Warning to 325SRX owners!

[smiller]

Just got back from a trip where I was deploying by living room slide and heard a most unpleasant crunching sound! Turns out the bunk ladder had somehow slipped out of its stowed position and caught the facia on the slide, causing some damage. I have no idea how the ladder moved out of position as the roads that day were not rough, and in fact I travelled many rougher roads subsequently with no repeats. This has never happened before, and never happened again on our trip since the single incident (and yes, I am certain that the ladder was correctly stowed upon departure.)

I would advise 325SRX owners to verify the position of the ladder before deploying their LR slide (which is kind of a PITA because you first have to deploy the slide about 1/4 way and then crane your head back there to try to see the ladder in the dark. I am going to install a small retaining thumbscrew to prevent the possibility of this happening again and the need to check each time.

Given that I have seen no reports of this happening before and that it has only happened once to me I would assume that it takes just the right (or wrong) combinations of movements to unseat the ladder and it is probably a rare event, but I'm here to tell ya... it can happen, and if it does you won't like it. The slide has so much torque that the first indication you will receive is the sickening sound mentioned earlier.

Luckily it doesn't look like it will be very difficult to make repairs, looks like the worst part will be removing the cherry trim pieces without damage so I can get to where I need to work (the ladder itself wasn't damaged at all.) I'll post an update when finished, but in the meantime I would advise caution to all!

[jje1960]

Don't need to tell me twice.....

[smiller]

You got it done even before me!

BTW, I notice that you seem to have carpet all the way to the garage door (vs. a linoleum strip.) Is that stock or did you install the extra carpeting yourself?

[jje1960]

Originally Posted by smiller

You got it done even before me!

BTW, I notice that you seem to have carpet all the way to the garage door (vs. a linoleum strip.) Is that stock or did you install the extra carpeting yourself?

Stock, nothing changed there.

[smiller]

Well the damage to the slide is fixed, good as new but had to sink a number of hours in it.

Here is my solution:



Seriously, do this. It will cost about $2.00 for a thumbscrew and threaded insert and takes about 15 minutes to install. No downside and might save you many hours of work.

[jje1960]

Glad you got it fixed, happy you spread the word before this happened to us, thanks much. 3 seconds with a button snap and web strap is better than going through that ordeal with the damage, that's for sure.