Slide lock arms, Worth it or not?

[D in Davie]

A recent problem has caused me to ask the following question, Just how important are the lock arms anyway? When I was being shown my unit at the dealer he lead me to believe that they were a safety item that he thought were more a problem than they were worth. I got into the habit of not using them as I heard that forgetting that they were locked could cause serious damage when I tried to open the slide without unlocking the lock arms. Well fast forward to my recent trip to DW FW. You guessed it. My grandson played on it and locked it in place unbeknownst to me. Fortunately when I tried to open it the lock arm bent out of the way. I had to remove the damaged arm inorder to get the slide to operate properly and I am wondering if I should replace it. It only rattled and made noise when I had it locked or unlocked. I would appreciate a learned persons opinion as I have never heard of a slide opening while the vehicle was in motion anyway.

[azloafer]

I don't see your coach info so I can't comment on your specific coach. Mine has electric locks. Do a search because there have been some reports of slides opening part way. There was at least one report of a slide going out 5 or 6 inches. I know that there were several reports of OP attempting to open the slide without removing the locking bar or strap and causing damage. From what I have read "most people" do not use the locks. Joe

["007"]

I have had the locking arms on all my Newmars and have always use them. If you get in the habit of using them they are not a bother.
The reason I have used them is we were in a accident with other MH and got cut off right side and as the four wheeler passed cut in front of coach and tapped the front bumper doing 50 mph and move the coach with so much force I had a hard time getting coach under control.
If a tap to the front bumper can cause coach to gyrate that much if I had slides I figured they would be hanging off the sides.
The car was spinning in circles and came back and hit the front passenger wheel dead center. All this with 18 wheelers passing and the pop-up we were pulling doing crazy things in tow.
So you never know when stuff may happen I say better safe then sorry especially with family in coach.

[GaryKD]

Hi D in Davie,
I have the manual locks and always us them. There are several reasons. The locks:
1. tighten up the slides to the coach
2. same as 007's post
3. I usually travel with 3 Gkids. When traveling, they sit on furniture mounted on the slides. They are moving around, playing games, etc. For me, the locks provide sturdy support for the slides.
4. Could the slides mysteriously extend? I do not know. I do know, they will not extend with the locks in place.

[D in Davie]

Thanks for the information. I have the Baystar with the manual lock arms. Based on what has been said here I will go place an order for a replacement as soon as possible and get into the habit of using them. Grand kids also sit on that furniture so I guess I have a greater responsiblitiy to use them. Never thought of the issue about the slides coming out during an accident. Thanks for the help and advice.

[DandS]

I have the manual locks on my Canyon Star and never travel without the front LR slide in the locked position. The BR slide, however, is another matter. The design is such that you have to crawl over the bed to lock/unlock the rear latch. I tend to leave that one unlocked as it is APITB ! Don't have the female voice talking to me either, must be a DP feature only.

["007"]

I agree rear lock is a pain. BUT I do lock the foward lock the weight of bed and stuff stored under bed and bottom surface of bed on floor slide will be stable.

[Norm4015]

The lockings arms also pull the slides in tight against the seals to prevent water from entering the motorhome when driving in rain.

[Spikester]

I have observed cases where people have not locked there slides in place, after traveling on rough roads the slides have started to creep out. IMO they are installed for a reason, therefore they should be used whenever possible. If worried about forgeting they are engaged, make yourself an obvious reminder, orange ribbon over the button, or always do the front one first, "Lucy" reminds you to check the slide locking arms, which should trigger you to check the back one also.

I too, as others have noted, do not lock the rear locking bar for the bedroom because of access. I'm paranoid about something falling, or dog leaving a toy around the slide outs, or a drawer or cabinet door popping open so I check, and recheck locking arms and for debris before I hit the slide actuator buttons.

Spike

[GaryKD]

Spike has a good idea and I'd like to share what I do. The tool used to lock the slides is stored behind the driver's seat, when the arms are in the locked position. When the arms are in the unlocked position, the tool is stored through the steering wheel. It is not possible for me to drive with the tool through the steering wheel. This means I can not forget to lock the arms.

[Idaowl]

Great suggestion Gary. Since Newmar designed the slide mechanism and you get either the manual or automatic latches on all coaches must be that they thought you should use them.

[Steve N Sal]

Use ours all the time. Tightens things up and less rattling around of the lock arms. The bedroom ones can be a stretch at navigating the tool to lock them but I seem to manage.

[DandS]

With all the comments about locking tools, I have a question: I have the tool referred to but have never needed it to lock my arms. Does that mean my locking arms are not adjusted right ? They seem to draw the slides up tight. I use hand pressure only and store my tool in the basement.

[GaryKD]

Hi Dave,
You are a stronger guy than me. I can lock a couple of arms with just my arm. Most of them, I need the tool. It the arm draws the slide tight, there should be nothing to worry about.