Slide out safety

[Kirk D]

I know there are other older threads on this topic but I thought it needs to be revisited. Many commenters say to just “throw the slide out safety straps out”. That’s absolutely the wrong advice! Yes, if you forget to unhook them before extending a slide out, the strap can break or damage trim, but that’s not a reason to NOT use them. We just made a trip from Michigan to Nevada, the safety straps were missing when we bought this 05 Vectra 40. We drove thousands of miles before this trip without replacing them and had zero problems. However, we encountered some gusty winds (20-25mph according to weather app) in Northern Texas and the drivers side slide out was going in and out 2-6 inches. It was the perfect storm of gusts and crosswinds. Had to stop and ratchet strap passenger side to drivers side. That temporarily solved it. Replaced the OEM straps here in Nevada. I can’t stress enough how in the right conditions, YOU NEED THOSE STRAPS. Get wedge bars, straps or cut 2x4’s. But please do one of them.