Slide problems....

Davel · 08-19-2011, 10:35 AM

Just made an appointment at Forrest City for Oct. to rapir our main slide. I suspect the nylon glides failed and allowed the slide to drop 5/8" in the front. It worked fine until we heard a crunch as the slide lowered into position. It then retracted with a popping sound. We were on the road and attending the WCMC Rally so we didn't get it looked at right away. We took it to Stuat's in Elkhart to have the glides replaced and they wouldn't repair it because there was damage to the slide mechanism itself. They and HWH suggested taking it to Winnebago for repair. They will have all the parts needed and the experience as well. The service tech said to count on 3 days labor...ouch.

My point is to check those paint lines to see if the slide has dropped. The paint lines are a good indicator because they go on last. If I had noticed and got the glides repaired sooner I wouldn't have damaged the slide. Another lesson learned the hard way. I will post the results....

Dave

RickO · 08-19-2011, 11:06 AM

Thanks stinks Dave but I'm working on the same problem. I've been seeing broken pieces of the nylon glides and plan to take it in as soon as we get back to Arizona next month. I'm hoping my extended warranty will cover it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Rick

TurtleKent · 08-19-2011, 12:38 PM

Apparently some slides are on rollers, and some are on nylon glides, and the type might be mixed on the same coach. On my previous 2002 Adventurer I had the same problem, the nylon glides began to crumble so then I had metal-to-metal dragging, leaving metal filings and staining on the carpeting. My short-term solution to get back home was purchasing a large nylon cutting board at WalMart($10), which was about 3/8" thick. From inside the coach I was able to insert the cutting board between the bottom of the slide and the carpeting to take the weight of the slide off of the broken glide. Long-term solution was having the glides replaced at the Winne dealer. Apparently the nylon blocks were not a stock item so the dealer had to cut blank nylon sheet to fit the application. I think next time I would try doing the job myself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I believe the dealer charged around $1000 for the job. The dealer extended the slide fully, then used 4x4 timbers and an auto jack to raise the slide as far as possible within the body slide opening. Then it was reaching thru the opening under the slide and replacing the nylon glides. Like many jobs on an RV, access was the biggest challenge. Good luck.

smlranger · 08-21-2011, 06:14 AM

It does seem to pay to be proactive in dealing with this issue. The front of my big slide was down about 1/4" (based on alignment of paint stripe) so we had them replace all the bushings on the slide at Forest City. 2 full days of labor (there were a couple of other minor things they fixed). They showed me the worn bushings and one was ready to crumble.

swreeder70 · 08-21-2011, 08:43 AM

Any preventative maintenance you can do to avoid this? I had some problems on my previous Winnie class c slide. It was highly recommended that I spray down the slides and nylon glides. I used a product called JiGaLoo Jig-A-Loo - an invisible silicone-based lubricant and water-repellent ! Had no problems after doing this a few times a year.

With three slides on the "new" 07 we are picking up, I would like to keep them working trouble free.

jimmccreary · 08-21-2011, 10:45 AM

I used a Lithium grease and this resulted in a more smoothe operation of the slide. Before, the slide seemed to slow down at one particular place when closing. The lubrication definitely helped. Also, an inspection of the 4 nylon glides on each beam can show if they are wearing out.
After calling Winnebago and discussing the problem, they thought that a dry spray silicon lubricant would be better than grease. The problem with grease they said was that dirt would stick to it.
hope this helps,

jim & debbie, 04 Journey

mikf · 08-23-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurtleKent

Apparently some slides are on rollers, and some are on nylon glides, and the type might be mixed on the same coach. On my previous 2002 Adventurer I had the same problem, the nylon glides began to crumble so then I had metal-to-metal dragging, leaving metal filings and staining on the carpeting. My short-term solution to get back home was purchasing a large nylon cutting board at WalMart($10), which was about 3/8" thick. From inside the coach I was able to insert the cutting board between the bottom of the slide and the carpeting to take the weight of the slide off of the broken glide. Long-term solution was having the glides replaced at the Winne dealer. Apparently the nylon blocks were not a stock item so the dealer had to cut blank nylon sheet to fit the application. I think next time I would try doing the job myself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I believe the dealer charged around $1000 for the job. The dealer extended the slide fully, then used 4x4 timbers and an auto jack to raise the slide as far as possible within the body slide opening. Then it was reaching thru the opening under the slide and replacing the nylon glides. Like many jobs on an RV, access was the biggest challenge. Good luck.

I did the same procedure with the 4x4's and a bottle jack on the rear slide of my 2002 35u. was a half hour job. I know the front slides are a little diferent, but $1000??? I think I will fixing the front ones myself if I ever have a problem.

wackodacko · 09-07-2011, 03:07 PM

Im having the same problem - hearing a crunching noise when moving the kitchen (biggest slide) in and out, mostly towards the end. It seems to be cracking the tile and crunching some wood under the stove area . i hired a mobile rv tech and he adjusted it as far up as he possibly could, but he said something was wrong witht he frame, might need to be rewelded at the shop, and the shop would have to remove the entire slide, couldnt really understand the technical mumbo jumbo he was talking about. i called the dealer and they charge $130/hour!! is there a good and affordable itasca/winnie dealer in tucson, phoeniz, arizona or socal area?
I have a 2004 itasca horizon 40ad. second owner.

Davel · 09-07-2011, 10:53 PM

wackodacko.

Mine made the same crunching noise as it settled down to the flat floor location. Then it would pop as it came in. There is a square piece of metal, probably sheetmetal, that looks to be twisted now. It is visible when the room is out. When the tech at Stuarts saw that they declined to work on it.

Good luck,
Dave

mikf · 09-08-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davel

wackodacko.

Mine made the same crunching noise as it settled down to the flat floor location. Then it would pop as it came in. There is a square piece of metal, probably sheetmetal, that looks to be twisted now. It is visible when the room is out. When the tech at Stuarts saw that they declined to work on it.

Good luck,
Dave

Dave, you say made the same crunching noise. did you get it fixed? if so how? if not have you inspected the nylon bushings?

TurtleKent · 09-08-2011, 09:33 AM

wackodacko, I have the same model coach, and I would suggest looking for dishes, etc that may have fallen under the slide back towards the sink and are being crushed when the slides move. Ask me how I know...

wackodacko · 09-08-2011, 09:11 PM

TurtleKent...i looked underneath from the inside, when the slide was about 4" from being fully extended..didn't see any broken dishes, i only saw tile chips and wood splinters from the tile there. from the outside, it looks like its sagging lower on the right (stove area) than the left (couch area)
I hope I find a shop that WILL work on it. DAVEL: what happened to yours, how did you ever fix it?
My "quick fix" which is not really a fix, but just living with the situation, is to not fully extend the slide. i leave about 2 or 3", or before i hear the crunching/cracking sound. this is until i can get into a dealership. whats irritating is that they will probably still charge me the $90 "diagnostic fee" whether or not they decide to fix it

Davel · 09-08-2011, 11:11 PM

mikf,

It's going back to Winnebago in October. The best guess is the triangular glides at the rear that allow the slide to drop into position failed....

Dave

wackodacko · 09-12-2011, 05:06 PM

Finally got mine into the dealer today, they only took 1 hour to fix it - a simple adjustment, they said! i have no idea what that "mobile rv tech" was saying because now it works fine. i just have a piece of tile missing from my floor as big as my thumb, but i hope this fix fixes my slide forever.
super relieved that i dont have to spend thousands to fix a slide now

wackodacko · 01-19-2012, 07:33 PM

I just wanted to follow up on my last post on this thread... The dealer did fix the issue, or so I thought. The slide has been SO SLOW going in and out lately, i thought it was cold weather. Until we extended the slide to wash some dishes at a rest area, and it wouldnt come back in! We had to ask 3 truckers to help push it in, while i pressed the Retract button. Good thing we were only 3.5 hours away from Moscow, IA - the home of HWH!

HWH fixed it in 4.5 hours, total $400 including parts. not bad! They said my "angle pads" were worn out/crunched/broken. I think this is what other people call "slide glides" on this thread. They replaced it with a newer model which they say will probably never break because its a better material. THey also said it was already broken and the dealer just did a "quick fix" when they adjusted it last time. If only they had HWH trained reps at all Winnie dealerships, it would save us a lot of $$$ from mis-diagnosis and "band-aid repairs" which just cover up the problem, not actually fixing it.

Anyway, guys - get those angle pads replaced if you are passing by Iowa and have an older RV. They mentioned theres no way to avoid it, it will fail sooner or later due to age

mikf · 01-19-2012, 07:49 PM

wacko, how far ahead did you have to make an appointment at HWH? I have some hoses seeping and am trying to decide if I want to tackle it myself or not.