FWS

[Greenbarn1]

Hi gang, my new to me 2014 dutchstar 4364 with fullwall slide is noisy to me when extending and retracting slide. My owners manual states slide needs no lubrication but seeing the rusty cog wheels just begs me to lubricate them. Seems so counter intuitive not to lubricate a moving part. Thoughts??

Carl 2014 dutchstar 4364
2004 American tradition 40w (sold)
2001 dutchstar 38 (sold)

[redbaron73]

My 2013 groaned, squeaked, and shrieked. All normal. Dont lube..fight the urge, it is ok. I learned to trust the sounds meant all was good.

[Greenbarn1]

Redbaron, thanks for the reply. I have torqued and loctited all the bolts holding the motors and wanted to be sure there was any other preventative maintenance. But the fullwall slide sure is noisy!!

[redbaron73]

As long as you dont hear splintering or cracking, you are ok.

[Dutch Star Don]

I wanted to lube the cog wheels too! Think of it this way....those rounded cog wheels are "biting" into the holes on the track to bring the slide in and out. If you lube the cog wheel, it could possibly slip and not grab the holes. This helped me resist lubing them.

Wax your slide sidewalls, use some slide seal lube and lube all the rubber. Lastly, take an old sock, fill it with baby powder, attach it to a long pole and from both ends, slide it under the slide cover and bang the sock against the slide seals. This keeps them from sticking.

[Greenbarn1]

Redbaron73 , did you find any difference between leveling first like it says in my manual or deploying slides first on air bags then levelin with your 2013 dutchstar

[Dutch Star Don]

"Greenbarn1"....We owned a 2014 DS for 5 years. I always tell people to use common sense when leveling. Newmar wants you to open the slides while at ride height, dump the air and then level. The coach slides were installed with it sitting level on the air bags. By opening the slides, you tilt the coach, from the weight, typically to the FWS. Once they're all out, the jacks can then level the entire coach with the weight of the slides where they will be for camping.

With that said, there were occasions where I ended up in a really out of whack site. On those rare occasions, I found that leveling the coach got my reveals (openings between slide and frame) closer to where they should be. Sooooo, sometimes you just have to do what you think is best and less likely to stress the coach.

[redbaron73]

As DSDon says, common sense applies. All that matters is the reveal. Get to know the gap, and how it relates to your lock inside the coach.

My procedure is as follows. Find campsite, park, and check level with my 24" level I keep in the left side pocket.

This was enough to tell me if I would have wheels leaving the ground or not. Once I was satisfied, I then leveled the coach.

Once coach was level, I would visually observe the slide lock behind driver seat. If it was centered between the 2 screws of the plate, I was 99% certain of a solid reveal. If it hugged the front, I knew I had a problem, and would return to air and adjust position.

Once that is done, I would finally go outside and hookup all connections and visually Inspect all reveals (check the gap around the slide and the house frame).

After that, it was safe to operate slides.

The only time I have ever operated slides before level is at camp newmar. This was done so that I wouldnt have a "proper procedure" lecture.

[Greenbarn1]

Redbaron73, if understand correctly you deployed slides after you leveled in most cases.

[redbaron73]

Originally Posted by Greenbarn1

Redbaron73, if understand correctly you deployed slides after you leveled in most cases.

Yes. The only time I did slides first was at camp newmar. Never any other time.

Same is true with my 2019.

But the most important thing is to check the reveal 100% of the time before extending.

After going to London this summer and riding the subways, I found the perfect moto for this topic.
"Mind the Gap". This means always check the reveal before operating the slide. That is the only thing that matters.