Bottom of slide out getting damaged

[Love2rv]

I jacked the slide out up to see what was causing the damage but found nothing.. The wear bar seemed to be fine. So I put some gorilla tape over the damaged area under the slide but that to is damaged now too. Not sure if this is just a adjustment problem. Anyone got answers what I can do.

[sourdough]

As I'm looking at the picture I'm assuming I'm looking from the front toward the back....the back being the lower seal under the slide. The rolling of the Darco looks like it is bundling up from L to R instead of front to back.

IMO the Darco on the bottom is just a poor design. I had issues with mine but the ends of each large slide began to fray from wearing on the wear bar I assume. I tried adjusting the slides to no avail and had the dealer do it twice but could not make it stop. The service manager finally decided the slides must have bowed somewhat due to their length. We could come up with no other solution so I/they bought some Teflon like material that we installed on the bottom of the slides so the wear bar would no longer slide on the Darco. So far (end of last year to now) it has worked great. I'm hoping it's the final solution until I get a different trailer.

IMO you will need to do something soon. If the Darco completely tears, which I figured mine was going to do, you can only try to cover it with more Darco and wait for it to happen or pull the entire slide and replace the material. I was quoted $1200 per slide to remove/reinstall - labor only. I had the repairs I mentioned above completed for $2200 and they didn't have to remove the slides which means they would have had to take them completely apart; appliances, furniture etc. etc. They had one removed on another unit while I was in the shop and knew I didn't want anyone tearing down the trailer to that degree in a "shop".

[Love2rv]

I was hoping for a quick fix that would not cost much. What kind of Teflon did you use?

[Dave W]

On a previous 5er, a Glendale Titanium, the bedroom slide started to break through the fiberglass bottom panel. The factory warranty repair was a sheet of aluminum. Since I was the second owner and the unit was 2 years out of warranty, did my own fix using 6" wide by long enough to go under the rollers at full extension .125 aluminum. Five years later at trade time, still worked just fine. If this will work for you, let me know and I'll dig up some photos and a bit better explanation.

[Campy]

I seen a repair done where a guy used a UHMW sheet and screwed it to the bottom of the whole slide. UHMW is like a Teflon plastic only stronger and it's super slick. He screwed it with a pattern of screws counter sunk in the plastic sheet.

[sourdough]

I had the UHMW material installed. I believe the material cost about $500. We used 1/8" thick applied with adhesive and counter sunk screws outside the wear bar. The 1/8" thickness did not seem to affect the slide adjustments and has worked well so far. I wanted thicker but the service manager said he had the best luck with the 1/8" in the ones he had installed. We installed 1' wide strips on the end and in the middle - not the entire bottom so we didn't have to pull the slide.

Edit: here is a link for the uhmw material
http://www.eplastics.com/uhmw_sheet

[Desert185]

UHMW is the material used for aftermarket ATV skid panels. Probably the best material for two sliding objects. Less friction than aluminum and very robust.

[Eagle]

On my old rockwood roo I had a similar proplem . Two things I found. Staples under the carpet were lifting up and scraping the bottom of the slide. The other item was to leave the corner stabilizer in the up position any time I move the slide in or out. Keeping any frame twisting from hampering the slide.

[Tooth Ferry]

pictures and more details of your fix would be greatly appreciated

[Eagle]

Open slide, than go inside the camper and lift up the slide rug flap. That's were I found staples sticking up. These staples were scraping the bottom the slide when you moved it in or out. I pulled the problem staples and put in screws. I have no pictures. New camper this year.

[Bit'n'Goldie]

Ditto on this. I found some loose screws and staples.

[Mathieu424]

I had the UHMW material installed. I believe the material cost about $500. We used 1/8" thick applied with adhesive and counter sunk screws outside the wear bar. The 1/8" thickness did not seem to affect the slide adjustments and has worked well so far. I wanted thicker but the service manager said he had the best luck with the 1/8" in the ones he had installed. We installed 1' wide strips on the end and in the middle - not the entire bottom so we didn't have to pull the slide.

Edit: here is a link for the uhmw material
http://www.eplastics.com/uhmw_sheet
Hello,

What type of slideout do you have, is it cable driven?

[Hblick48]

I had a similar problem with slide. Woven material on right side was torn, and it was fraying on the left side.

I found UMHW sticky back tape at e-plastics; https://www.eplastics.com/accessories/plastic-tape/slick-strips-uhmw

I used jacks to lift the end of slide. Found that screw holding the factory installed slide strip had backed out causing the tear. Had to drill hole under carpet to access screw head to tighten (used epoxy on thread so it won't back out again.)

I used the 1/16 inch by 1 inch tape. First I cut out the fraying material and thin wood underneath to expose the metal frame on both ends. I then installed the UMHW tape directly to frame. Attached loose woven material using mobile home flex mend woven tape. Looks exactly like woven material already there.

Works great. Took about 2 hours per side to do. Most difficult part was removing nails holding wood to metal frame.

[X-Jaywalker]

I had a similar problem with slide. Woven material on right side was torn, and it was fraying on the left side.

I found UMHW sticky back tape at e-plastics; https://www.eplastics.com/accessories/plastic-tape/slick-strips-uhmw

I used jacks to lift the end of slide. Found that screw holding the factory installed slide strip had backed out causing the tear. Had to drill hole under carpet to access screw head to tighten (used epoxy on thread so it won't back out again.)

I used the 1/16 inch by 1 inch tape. First I cut out the fraying material and thin wood underneath to expose the metal frame on both ends. I then installed the UMHW tape directly to frame. Attached loose woven material using mobile home flex mend woven tape. Looks exactly like woven material already there.

Works great. Took about 2 hours per side to do. Most difficult part was removing nails holding wood to metal frame.

Hblick48- I know this was a long time ago. But I have the same issue and could use some advise. Any help would be appreciated. I dont understand how you got to the screw (? mine has staples I think) on the slide strip ( I am assuming this is the bar the slide glides across going in?) Jcking up the slide on one end sounds like that may give you more room (how did you jack it up?) Also did you ONLY do one side??? Thanks in advance.

[Hblick48]

Hblick48- I know this was a long time ago. But I have the same issue and could use some advise. Any help would be appreciated. I dont understand how you got to the screw (? mine has staples I think) on the slide strip ( I am assuming this is the bar the slide glides across going in?) Jcking up the slide on one end sounds like that may give you more room (how did you jack it up?) Also did you ONLY do one side??? Thanks in advance.

I jacked up the side of the slide (bottle jack supported by 4x4 with 2x4 between jack and edge of slide) and felt around (careful that jack doesn't slip) until I found and felt the screw head (from the outside). Then I went into the rig and found the screw head by feeling under the apron.

Estimated where I needed to drill hole through apron (to access screwhead). Split open the carpet (x cut), pulled away, drilled 1/2 inch hole and found screw head. Unscrewed, epoxy, install. Used epoxy putty (kind you knead to activate) and filled hole. When epoxy cured, fitted double stick tape to attach carpet.

Then I installed UMHW tape.

[roadglide]

That’s my next repair when I get back home . I don’t understand why they couldn’t have used the same Black hard plastic-material and rollers Used on the small slide.

[Roadmaster]

I had the UHMW material installed. I believe the material cost about $500. We used 1/8" thick applied with adhesive and counter sunk screws outside the wear bar. The 1/8" thickness did not seem to affect the slide adjustments and has worked well so far. I wanted thicker but the service manager said he had the best luck with the 1/8" in the ones he had installed. We installed 1' wide strips on the end and in the middle - not the entire bottom so we didn't have to pull the slide.

Edit: here is a link for the uhmw material
http://www.eplastics.com/uhmw_sheet
Did you have any problems keeping water out of your camper after putting the strips under the slide? I know the strips are only 1/8 inch thick but that's still enough space for water to get into. I'm thinking of trying this fix for the same problem but I also don't want to create an issue with a slide leak. Thanks in advance!

[sourdough]

Did you have any problems keeping water out of your camper after putting the strips under the slide? I know the strips are only 1/8 inch thick but that's still enough space for water to get into. I'm thinking of trying this fix for the same problem but I also don't want to create an issue with a slide leak. Thanks in advance!


I've not had any problems with water intrusion due to the uhmw strips. When the slide closes there is a large ( 2-3") flap that seals up under the slide preventing water from getting into the lower edge of the slide along with the normal bottom seal.

[Sulphur1]

I recently noticed that the Darco was showing signs of impending damage. I countersunk-screwed 2" strips of 3/16" UHMW sheet about every foot and a 6" wide one in the slide centre.
Slide now moves a lot easier. Will need keep an eye on the screws in case they work out - just remember to look when checking tyres before each trip.
Intend to install rollers later.