Community Forums

twosmac · 05-01-2013, 05:51 AM

We have been to a few dealer lots looking at the RV's. We have not seen one with the slides closed.

Where do passengers sit when the slides are closed ?

Would it be an unreasonable request to ask the dealer to close the slides ?

CampDaven · 05-01-2013, 06:01 AM

I drove them, set them up, tried everything, slides in and out, and then pretended to be living in it while traveling and while camping. Laying on the bed, sitting everywhere.

Do it all!!!!!

Lostdog · 05-01-2013, 06:01 AM

By all means....ask the sales person to fire up the coach and bring the slides in. If they refuse then go somewhere else after talking to the sales manager for the store. You are comtemplating a rather large purchase and sales folks should jump thru any hoops you request them to. They are not your friend! Sales folks will tell you anything they think that YOU want to hear. Have them close the slides, turn the a/c on, flop on the bed, sit on the toilet to see if your knees will fit in the space, do anything you need to do to see if it is a fit. Just don't let the sales staff drive your buying adventure!

Bruce C · 05-01-2013, 06:03 AM

There is plenty of space when the slides are in [far more out]. The couch as well as the dining area are able to be used. By all means if you are interested to see a unit with the slides in ask and the dealer should be glad to show you. If not move on.

Jim Estes · 05-01-2013, 06:06 AM

Normally one of the couches will be fitted with seat belts. I would not hesitate to have the dealer close the slides! Remember that the Class A is for living in and enjoying once you get to the CG. Having said that you would want to be able to access the fridge, bathroom, and bedroom while on the road...some have a little more room than others with slides closed...but walking around when a coach is moving is not a good idea anyway!

sparkydog · 05-01-2013, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Estes

Normally one of the couches will be fitted with seat belts. I would not hesitate to have the dealer close the slides! Remember that the Class A is for living in and enjoying once you get to the CG. Having said that you would want to be able to access the fridge, bathroom, and bedroom while on the road...some have a little more room than others with slides closed...but walking around when a coach is moving is not a good idea anyway!

X2 on that . We were in a coach that was very tight and on top of that, with slides in you couldn't open the fridge. My DW (aka in travel waitress ) said this wont do

twosmac · 05-01-2013, 06:27 AM

Thanks for your advice. Perhaps, it's because we have no children, but it never dawned on me until yesterday where families with kids or other adult passengers sit during travel.

And sparkydog, we would have never thought about access to the fridge when slides are closed. Good one !

MRUSA14 · 05-01-2013, 07:01 AM

There is wide variation in different coaches. You must see the slides closed to make a decision. We rejected one coach that we absolutely loved because there was almost no room to move inside with the slides closed. Our present coach has lots of room slides closed and we are happier, even though with slides open we liked the other coach better.

michelb · 05-01-2013, 07:18 AM

As others mentioned, you shopping for a mh, look at it with slides in / out. Many models are fairly useable with the slides in but some aren't or are limited (e.g. in most models with bedroom slides, you have to climb over the bed to get to the back, drawers / closets are often inaccessible or partially inaccessible with slides in. The most important ones are probably refrigerator access and bathroom access (in some motorhomes, it can be very hard for larger people to get to the bathroom if the slides are in).

As far as seatbelts, it really depends on the manufacturer. Usually there are seatbelts on sofas and barrel chairs, some dinettes have seatbelts, many don't. Obviously free standing recliners and chairs can't be used safely (personally I don't like anything free standing as they can move under heavy braking).

Wayne M · 05-01-2013, 07:27 AM

For some reason when our big slide is in the bed tilts towards the foot of the bed. Not very good for sleeping. Extending it about 8-10 inches levels it out on the mechanism it slides on. As stated in post #9, climbing over the bed is a PITA for me.

Also, consider where the television is located. In ours, when the living room slide is in the television is blocked by the slide wall. Not very good for boon-docking in a parking lot or rest area for a little while.

GaryKD · 05-01-2013, 12:29 PM

Hi twosmac,
When looking for a coach, I have the coach demonstrated in:
1. travel mode
2. set up in CG mode for family activity
3. set up in CG mode for maximum sleeping (all beds deployed).

One will be amazed at how easy it is to drop a coach from consideration once all three of these positions are demonstrated.

greatlakes · 05-01-2013, 12:41 PM

I saw a few RVs at the last show I attended that had a bathroom in the back that was not assessable with the slides in. however it had a half bath mid coach.
My cousin also bought a tt that blocked bathroom door with slides in. which you wouldn't think would be a big deal on a tt but they often will stop while traveling and prefer to use their own bathroom (knowing they will be hooking up to drain soon) only to find they couldn't use it. So absolutely find out what items are limited from use with the slides closed.

erstanfo · 05-01-2013, 07:13 PM

you want to be able to pack it with the slides in. So make sure refrigerator, pantry, main storage closets are accessible with the slides closed. You will be amazed how many floor plans don't let you pack.

G.G. · 05-02-2013, 06:53 AM

While it's not a good idea to walk through the MH while in transit, there are times when you're stopped for lunch or a rest. You'll need access to fix lunch and then eat. We were in a traffic jam on an interstate and traveling no more than 5 mph, if at all. We cranked up the generator so I could fix us our afternoon coffee. If the fridge or kitchen hadn't been accessible, we'd have been more miserable than we already were due to the traffic problems.