Ken, I bought rollers as you are planning to do, but never installed them. Unlike some of the slide outs that move linearly in and out, the slide out in question has to climb up over the vinyl floor and conversely has to drop down to slide into place in the full out position. I don’t think that can happen with the rollers. At least that is what imagined as I actually started the installation. YMMV.
... another gentle reminder I need to get off my butt and get mine fixed .... like ...... real soon.
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Make sure the rollers run on the uhmw. The rollers on darco just leads to further problems.
Your caution about having the UHMW run on top of the slide rollers makes sense but I am wondering if there will be unexpected ramifications with the extra 1/8" thickness of those strips running on top of the rollers that will be lifting the slideout over the wear bar.
I ask because when ordering the rollers they make a big to-do about making sure you get the right ones for your wear bar - 1/2 or 3/4" ... I bought the 1/2" ones based on my 1/2" high wear bar.
Just booked our first trip since the spring and have 13 days to get this job done.
Where did you buy the rollers and who was doing the cautioning? I've not installed rollers with the uhmw strips as there was not any need. I have seen rollers on uhmw strips and rollers that ran on darco - uhmw holds up and darco does not. If using 1/8" uhmw I'm not sure there would be an issue but I do see an issue if you installed 3/4 rollers with a 1/2" wear bar or vice versa. If the rollers are the same height as the wear bar and installed that way the 1/8" height over that should cause no issue as it would be the same as adding 1/8" uhmw over the darco that then rides on top of the wear bar.
I bought the BAL-made rollers NIB from an RV dealer's online store. I did get a call from Customer Support at BAL who told me that it wouldn't be a problem although there may be some cable adjusting needed to ensure the top of the slide-out didn't bind at all with the top of the frame.
My challenge right now is buying the UHMW ... looking at prices for a 1/8 x 24 X 48 sheet they are all over the place ... McMaster is $51 + shipping + $94, Interstate Plastics is $47 +$50 handling and $100 shipping = $198, Buyplastic on ebay is $92 + free shipping, Shapes Plastics on ebay is $53 + free shipping. This variation has me thinking there must be differences in types and quality of UHMW and I want to make sure I order the correct one.
Plain uhmw is uhmw as far as I know. The do have a few grades of it from "reprocessed" (cheaper) to some kind of xray detectable etc. Those should be specified when ordering. I got some from U.S. Plastic which was reasonable and they were professional. Right now they are showing that same size strip at 101.88 and 46.29 shipping to your city. The material isn't cheap but it's probably the very best material for this specific use because that type of application is what it's made for.
As far as suppliers I stick with known corporations/businesses and don't deal with ebay. I know lots of folks like ebay but I tried it twice and was less than pleased. I don't know that you would have any idea what kind of product you were getting.
I've put 1/8" uhmw on my last 2 trailers and didn't have to do a thing to adjust my cable slides. If the rollers are at the same height as the wear bar I would think yours would be the same unless they were on the edge of needing some sort of adjustment or something. You can cut it with a table saw if you want....I have quite a bit.
I bought the BAL-made rollers NIB from an RV dealer's online store. I did get a call from Customer Support at BAL who told me that it wouldn't be a problem although there may be some cable adjusting needed to ensure the top of the slide-out didn't bind at all with the top of the frame.
My challenge right now is buying the UHMW ... looking at prices for a 1/8 x 24 X 48 sheet they are all over the place ... McMaster is $51 + shipping + $94, Interstate Plastics is $47 +$50 handling and $100 shipping = $198, Buyplastic on ebay is $92 + free shipping, Shapes Plastics on ebay is $53 + free shipping. This variation has me thinking there must be differences in types and quality of UHMW and I want to make sure I order the correct one.
Thank you for that education. My research did show several "grades" but none of the sellers show the grade they are selling although some talk about TIVAR which was developed by Mitsubish Chemical. Time for more research and I'll get back to you.
Check the strips on Amazon at this link. While there may be "cheaper" UHMW strips available, if you're a Prime member, shipping is free. When you consider "those other places" with their $50 handling and packaging fees and OUTRAGEOUS shipping charges, $120 for 4 precut strips wide enough to extend beyond the 3" rollers and long enough to span the entire width of the slide, getting all the "precut strips" and just having to countersink the holes and cut one end to the correct length makes it pretty easy to protect the DARCO and have a good wear surface for the rollers to support on the bottom of the slide.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H43OE...B59ZO8VV&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Tivar is Mitsubishi's spin on uhmw. In some places they say they have a "different" formulation and then spout the same attributes that all uhmw has. From everything I've read the DO charge more for it....I'd stick with plain uhmw. Below is a link that says a bit about Tivar and the products they've branded.
https://www.alro.com/divplastics/PlasticsProduct_TIVARFamily.aspx
I purchased my UHMW from Grainger since there's no freight charge if you pickup at one of their stores. Of course, that only works if you're close to a store.
Excellent. I see that their physical store is in Atlanta and their site shows those strips at just $20/each making it a $60 purchase (plus drive time to pick up). I'm calling them to see if they have those strips in 1/8" as I am trying to have thin strips running on top of the rollers I am also installing so as not to affect the spacing at the top of the slideout too much. One thing that I don't understand when watching the Youtube installation video is how to drill thin 1/8' plastic for the countersink of the screw heads without going all the way through.
That would make it even cheaper and well worth the trip if you're in the Atlanta area...
As for countersinks, I have a bench 8" drill press that I bought 40 years ago at Sears for $39. Harbor Freight has a similar drill press at today's pricing, for $69. I just set the drill press stop where I want it and the countersink bit stops at the correct depth. That said, if you're careful and don't countersink too far, you can easily do the same with a hand drill.
Now, when you get right down to it, even if the screwheads do protrude slightly, all they are going to do is "scratch the wear bar the width of the screwhead. With the length of the wear bar, the width of the screwheads and the addition of the UHMW strips in the slide center and slide skis on the slide ends, you're still going to have a significant amount of "slide surface projecting down from the slide bottom that lifts the DARCO up, away from all the pressure of the wear bar.
To me, while I try to be as precise as I can, we're really talking about "bailing wire and tractor tolerances" not "building rocketship tolerances".
I'll buy a countersink bit at HD and not worry about getting it exact. I did notice with the Duo Skis they use some kind of butyl tape rather than screws. Any thought on that as an alternative?
Good points. I just received the UMHW strips and will install them tomorrow for a trip the next day. Ended up buying on eBay (2 of 12"x36"x1/8" Tivar 1000) Would have preferred black but at $33 for the strips and $14 shipping the total was unbeatable so I went with the white... who sees them anyway. I'll cut into 4 6"x32" strips but just use 3 of them ... edges and middle. I'll buy a countersink bit at HD and not worry about getting it exact. I did notice with the Duo Skis they use some kind of butyl tape rather than screws. Any thought on that as an alternative?