Slide Out Rollers

[sourdough]

Yes, at about the 1:10 mark he says you have to measure the height of the wear bar, either 1/2" or 3/4", did you do that and then order the roller for that height?

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Yes, at about the 1:10 mark he says you have to measure the height of the wear bar, either 1/2" or 3/4", did you do that and then order the roller for that height?

I've cancelled my roller order from BAL due to the inconsistencies of this video vs. other information. To answer the question - Yes I pulled back the weather seal and "measured the gap" this came to a +/- measurement of 1/2" as previously stated so I just ordered those. However:

The part number given for 1/2" rollers in the video is 854304 - which is depicted here (and on the BAL site) LINK

This is consistent with another video I found here

LINK

Which shows a different measurement method of looking at the wear bar directly.

I did this on my trailer and one wear bar is "flat" and not a 1/2 or 3/4" and the other looks 3/4". So despite the gap being consistent the "wear bars" are not.

Then there is this guy -

LINK

Where the first video measured gaps and cut the weather strip away. This guy removed the weatherstrip and cuts the entire wear bar out.(about 5:30 into it)...it looks like a 1/2" wear bar.

So I have to work through this logically as the highlighted makes little to no sense other than they assembled it with what they had in stock, etc, etc. Next time I'm out at the trailer I'll post pictures to what I mean.

[sourdough]

Looking at videos of your model trailer it shows you have the cable operated slides. They are made by BAL/Norco called the Accu Slide system. I would personally not cut out my wear bar but that's personal choice. I've not seen a cable slide sitting on a flat wear bar, has this one perhaps collapsed?

Before making permanent removals of the wear bar(s) I would call BAL and ask to speak to their technical support. I've talked to one of their engineers but do not recall her name. 877-557-7788. Explain what you have and see if they can offer any guidance.

[JRTJH]

Not sure if you've seen the "official BAL instructions" or if you've just watched some videos on U-tube posted by people who have "installed them once"....

Here is a link to the BAL official instructions. This document provides "blueprint quality" drawings with measurements for the BAL slide roller system and gives "exacting measurement procedures" for determining which roller is correct for your slide, based on wearbar height.

I hope it helps: https://balrvproducts.com/wp-content...Bear-REV-A.pdf

As far as I can tell, the 2017, 2018, 2019 models are t he same as the 2020 and 2021 models. You can contact BAL to be sure if you choose. Anyway, these instructions should clarify some of your confusion...

[jxnbbl]

Thanks John I understand the concepts of this for sure and have read/seen those instructions + 3-4 videos. I've stopped what I'm doing until I fully understand 2 items (although my 1/8" UHMW strips have been ordered).

There seem to be two methods of "Measure the height of the wear bar, to determine which rollers you need." 1. measure the "gap" 2. Look at the wear bar.

I've attached pics. The first two - measure the gap and are very close to 1/2" but not close to 3/4" - so they must be 1/2" (it was difficult trying to hold back the weather strip, hold the tape and take a pic. The second two - are the passenger (small/fridge/stove) and drivers side slides (large/sofa/dinette) pulled in a bit an measure it. Well the small slide is definitely 3/4" but the large slide is...not expecting that!

The other part that somewhat doesn't make sense is that I recognize the Darco will end up with "hot spots" of pressure and wear over time....so I'm adding UHMW strips. But once these are added they are the structure "riding surface" not only for the rollers but for any contact surface. That's why I thought tape would minimize the delta but if I was adding 3/8" strips...in reality who cares if I was using 1/2 on a 3/4" wear bar as it is the gap that matters.

I'm inching towards ditching the Bal rollers and going with some Lippert rollers as there is not a 'fixed' 1/2 or 3/4 distance. They mount flush to the frame. As long as the entire unit is aligned properly before install, install the strips first and then install the set of rollers so they are touching the strips it would provide support relative the actual gap. I will call Bal first and figure out what I have.

[smc00921]

Thanks for the information - we are researching the issues you mentioned - great note for future endeavors - thanks much!

[Matty Rich]

Glad I came across this thread as I’ve been having issues with my slide outs for the past few months. It does exactly what is described. Jerky, not smooth, seems like it gets caught up when sliding in or out.
I’ve popped 2 slide cables recently and today I went to my trailer to take measurements to potentially install these rollers and guess what; another cable popped.

Luckily I was able to get the slide back in and I have spare cable repair kits.

Anyways…. Here’s my question.
My wear bar doesn’t look like the ones in the BAL video and the other videos posted here. Mine is just a piece of wood. I took measurements both of the wear bar on the inside and the gap on the outside and confirmed it’s about 3/4”.
Attached is a pic, is it safe to say I should order the 3/4” rollers?

[jxnbbl]

Regarding my posting #25. I've contacted BAL Technical support and have a few interactions with them. What I've been told is that the "flat wear bar" was starting to be used since the 1/2 and 3/4 had a collapsing problem. I'm guessing with the larger slides. For the kitchen slide that has a 1/2" gap, but 3/4" wear bar (pictured) I've been told to to spray on some food lubricant on the flat wear bar (below). I might put other roller types on this side but have to think about it and consult with others.

"I would use the .75" rollers on the slide with the hollow core wear bar and I would just keep the other one lubed up with some ZEP 45. This is a food grade lubricant that will work good with the wear bar, Darko, and collect minimal road debris. "

[jxnbbl]

I've found another video that shows exactly what is in my head. This guy is dealing with a Fuzion with a smaller slide than mine. Although I don't physically have a problem now I see this evolving into the same problem. I will order the 3/4" BAL rollers for the "kitchen slide" and then look at the J13 Lippert rollers for the sofa/dinette side.

LINK

[sourdough]

One of the most important problems I saw was not addressed by the repairs; all the open wood left from the torn up darco. On those torn up ends I think I would have added some kind of ski or strip to weatherproof all that torn darco. I'm also a little leery of putting lag screws right into my floor and the future problems that might introduce...

IMO Keystone owns all the problems with these slides, not BAL. In my conversations with the BAL engineer she said she did not know why Keystone insisted on using darco and the wear bar as BAL specifically recommended against it due to exactly what we are experiencing. I'm sure it boils down to cost. BAL/Norco makes a video that demonstrates their slide system you can watch. They only make the cable system, Keystone provides the box, floor, wear bar, measurements of them etc. I can attest that the darco is a huge problem and eliminating that drag across the wear bar makes a tremendous difference. Some RVs come with solid bottom slides, mine is like that now with solid uhmw after it started with darco then developed the same darco problems as always. In the 4th year now and it glides smooth as butter and not the tiniest sign of wear, skids, abrasion or anything else. So yes, it is a poor design. Good luck with your repairs, I know it takes a lot of consideration.

[Matty Rich]

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

I've found another video that shows exactly what is in my head. This guy is dealing with a Fuzion with a smaller slide than mine. Although I don't physically have a problem now I see this evolving into the same problem. I will order the 3/4" BAL rollers for the "kitchen slide" and then look at the J13 Lippert rollers for the sofa/dinette side.

I watched this video as well because I’m currently dealing with the same issue in my Fuzion. My slide main slide is huge. 12’ and has the refrigerator and sofa on it. So it bares a lot of weight. I’ll be installing the BAL 3/4” rollers on Tuesday.
I have Lippert J36 rollers on stand by also. But I’m 95% sure the BAL will do the trick.

Regarding the video. I’m not sure why he didn’t go with the BAL rollers. He didn’t mention anything about measuring the wear bar either. Maybe he went with those Lippert roller’s because he can move them up and down to find a desired height that works that application.

[Matty Rich]

Yesterday I went to back to my trailer to do a slide cable repair and think I found what has been causing some of my problems.
The top left (from inside trailer) bracket was never screwed into the wall. So it’s twisting and binding. See picture.

It recently caused 2 cable to get completely mangled. My bigger issue now is I cant feed a new cable through the whole pulley system for the “Top Out” side without removing the whole slide. The way the bracket is engineered I just can’t seem to find a way to string a new cable through. It has to go through 3 pulleys.
Hard to explain without pictures. I have been able to repair and feed the cable through some of the other brackets in the past, using picks and other tricks, but the Top Out pulley bracket is inaccessible.
I will be back on Tuesday to do the repairs and will try to document it. I might have to cut a piece of the bracket off temporarily to route the cable then weld it back on. The piece I would cut is there to make sure the cable doesn’t pop off the pulley so it doesn’t support any weight; as long as I weld it back exactly how I cut it off. It’ll be fine.
I’m open to other ideas if anyone has any??

[jsb5717]

Granted, there are several things that can go wrong with these cable slides. We also started having problems with Darko shredding and our kitchen slide chattering on the wear bar.

I did a couple things that seem to be working well.

1. I installed the Lippert rollers shown below. I chose this style because they surface mounted vertically so I didn't have to disrupt the water/bug seal...leaving it intact. They were pretty easy to install. I used a jack to lift the slide about 1/16-1/8" at each location, snugged the roller up to the bottom of the slide, then used 5/16" self-tapping bolts in the outer 2 holes to get the roller properly positioned. Once set in the correct position I screwed the center hole, locking it in position so it couldn't sag. I installed 4 of these. They now carry enough of the weight off of the wear bar and that problem is solved.

2. I've started installing flashing between the Darko and the slide roller to mitigate the shredding. The one pictured below is on the living room slide where the roller is right next to the edge. Takes some time to fabricate the correct shape. Once in place, using a broad head center punch, I pound a hole deep enough to counter sink small flat head screws so that they are level with the sheet metal...that way they don't drag on anything. So far so good. I plan to do the same type of thing under the kitchen slide if my new rollers start to harm the Darko.