Slide or Not - Reliability

[ModestMonk]

Originally Posted by astrocamper

He does now with our 5x8 trailer. We sometimes camp in higher elevations or winter months further south where it can be cold in a tent. It's nice to have the option of having him sleep inside when the weather gets tough. If we buy a no slide unit he will probably be in a tent many of the nights. He tends to come with us when we go for more than astronomy such as a places in the mountains with great day hiking. If we are just going to do astronomy camping for a week he stays home.

Cramped is 3 people warming up in a 5x8 trailer. The furnace doesn't have to run long to warm it up though.

One of the reasons I like the 21RD is he would be sleeping further away from my bed so I wouldn't hear the snoring as much. All the more reason for him to be in a tent when the weather permits.

Since I can keep a lot of gear in the back of the truck under the shell, I can make use of the pass through and under bed storage to make up for a lack of cabinet storage.

We struggled with this topic ourselves before deciding on a BlackRock 24KTS. We had considered the 21RD but opted for the Black Rock class. The 35k btu furnace had no trouble keeping us warm with temps below -10. We have spent 5 ten day trips this winter in the TT. When the temps were below zero we had the slide in. When the cold weather passed I opened up the slide and the DW was ecstatic. The space created by opening up the slide had a huge impact on her mood.

Much like Brulaz we will camp from October thru April in the cold of the Northeast to the warmth of the south.

[1bigmess]

Astrocamper, you two sound like you're looking for some adventures that revolve around your love of the outdoors and your hobbies, especially astronomy. It also sounds like you two know how to live in close quarters, so my advice is based on this info.

Don't get a slide. To get to really secluded, dark, wide open spaces, you might have to drive over some rough "roads" to get there.

Look around on this site. There are plenty of threads about "slide won't move", "slide won't seal", "slide needs a topper", "slide jumped it's track", and "cold air entering at slide", etc.

If you think you, and any visitors, would be fine in your camper/trailer without a slide, then really think about not getting one. They usually aren't as well insulated as the rest of the RV, can end up being one more thing to fix, makes a hole for the potential of weather entry, and in some RVs can prevent you from getting to the kitchen or bathroom without running the slide out.

The ORV brand would be the brand I would buy if I was looking for a trailer with a slide.

I bought my ORV trailer because it's pretty tough and to be able to go places that others with trailers that are similar to mine wouldn't even consider for one second. And it has delivered. It has no slide.

I cold weather camped in well below freezing temps, and RV park "camped" in zero degrees temps, and the ORV trailer performed very well. I'm a very happy camper!

It also has done well in hot temps too, the AC is the best thing to have out in the middle of nowhere when it gets too hot.

I'm a tiny bit of an amateur astronomer, couldn't help it with people like Milton Humason in my family. 😁

[astrocamper]

With our 5x8 trailer we setup side by side 10x10 popup shelters that are well secured to survive the typical afternoon winds. We setup of round dining table with 4 chairs and the kitchen area under the popups. The trailer is just a place to change and sleep. The white aluminum trailer is very dark inside once I cover the windows and vent with black foam. We often sleep in until 10-11 am after staying up to 3 or 4 in the morning.

The slide would allows us to enjoy being inside longer when camping in the darker months of year. If I get a trailer with only a dinette I would probably bring in a folding chair when I get tired of sitting at the dinette.

The shorter lighter trailer would probably do better when traveling down gravel/dirt roads to BLM sites where I wouldn't have any neighbors or local light pollution to interfere with our astronomy. We tend to never have campfires but stay up very late using our telescopes.

The discontinued 22RB looks like the trailer that would be easiest to keep warm. It has far fewer windows than the 21RD or 24RLS. I like the idea of having the coach and dinette. I am only 5'11" and don't think a 74 inch queen would be a problem. I spent plenty of time backpacking on a 72 inch long pad.

I am paying off a car payment in a couple months and will start saving up a down payment. I would love to put about 1/3 down and pay off the rest in the next 5 years.

[60sumtin]

Similar to the above post there have been a few times I got a spot because I did not have a slide. Like some sites that are too short for the long rigs, I've come across a few that are too narrow for slide equipped rigs. Bottom line is consider where you like to camp and will your trailer fit. Long and/or wide has its advantages and disadvantages.

[crosscheck]

"We also do longer 2-3 week backpacking trips so we can get by with a small tent and little gear when we aren't hauling astronomy gear."

We love our slide. But they add weight, more moving parts to maintain. Life is full of trade offs.

As we backpack from time to time, what are some of your 2-3 week backpack trips?

Dave

[astrocamper]

We have done the John Muir Trail end to end 3 times. Its easier to get a permit 2 days south of Mount Whitney for Cottonwood Pass. We hike from there to Yosemite Valley. We day hike Mount Whitney from the west side on the 3rd day of the trip. This year we are going from Yosemite to Interstate 80 on the PCT. We also have done several shorter trips mostly off trail. We spent 10 days hiking the Tahoe Rim trail back in 2009. We started backpacking with our children back in 1993. We would only do 4-6 day trips when they were small.

The main issue with longer backpacking trips is resupplying food. We can fit 12 days of food in our Bearikade Expedition bear canisters. It may take a day or two to take a side trip for a resupply.

The advantage of the longer trips is you feel extremely fit after about 5 days of acclamation to altitude and fitness conditioning. The first 2-3 days of a long backpacking trip can be the hardest since you are carrying the most food weight.

[crosscheck]

Originally Posted by astrocamper

We have done the John Muir Trail end to end 3 times. Its easier to get a permit 2 days south of Mount Whitney for Cottonwood Pass. We hike from there to Yosemite Valley. We day hike Mount Whitney from the west side on the 3rd day of the trip. This year we are going from Yosemite to Interstate 80 on the PCT. We also have done several shorter trips mostly off trail. We spent 10 days hiking the Tahoe Rim trail back in 2009. We started backpacking with our children back in 1993. We would only do 4-6 day trips when they were small.

The main issue with longer backpacking trips is resupplying food. We can fit 12 days of food in our Bearikade Expedition bear canisters. It may take a day or two to take a side trip for a resupply.

The advantage of the longer trips is you feel extremely fit after about 5 days of acclamation to altitude and fitness conditioning. The first 2-3 days of a long backpacking trip can be the hardest since you are carrying the most food weight.

Looks like a beautiful area to hike in. Good on ya.

Dave

[Off Road]

We went through the same mental gymnastics when trying to figure out what trailer to get but we have 7 grandchildren so we wanted a bunk model in order that we could bring some of them along. We also very rarely stay in full hookup Campgrounds so having a trailer that can handle washboard roads and tight spots was high on our priority list. Our trailer has the ram style slideout and so far we haven’t had any issues with it. The trailer has gone down some really rough roads without any issues. The trailer is 27’ long overall and I haven’t found a spot I can’t get it into yet. The slideout at times is right up against the salal and other brush in some coastal tent campsites but it hasn’t been where we have needed to move to a different site. I personally wouldn’t buy a trailer without a slideout but we camp during shoulder seasons when the weather can be iffy and prefer the extra space.

[TyCreek]

Originally Posted by Off Road

... Our trailer has the ram style slideout and so far we haven’t had any issues with it. ...

It'll be interesting to see how ORV's install of their latest mechanism choice holds up I had a Schwintek slide on the last RV and wouldn't consider it again while shopping for our next RV.

[Cumminsfan]

Our 1st TT didn't have a slide. We came from tent camping and at @22' it seemed like a castle. Once we realized how nice it was to camp in a TT, we upgraded to a 31' with the super slide (12'L). Sofa and dinette in the slide, two recliners in the rear. That felt like a castle for sure.
Decided we wanted to go the 5th wheel route but wanted something short to be able to get in more CG's. Our current 5th wheel has the short slide with just a dinette and pantry in the slide. Two recliners in the rear. After 5 season in it we're once again looking at something with more room inside but still on the short side.
We could never go back to a non slide RV. Even an R Pod has a slide.
Agree that slides sorta cancel out some of the R values since the slide floor can never have the thicker insulation the the main floor has and the same with the slide ceiling. I'm sure there's heat loss or heat gain, but it's not like you left the door open.

[sbleiweiss]

We don't have a tt, but slides add more good than bad. The extra space is big. They are no more prone to break than anything else in an RV. Yes, one more thing, but worth the risk in my opinion.

[astrocamper]

I am very good at plumbing and electrical so I am less concerned about fixing a leak or power fault. I look at a slide as an area where the wall has a big hole to allow a slide to move in and out. The walls are stronger where there is no slide. The insulation of the regular wall is better than a slide and the slide can potentially fail to open, close or leak.

Obviously slides are popular for the space they provide. The number of models with slides vastly exceeds those without. I think I will enjoy camping with or without the slide. If the weather is forecast to stay lousy for days, I will pack up, move on to some place better or head home.

If my retirement investments do average or well, I am not that concerned because I will have the funds in retirement to buy a newer model if I don't like or have problems with what I get the first time. If the market is in the tank for the first 10 years of my retirement, it will be helpful if I can maintain and repair what I already own because I may not have the choice to upgrade.

[1bigmess]

I like the way you're thinking about this.

[Off Road]

I believe Arctic Fox builds one of their smaller trailers without a slide but it is 8’6” wide to give you a little more feeling of space. That is the maximum width allowed before you need over width permits.