Slideout Nylon Supports

[Pepper2]

Do all Winnebago slides have these bushings or just a few models and model years?

[bruceh]

Just got done with my examination. I can see that one of the bushings is broken. I am assuming that this is the cause of my binding.

I certainly want to get this fixed before something really bad happens. Do the parts come from Winnebago or HWH?

For those who have done the repair, any comments on floor jack vs. bottle jack? The repair looks pretty straightforward. The posted pictures could have been my motorhome, except for the backing plate as mine is not in the way.

I can't comment on other Winnebagos, mine is a 2001 35U.

Thanks for the continuing expertise!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by bruceh

Just got done with my examination. I can see that one of the bushings is broken. I am assuming that this is the cause of my binding.

I certainly want to get this fixed before something really bad happens. Do the parts come from Winnebago or HWH?

For those who have done the repair, any comments on floor jack vs. bottle jack? The repair looks pretty straightforward. The posted pictures could have been my motorhome, except for the backing plate as mine is not in the way.

I can't comment on other Winnebagos, mine is a 2001 35U.

Thanks for the continuing expertise!

bruceh,
I've not done the repair or replacement of any of the bushings talked about on/in this thread but, I've got extensive experience with the use of plastic. While employed with the SDFD for thirty years, 24 of them I had an alternate assignment as "Apparatus Outfitter". When new fire trucks came in, they were basically, empty rolling tool boxes. My job was to completely out fit them with all brackets, shelves, hangers, clips, and much more including all tools, hose, some wiring etc.

One of the products we used extensively was called "UHMW" PLASTIC. The technical term is, Ultra High Molecular Weight Plastic. It's NASA stuff. The impact resistance and durability is phenomenal. You can cut it with a table saw, cross cut saw, router, etc. It can me machined, and threaded. It has ultra low resistance to drag. We purchased it in 4'x8' sheets of anywhere from 1/8" thick to 2" thick. The 2" thick stuff was serious in cost. We'd normally get 1/4 sheet of that really thick stuff.

Anyway, you can purchase this stuff through or at, any plastics supply. As stated, it's very easy to work with but way tougher than nails etc. You can make your own "pads" or "bushings" as they're called at way less price. All that's needed is a table saw or, even a radial arm saw and chop saw for the small pieces. I stated you can thread it. You really don't do that. All that's needed is, drill the hole the diameter that's needed to thread it but, just start screwing the bolt/screw into it and it will grab the screw/bolt and keep going.

It's outstanding stuff to work with. The next lower but, still great stuff to work with at about half the cost is: HDPE. That's High Density Polyethylene Plastic. It's the same stuff all the cutting boards are made of. It too has severe strength and durability features. If you look on the bottom of about 99.9% of the plastic containers sold in America, i.e. quart and gallon oil containers, food containers, milk, cleaning solutions, and a zillion more, you'll see the "triangle" recycle emblem and, "HDPE" symbol.

That is one seriously used plastic in our economy. It too would work for the slide pads but, I'd opt for the UHMW when it comes time for me to do it. The cost will be very minimal. Just labor. Good luck.
Scott

[RickO]

Originally Posted by bruceh

What is the observed symptom of this? My living room slide is jerky (binding) when it is being extended and seems to be getting worse.

Does this line up with bad bushings? I am going out to examine my bushings but I am not sure exactly what to look for.

It can cause the jerky operation or even a nasty metal to metal screeching. If you have full body paint, you might also see that the paint lines no longer line up quite right when the slide is retracted. This is because the "bearing" has worn or crumbled away allowing the ram/slide to drop a bit. You may also notice little broken pieces of the slide bearing material when poking around under your slides when they are retracted.

Originally Posted by Pepper2

Do all Winnebago slides have these bushings or just a few models and model years?

I'm sure that not all have them but this is actually an HWH part and any coach manufacturer who uses these HWH slides, I would suspect would have similar issues.

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

bruceh,
I've not done the repair or replacement of any of the bushings talked about on/in this thread but, I've got extensive experience with the use of plastic.

One of the products we used extensively was called "UHMW" PLASTIC. The technical term is, Ultra High Molecular Weight Plastic. It's NASA stuff. The impact resistance and durability is phenomenal. You can cut it with a table saw, cross cut saw, router, etc. It can me machined, and threaded. It has ultra low resistance to drag. We purchased it in 4'x8' sheets of anywhere from 1/8" thick to 2" thick. The 2" thick stuff was serious in cost. We'd normally get 1/4 sheet of that really thick stuff.

Anyway, you can purchase this stuff through or at, any plastics supply. As stated, it's very easy to work with but way tougher than nails etc. You can make your own "pads" or "bushings" as they're called at way less price. All that's needed is a table saw or, even a radial arm saw and chop saw for the small pieces. I stated you can thread it. You really don't do that. All that's needed is, drill the hole the diameter that's needed to thread it but, just start screwing the bolt/screw into it and it will grab the screw/bolt and keep going.

That is one seriously used plastic in our economy. It too would work for the slide pads but, I'd opt for the UHMW when it comes time for me to do it. The cost will be very minimal. Just labor. Good luck.
Scott

Sounds like amazing stuff but I think these HWH pads are either molded or machined to include extrusions which are supposed to lock into alignment holes in the slide rams. Plus, I think the HWH pads themselves are pretty cheap... it's the labor that's a killer.

JMHO.

Rick

[FIRE UP]

RickO,
You could be right on the "machining" of the parts from HWH, I've not bought or seen any. I'd like to see mine outside of the slide to learn what the original shape/size/machining really looks like before I start assuming I, or anyone else for that matter, starts to think about making them from generic plastic. Anybody got any pictures/dimensions of what and of those slide blocks look like?
Scott

[bruceh]

there is a pretty good picture on the bottom of page 3

[ScottLee]

Do you have a flat floor slide? Mine were located on the down angle of the slide ram. It didn't create any bouncing or uneven slide movements until it went on the down part of the ram.

Some of the bushings located on the straight part of ram can be replaced, but I would call HWH and get their input. It will likely entail you jacking up the slide to get enough clearance. My entire slide had to be removed.

I purchased the bushing directly from LaMesa RV. Mine cost $45.00, but the labor to install was $1500.00

[bruceh]

I got hold of HWH today and they told me that I need kit#RAP91975 which has a selection of pads and some other stuff. Princely sum of $21.40 before shipping.

I will know in a week or so if this is correct.

Hoping!

[bruceh]

Originally Posted by bruceh

I got hold of HWH today and they told me that I need kit#RAP91975 which has a selection of pads and some other stuff. Princely sum of $21.40 before shipping.

I will know in a week or so if this is correct.

Hoping!

Update time!!

First let me thank all who posted here as it gave me the knowledge and confidence to jump into this.

The kit was 'kind of' correct. It had two of the four bottom pieces that I needed and a whole bunch of other stuff that I will probably have to toss. Only one of my nylon slides was broken and that was on the front so I ended up replacing the guides on that. The rear seemed OK and I let it go. All of the nylon pieces were white. For the price, I can't really complain although the shipping charge of $14.06 seemed a little steep.

Now, hints from what I learned.

1. I used a floor jack and a 4x4 to lift the slide. You have to remove front and rear upper guides even if you are only replacing one set. I just removed the front and when I lifted, the whole coach went with it until I removed the rear.

2. The offset ratchet wrench (5/16) made life a lot easier as access is limited, especially in the rear.

Good luck to anyone else doing this. On my model, it was not hugely diificult and I think that this will start to become a common problem as these coaches age.

[azpete]

you can check the shipping cost on the ups web site. hwh does not mark up shipping, and there is no packing or handling charges. it just cost more to ship now than even six months ago. i get hwh parts all the time, and have noticed the difference.

[emiddleb]

Have a dumb question on the slide pads... I have an '04 Vectra KD (large front driver slide, two in rear).

Trying to figure out if my nylon slides are ok or fubar.

On the bottom ones under the front slide rams, is there a gap in the middle? I can't quite tell from the photos etc if the pads run "across" the full underside of the ram or if there are two that run length-wise into the ram housing with a gap between.

Reason I ask is that I have the second... two nylon pads that are to the outside of the bottom of the ram running long-wise into the housing with a gap in the middle. I am not sure if the gap is as-it-should-be or you-just-lost-the-whole-middle-part of the nylon slide.

photo attached. Thanks.

[RickO]

I believe that the gap is supposed to be there but let's let our experts chime in.

One of the early ways you can tell if your pads have broken down is to check the paint lines where the slide and side body meet on your full body paint. It's really common for them to be out of alignment due to the slide sagging when the pads break.

Rick

[bruceh]

I believe that the gap is correct. On mine, the gap is there to allow the center piece to slide into the gap.

On paint lines, this would not have helped me. Mine had actually broken in the middle and the broken piece would bind while moving the slide. I noticed no real difference in the height after I replaced mine.

[emiddleb]

Thanks guys. A major relief to know it's as it should be!

For the record, I have no paint-line alignment issues at this time.

[jherber]

I have a 2005 Itasca Suncruiser model 35U which has the HWH slideouts. The large (13') living room slideout has the white bushings which seem to crack into pieces. I had the problem fixed in October 2010 at the HWH factory for about $400 plus gas driving across country. The white pads were replaced with white pads at the time. No one mentioned anything about black pads. I am having the same problem again with the pads cracking and coming apart. Has anyone with a 2005 35U model done this repair themselves without having to remove the slideout. At the HH factory they did remove the slideout by unbolting it from the arms. I did not see how they did that. I just remember seeing the room sitting on the side on factory floor. I have only extended and retracted the room 14 times since the repair was done in Oct 2010. This could get to be very inconvenient if we wanted to take an extended trip. I have no faith that the slideout will go in whenever I extend it. As it sits we only extend it if we are going to be staying somewhere for an extended period of time.

[bruceh]

I replaced the bottom ones, not that tough.

[jherber]

Thanks for the quick reply. Do you know if the 2001 and 2005 arms are the same design? Did you follow the procedure outlined by JimandSue60? My bottom white pads are cracked and some pieces are missing. You mentioned replacing 'quides'; what and where are they?

[bruceh]

My earlier post pretty much details what I did. I don't know if 2005 and 2001 are the same but I would think that they were.

On my front ram, the bottom rear guide was broken. This is the white pad that people talk about.

[jherber]

My slideout moves a couple of feet out then slants down to make the floor level inside the coach. I have broken white pads on the bottom of the arms coming out and also broken pads on the slanted arms that lower the room. Did you only replace the bottom pads on the horizontal arms or did you have to replace the slanted arm pads also? Thanks for your help.

[bruceh]

I don't have a flat floor so I guess that there is a difference between 2001 and 2005.

I only replaced the bottom ones as that was the location of my one broken guide.

I actually had two slide problems and I solved them in the wrong order since I didn't know that one (I suspect, anyway) caused the other.

There was the broken guide. I also had a problen with the slide topper that caused the slide to jerk and hop a little as I put it out. The anti-billow arm was contacting the mounting bracket and holding the top for a little bit and then it would release. I am finishing that up now.