that ??? The concept of using structural foam, lighter materials and according to the advertising, "Up to 2,500 Pound Weight Savings".

In reality, what we have today in the "ultra-lite" trailer lines is similar to what Montana introduced with "helium technology"...

You can download the 2010 Montana brochure here: https://www.rvroundtable.com/wp-cont...rybrochure.pdf Note that it was printed before the "public accepted Helium Technology" so there is no diagram of just what that concept included...

You can also download the 2013 Montana brochure here: https://recreationalvehicles.info/20...y-brochure.pdf By that time, Keystone was more "open to showing what was in the concept of HE technology"...

The "weight reduction technologies" have advanced over the years, but the basic concept of using "thinner top surface floor decking, laminated to rigid foam to replace the fiberglass insulation" had become the standard for light weight trailer construction. Then, around 2019/2020, the problems with durability and water deterioration began to surface. Keystone changed to a form of water resistant top surface decking in trailers that required the weight savings and reverted to DuraSpan or DynaSpan seamless floor decking (an engineered wood product with water resistant qualities) that are typically in the 5/8" thickness. Gone "forever" are the 1.5" or even 1" heavier wood floors in nearly all trailer lines.

Take a look at the brochures in the links above, you'll see the construction used in your trailer, including the floor construction process.

Billcanfish · 10-04-2023, 06:43 AM

Thank you. Would the slideouts also be 5/8" thickness ?

Mikendebbie · 10-04-2023, 08:04 AM

Confession: I have no experience working on slideouts. My sketches were developed from watching some youtube videos about slide repair and factory tour videos where you can see many of the "bones" of the RV coming together. My sketch may not be 100% accurate but it helps visulaize the basic components and generate subsequent questions. Other knowledgable people here in the forum will chime in and offer better help than I could provide. I read this forum to learn and because it is full of information from folks that know what they are talking about!

Here is a sketch I did for the bedroom slide in a Montana...

Mikendebbie · 10-04-2023, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeeMagicUSA

PLEASE !!! Can you draw something similar to help me with my problem associated with Hideout 2014 slide-out roof/ceiling ? A seller hided the fact the roof is in a bow shape ( have no idea how its happened) and now all rain water is coming in regardless of the angle I et up my camper on a ground.
Keystone Customers support suggested to bring the camper to a dealer, but it is no possible. Want to understand in general if I can do repair/fix on my own. How to remove a ceiling safely and what to expect after such opening ?

BeeMagic - I have no idea what the slide roof deck is made of...single piece of plywood or sandwich panel. Just thinking about it - if I had the same problem however...

I think the slide fascia trim/board contributes support to the slide box roof across the unsupported opening. I would be thinking of ways to re-attach the sagging roof deck to the front slide trim. Unfortunately - I would have to do some demo to take the fascia parts off to see how it was put together. Frankly - my solution might involve adding structural components (like a metal stud or C-channel) across the intersection of the ceiling and the slide trim to bring the roof deck back to a flat position across the opening like it was when it was new. My fix might be exposed and ugly in the eyes of my chief inspector (DW)...but somehow the roof deck needs support across the opening and it needs to be attached to the fascia trim.

Again - I have no experience with fixing slides - just throwing out ideas and sketches below.

Billcanfish · 10-04-2023, 05:57 PM

Thanks, helpful info!

BeeMagicUSA · 10-07-2023, 08:39 AM

Indeed I do appreciate for your assistance. No one Keystone dealership associate ( I have 11 of them around NYC in 50 miles vicinity) was able to provide me with what you did.
You are amazing person, thank you !
My first/initial point of being spooked is to remove the ceiling. I have to remove all lightings first, a white ceiling material after that. Where to buy a replacement ? Can I use the same plastic trims to assemble everything back without having air compressor and a pin gun? Without 110V available. Oh my God - I was scared to look up.
Same time nobody else is gonna do that. October weather here Upstate New York becomes not nice & friendly with 2-3 days of rain weekly. Yes, I got spooked about I won't be able to finish what I started in 2 days.
I have to rely on either Home Depot or Tractor Supply inventory , otherwise I'm doomed.
Thank you very much once again !

Mikendebbie · 10-07-2023, 12:37 PM

If it was my RV - I would want to find all the rot - fix it - and put a new ceiling back up. I have limited carpentry skills - so I would plan to use screws to put all this back together…not the air driven pin nails that the factory uses. I gave up on hammering nails in my projects years ago. If you can - post some photos of the situation.

The first thing you need to do is get that slide roof supported/shored so the water will stop leaking in. Put a 2x4 up against the ceiling (all the way across the slide) and put three 2x4 shores under it. Cut these pieces before you start. You will need someone to help hold the 2x4 up to the ceiling while you wedge the shores into place. The existing ceiling is probably ruined - so you need to carefully remove it and assess the limits of rotted wood framing.

For replacement ceiling materials - I would go to Home Depot/Lowe’s to pick out a piece of thin primed plywood to use as the replacement ceiling panel. I would not plan to use “real” factory replacement materials. They will be more expensive and hard to find. I always screw things up on the first try…so I need to be able to buy readily available replacements…not wait on UPS to deliver replacement panels from WeGotchaRVParts.com or whatever.

Again - I have never done this type work - just thinking thru the process if I was faced with the situation. There are lots of knowledgeable folks on this forum that have done work like this. Hopefully they will provide better direction than me.

BeeMagicUSA · 10-07-2023, 01:26 PM

Appreciate, gonna drive to my farmland tomorrow, gonna see my camper survival after 3 consecutive weekends with heavy rain.
My main theoretical confusion with the way to fix the roof is slide-out material - aluminum. Unless installing a column in a middle of the width ( on a sliding in and out floor) I don't understand how the aluminum roof is gonna stand horizontal even after my attempt to " bow it up" . Based on my understanding a slide out represents sort of a cube with one side missing. If a roof geometry has been changed for some sort of mechanical impact from outside , that means the entire cube's geometry has changed. That means side walls are now not perfectly vertical but conical a little bit to the center.
If I'm gonna use 2-tons hydraulic lift to push a center of a deformed roof up( after removing a ceiling materials of course) my worry is about sort of a chain reactions from walls side. May be my worries are overestimated, I'm gonna see. Technically to perform such fix alone seems very complicated because one person should use lift from inside and another person should observe progress from a roof . How to do that alone ? Gonna try to use a long line level to control the progress. Oh God, send me luck !

KarenK · 10-08-2023, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeeMagicUSA

PLEASE !!! Can you draw something similar to help me with my problem associated with Hideout 2014 slide-out roof/ceiling ? A seller hided the fact the roof is in a bow shape ( have no idea how its happened) and now all rain water is coming in regardless of the angle I et up my camper on a ground.
Keystone Customers support suggested to bring the camper to a dealer, but it is no possible. Want to understand in general if I can do repair/fix on my own. How to remove a ceiling safely and what to expect after such opening ?

This video might help. https://youtu.be/4whU18urXRI?list=PL...UoJ6JWmAtDsGFk

BeeMagicUSA · 10-29-2023, 01:29 PM

Do appreciate. Your link to YouTube was an exact answer to my problem with slide out. Unfortunately not a list of replacement materials been provided and where to order them. It seems I have to post another help assistance here. That rubber or a rubberized material - what is that and where I could order it in one piece ?

KarenK · 10-30-2023, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeeMagicUSA

Do appreciate. Your link to YouTube was an exact answer to my problem with slide out. Unfortunately not a list of replacement materials been provided and where to order them. It seems I have to post another help assistance here. That rubber or a rubberized material - what is that and where I could order it in one piece ?

The white rubber with the black underside I think is TPO rv roof membrane, EDPM is white on both sides. If I have it backwards maybe one of techy guys will confirm.

Then you would need the right glue for the roof membrane you chose to use, rv parts service or google search can help with that.

They tell you what staples they use in the video, get as close to that if not able to rent the same stapler.

Eternabond tape can be bought on Amazon/ebay/ rv parts sites. You can probably get shorter pieces of the rubber roof without having to buy a full trailer length piece.

Good luck, thanks for the thanks pm!

You may also like: