Repairing darco fabric slide

roadglide · 09-03-2019, 08:05 PM

UHMW 3/16 6×35 strips .

Sulphur1 · 09-04-2019, 03:07 AM

About to do the same! (Was wondering how wide to go.)
Using a 6" wide in the centre & sides to cover roughed up darco.

roadglide · 09-04-2019, 04:00 AM

I cut 4 strips 6 inchs wide thinking I would space them equally I did both frayed ends first . With jacks on both sides and one in the middle it would have been difficult to install the other 2. The 110 inch slide glides like never before.

fatcatzzz · 09-04-2019, 04:32 AM

I have a couple of questions.

1. Did you bevel the front edge to ease the strip up onto the slide bar?
2. How far apart should the strips be, my slide is 144".
3. What screws did you use and do you think they will stay?
4. Where did you buy the strips.

Well I guess that's more than a couple of questions.

Thank in advanced for any help.

Frank G · 09-04-2019, 04:35 AM

That is a nice repair, What kind of fasteners did you use? On the outside edges woild you smear a light coat of silicone between the Darco and plastic to keep water out?

Tbos · 09-04-2019, 08:35 AM

Where did you get the material? How long are the screws? Can you post a picture of the slide side bottom edge from the side of the slide.

roadglide · 09-04-2019, 08:44 AM

Yes I did bevel and round the front it's not necessary because strip is on top off the wear bar and I went 2 inches past that. I could only get the 2 ends that wore , if the slide floor is true flat 4 would be good. I will go back and loosen some screws and use sealent . I needed to know this job would work befor I had a mess with sealent. I bought a 4 x 2 sheat from us plastic UHMW $ 82 . Rough on one side slick on top 3/16 gave me room to counter the pan head screws .

Logan X · 09-04-2019, 09:30 AM

That’s a nice fix. Thank you for posting it and including the details. I will be doing something similar very soon.

Tbos · 09-04-2019, 10:03 AM

Thanks for the extra information. What type of slide did you use this on? When you jacked it up for access did you have to loosen anything else?

fatcatzzz · 09-04-2019, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadglide

Yes I did bevel and round the front it's not necessary because strip is on top off the wear bar and I went 2 inches past that. I could only get the 2 ends that wore , if the slide floor is true flat 4 would be good. I will go back and loosen some screws and use sealent . I needed to know this job would work befor I had a mess with sealent. I bought a 4 x 2 sheat from us plastic UHMW $ 82 . Rough on one side slick on top 3/16 gave me room to counter the pan head screws .

Sounds like you are saying that the strips are sitting on the wear strip even when the slide is all the way open? If that is true , then there is a 3/16" gap on top of the wear bar. This may be a problem as to let in cold(we camp in cold climates sometimes) in. Also slide is only supported on ends when open, this may cause problems also. Or do I have it wrong?

I was thinking of beveling strips and mounting so when slides retracted a couple inches the bevel on the strip would ride up on the wear strip.

But all in all seem you are on to the right fix. Thanks for the info.

**JRTJH** · 09-04-2019, 01:28 PM

Menards has HDPE (not UHMW) in 0.22" thick sheets (24"x36") for $26.69 https://www.menards.com/main/doors-w...9107080632.htm
"x96" sheets
They also have 1/8" thick 48"x96" sheets for $31.18 and 1/4" thick 48"x96" sheets for $48.94 and 3/8" sheets (also 4'x8") for $71.19. It's available in black or white: https://www.menards.com/main/c-14048.htm

I bought 1/4" sheeting to use to line the upper part of my wheel wells. The DARCO was worn, filled with pinholes and no longer protecting the trailer subfloor.

Steveo57 · 09-04-2019, 02:34 PM

Make sure you seal the exposed edge well. That's where the water wicks it's way into the floor as it runs down the side of the slide and gets pulled around the bottom edge.

I did something similar using a piece of this TufTex deck drain bracket that I picked up at Lowe's. Seems to be working good and it wraps around the bottom edge of the slide to completely seal it. The original trim piece was screwed into air for the most part because I it was too narrow so I used a strip of aluminum flat stock to trim it out.

I just did the two edges where the darco was wearing. The middle seems to be okay so far. The strips extend a few inches past the wear bar on the inside.

roadglide · 09-04-2019, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbos

Thanks for the extra information. What type of slide did you use this on? When you jacked it up for access did you have to loosen anything else?

Cable slide miserable slide seal is shot and wiper . I put aftermarket seal on few years ago . The slide comes in and out with no dragging its extremely fast with the super slick UHMW poly guide it's not cheep material but it cuts easy with metal jigsaw blade. I have seen repairs useing flex tape that still holding.

Tbos · 09-05-2019, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steveo57

Make sure you seal the exposed edge well. That's where the water wicks it's way into the floor as it runs down the side of the slide and gets pulled around the bottom edge.

I did something similar using a piece of this TufTex deck drain bracket that I picked up at Lowe's. Seems to be working good and it wraps around the bottom edge of the slide to completely seal it. The original trim piece was screwed into air for the most part because I it was too narrow so I used a strip of aluminum flat stock to trim it out.

I just did the two edges where the darco was wearing. The middle seems to be okay so far. The strips extend a few inches past the wear bar on the inside.

When you jacked it up for install did you have to loosen any thing?

Tbos · 09-05-2019, 05:10 AM

I have issues where my Darco is rubbing the floor and leaving marks when the main slides are in. I was thinking about using several (4 or 6) strips of the UHMW on the floor as support for the slides when they come in. Do you all think this would work? I’d use the thinnest possible to make sure I still had a good seal when the slides are in. I think this would reduce the wear on the Darco too. Let me know your thoughts.

**sourdough** · 09-05-2019, 06:52 AM

Tbos, I've had the UHMW strips under my slides for about 3 years now and they work fine. They are 1/8" thick and don't cause any draft problems plus you have the seals to prevent any weather intrusion - and they do eliminate the Darco fraying. As well, I've found the living room slide has a slight upward bow in the middle anyway....

Steveo57 · 09-05-2019, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbos

When you jacked it up for install did you have to loosen any thing?

It's a thru frame electric slide so in my case I could just jack it up a little with no problems since the slide is basically a box that just floats in the side of the trailer.anf and is only supported by the wear strip and slide arms on the bottom. The floor is not structurally very sturdy so you have to spread the load out with something.

Tbos · 09-05-2019, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

Tbos, I've had the UHMW strips under my slides for about 3 years now and they work fine. They are 1/8" thick and don't cause any draft problems plus you have the seals to prevent any weather intrusion - and they do eliminate the Darco fraying. As well, I've found the living room slide has a slight upward bow in the middle anyway....

Are your UHMW strips permanently attached to the slide or do you put them on the floor before you bring in the slides. Thanks in advance.

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