Slide alignment

[chief97]

One of my slides is way out of aliagnment on my brand new 30 RSO the dealer has it and I'm wondering what the fix will be? It is a left to right aliagnment problem. On the left the sweeper seal is not even touching the side of the slide. On the right side it is crushing the sweeper and the slide is alomst scrapping the frame. How will they fix this? I didnt see ant adjustments for side to side

[Workshop]

Welcome to the forum. Does your slide have the hydraulic or electric slides?

You stated that: "It is a left to right alignment problem." When the slide is closed....does the slides flange sit flush with the wall or is the left side stick out somewhat?

When the slide is out or extended, how does the seals/sweeps line up with the sides and does the slide appear to 'sit' equal on both sides.

When the slide is being brought in or retracted....does both left and right side come in at the same rate or is the right side coming in first?

Would assume that when you took delivery of the unit that it worked correctly and this is something new....

Sorry for all the questions...

workhorse

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief97 One of my slides is way out of aliagnment on my brand new 30 RSO the dealer has it and I'm wondering what the fix will be? It is a left to right aliagnment problem. On the left the sweeper seal is not even touching the side of the slide. On the right side it is crushing the sweeper and the slide is alomst scrapping the frame. How will they fix this? I didnt see ant adjustments for side to side

Chief,

Welcome to the forum! Sorry you having with your new Excel slide. You didn't state what year it is, just said it was new. I noticed a little difference from one side of the slide to other (my sweeper slide rubs more on one side then the other)....another words the slide box is not perfectly centered in the body opening......I think that's pretty normal......but you describe something quite different. I know you can easily adjust the up and down movement of the slide........but don't know any easy way to adjust the side to side movement. Please keep us posted on it's progress as we very curious. rockin'

[TXiceman]

Slide adjustment can be a tricky thing for a novice to try doing. If you do the slightest thing wrong, you can create more problems. You would be money ahead to have a dealer do the adjustment. There may be an underlying structural problem.

Ken

[chief97]

Thanks all for your responses. The rig is a 2010 used 4 times so far. Electric slides. Simply put, the slide is not centered in the wall opening. It works fine with no hang ups. But on one side the sweep rubber is 1.5 inches from even touching the slide. On the other side is is fully crushing the sweeper. On the room it is also not extending all the way. I can slide part of my hand between the slide floor and the bottom seal in afew inches. I looked at all the rooms and none are really ceneterd prefectly but at least they seal. I dont know how I missed this in my pre-pick up inspection. I guess I didnt really look at this. Ralph has it in Moriarity so we will see what his verdict is.. I will keep uoy all posted. My first 5er we love it so far. I just want to keep loving it.

[davydee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief97 Thanks all for your responses. The rig is a 2010 used 4 times so far. Electric slides. Simply put, the slide is not centered in the wall opening. It works fine with no hang ups. But on one side the sweep rubber is 1.5 inches from even touching the slide. On the other side is is fully crushing the sweeper. On the room it is also not extending all the way. I can slide part of my hand between the slide floor and the bottom seal in afew inches. I looked at all the rooms and none are really ceneterd prefectly but at least they seal. I dont know how I missed this in my pre-pick up inspection. I guess I didnt really look at this. Ralph has it in Moriarity so we will see what his verdict is.. I will keep uoy all posted. My first 5er we love it so far. I just want to keep loving it.

I've got the same issue on the dining table/sofa slide. Ours is installed over an inch too far to the rear. It'll be a Smith Center fix as there's just not that much adjustment angle available. My guess is cutting, welding, and hydraulics reinstalled will be required. Plan on a few days being out of the trailer.

What I find interesting is that ours has been to Smith Center three times, sit with (and used) by our dealer for almost a year before we bought it and none of us noticed it. It was only after it became our second slide to try to destroy itself hitting the side of the trailer did we notice the problem. I tired to adjust, quickly realized it was beyond my capability, and took it to Hood RV in Decatur, AL did we find that the whole slide was installed too far to the rear. A check to ensure all slides are centered wasn't on any of the PDI lists that I have. (It is now.) One time, as part of his traditional humor, Rockin' told someone that they had problems they didn't even know they had. I'm finding that very true in our case. Hopefully, Bryan's quality improvement includes slides square and installed in the center of the slide openings. David

[Workshop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davydee A check to ensure all slides are centered wasn't on any of the PDI lists that I have. (It is now.) One time, as part of his traditional humor, Rockin' told someone that they had problems they didn't even know they had. I'm finding that very true in our case. David

I think that is the case for all of us...we never see or think of something until it happens to us at least once. When I bought the Beast, I was all over the unit several times and was under the unit looking at tires etc. It wasn't until I got the unit home that I found the shackles for the suspension were bad and had to replace them before the next trip.

I now 'see more than before' but I'm sure I will miss something the next time I go looking.

My slides are all pretty centered. The main slide might be a little off center when opened and the gaskets/sweeps better engaged on the right side more than the left but still seals well. When closed, after making the necessary trim adjustments after the wall and slide repairs....the slide appears to be centered in the opening.

From what I've found, there are 'minor' adjustments that can be made to the slides....my 2001 and Rockin's old 2005.... that will allow minor adjustments with the slide closed for visual fit, my guess. But the way the slide hardware is installed and welded to the frame, the slide room will follow the travel of the rams as they move in/out. If their not set square the slide will not set square when extended.

Don't know if this is anyones problem. I know from 'messing around' with my unit enough that my slide doesn't travel at the same rate on the left and right because of the distances between the rams and the loction of the motor and lengths of the drive shafts. As a result, that could be a minor result of the gasket/seals not being the same. Also if my unit isn't on level...front/back that the seals might be off somewhat.

Be interesting to find what all this means.

workhorse

[ExcelRVGuy]

To adjust the slide laterally, Ralph will have to unbolt the room from the slide plates, as well as unscrew the floor and sidewall from the angle iron support that runs from one ram to the other. There are also 4 bolts (I believe) running through the floor, under the carpet, into the slide plates.

This process will probably take about 30 minutes. Then, he will be able to slide the room forward or backward until the room is centered.

The next step is to re-do what has been undone.

It seems as this would have had to leave the factory this way but it's unusual that noone would have seen it (Factory, Dealer, or customer) until now.

If the room is reasonably centered in the opening when the room is closed, then it's a sign that the room is not going out straight. I have seen this happen if we install one or more of the rollers on the main floor crooked.

When I talk to Ralph at R.V. Sales, I'll ask him what he found out.

Bryan

[Workshop]

Post #28 of the '101', Barker Mfg, EZ Slide hardware, shows the bolts and ram connections that Bryan is refering to. Would believe that it would be hard to leave PI this way and have others involved along the way and no one noticed the problem.

[rockintom]

Thanks Bryan for the explaination. What you say makes sense to me, but I have a couple of questions. On the side slide plate that has the 2 large bolts and 1 small bolts (lower one), if you have to move them do to a lateral room adjustment, how is this done without drilling new holes that go all the way through the slide side wall? Do this bolts have a special head? Please help me understand this. Thanks, rockin'

[ExcelRVGuy]

Tom,

The middle bolt you circled (beside the ram) should not be loosened. That bolt is for vertical adjustment to the room. Perhaps you will need to drill a new hole through the lower skirt. Either that or through the steel plate. This might be a better solution to prevent wollowing out the hole (kansas hick term)

If you try to do vertical adjustment and horizontal adjustment simultaineously, it's pretty easy to everything out of whack!

Bryan

[George Z]

Bought ours new and the bedroom slide opening was not cut square. . Dealer had to remove slide and recut opening square. Must have been made on a Monday.

[chief97]

Thank you for your reply Bryan and everone else you guys are the best!, We are feeling much better. I showed Ralph when we dropped it off. The slide also in not opening all the way with some daylight on the bottom and lower corners. I appricitate you following up with him. I plan on calling him tomorrow 9/21 to see what he found.He is going to check all the slides for proper sealing and operation. We are in no hurry for it back in case you need to take it to Smith Center for factory repairs.

Bill and Char.

[chief97]

Ok, picked up my 30 rso from Ralph at RV sales in Moriarity NM. The side alignment issue was all adjustments and one side that droped causing a gap on one side and tight rubbing on the ohter side. Ralph worked his magic and all is good. Not the type of adjusment or squaring that I would reccomend for the DIYer. Ralph fully explained the situation and what was done. Was nice to visit and chat with Ralph and Kathy also.