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Finding a class A without slides will probably mean a converted school bus or, at the other end of the spectrum, a super-expensive Provost. In a class C it's more likely a used-up CruiseAmerica rental camper.
There just isn't a market for motor homes with no slides.
What's everyone's take on slideouts? I'm thinking having them is better than not having them, no?
Well for some it is one more thing to break and they are scared of it breaking. Personally I wouldn't buy an RV/Motorhome without a slide out but one should learn how to bring it in just in case.
Our's broke and we had to push it in and out manually on one trip
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Dogs don't have to be 100 pounds, our Chihuahua was 4 pounds when he was full grown. He was lovable and cheap to feed.
If I had a 4 lb chihuahua it would get taken by birds in the yard.
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Well for some it is one more thing to break and they are scared of it breaking. Personally I wouldn't buy an RV/Motorhome without a slide out but one should learn how to bring it in just in case.
In my case it's not about being AFRAID of it breaking. I can fix it, given enough time and some helpers with strong backs for heavy lifting. It's about reducing the risk of hassle and strife. The same engineer who knows he can fix almost any mechanical device also knows that the more complexity, the higher risk of failure.
Now take what's essentially a house, built for lightest possible weight, put it on a trailer, and start dragging it down the highway at 70 mph. Then add to that the fact that they never build enough to get into a real mass production mode where problems of design and manufacturer can be wrung out. Then add to that the fact that there are price limitations. This is why any RV has a lot more failures per mile traveled or month used than either an automobile or an actual house.
I've looked at the wispy little mechanisms of those slideouts. If I were to design something I'd consider acceptably robust and reliable, either it'd weigh far too much, or the cost would be like airplane.
So, no sliders for me. Since it's just two of us (I'm just medium sized and she's small), and since we're NOT living out of the RV but only using it for weekend or weeklong trips, we can easily dispense with the extra space.
In my case it's not about being AFRAID of it breaking. I can fix it, given enough time and some helpers with strong backs for heavy lifting. It's about reducing the risk of hassle and strife. The same engineer who knows he can fix almost any mechanical device also knows that the more complexity, the higher risk of failure.
Now take what's essentially a house, built for lightest possible weight, put it on a trailer, and start dragging it down the highway at 70 mph. Then add to that the fact that they never build enough to get into a real mass production mode where problems of design and manufacturer can be wrung out. Then add to that the fact that there are price limitations. This is why any RV has a lot more failures per mile traveled or month used than either an automobile or an actual house.
I've looked at the wispy little mechanisms of those slideouts. If I were to design something I'd consider acceptably robust and reliable, either it'd weigh far too much, or the cost would be like airplane.
So, no sliders for me. Since it's just two of us (I'm just medium sized and she's small), and since we're NOT living out of the RV but only using it for weekend or weeklong trips, we can easily dispense with the extra space.
Well said.
I don't have slideouts on my little RV. Don't need them. The longest I've ever lived in my RV is one month. And that was taking periodic breaks to check into a hotel and luxuriate in lots of hot water.
Luckily, we were able to access the entire kitchen, one side of the table, the bathroom and the bed with all three slides in, so it made it easy to stop and prepare lunch in a rest area or even spend the night somewhere with the slides in, if necessary. The TV was blocked, but, hey, you can't have everything....
We would be out in the 5er for 5 months at a time, never less than 4 months, so it was "home" during that time and the extra room was greatly appreciated.
I am in the opposite boat I guess. I think it's important to understand the different types of slides as not all are equal.
All of my campers minus the very first one had slideouts. My last fifth wheel had 4. 2 superslides in the living room, 1 in the midbunk, and 1 in the master.
The key to slideouts (I've found) is to understand the different types of slide mechanisms and how they work. Also equally important is to know when they are appropriate. Sometimes manufacturers will "cheap out" on slide systems to hit a price point.
The most common used and most reliable (in my experience) is the rack and pinion system. Underneath the slides are racks (long rails) that slide through the frame of the camper with teeth on top. This moves the slides in and out. If they get out of alignment, they can easily be adjusted via an adjustment bolt underneath the camper. Since the weight of the slide is supported by the main camper frame, less stress is put on the exterior walls for support.
There is the cable slide system. Those tend to misalign very easily, cables stretch or break, etc... It saves weight on the rig, but increases the likelihood that something will fail. Since the motors are housed inside the walls, replacing a failed motor can be quite the challenge. They were meant for small slides (such as a small master bedroom slide) but were eventually added to bigger slides because their cost is much less. However, since here is no rack system, all of the weight is supported by the sidewall of the camper.
There is also the Schwintek system, which is well known in the RV industry for failure as well. This system uses a worm gear and rails mounted to the sides of the slides. They do self-align, but a lot of manufacturers started using them on large slides where the motors weren't designed to support that much weight. Schwintek is ok on small slides that don't carry much weight, but as with cable slides, the sidewalls carry much of that weight.
If you understand these systems and where they are appropriate and avoid rigs with inadequate slide mechanisms, you greatly reduce the risk of failure. There are also manual retract options on most slide systems. I always have tools on board, so if a slide does fail (I did have a switch go bad once) you can quickly crank them in. I used a socket on an impact driver and could manually retract my slides in just a few minutes.
If a slideout starts to open while driving it could be a couple of things. 1) The slide did not fully close and therefore did not engage the slideout lock that most have. 2) The slideout lock did not engage because it either stuck, or failed. 3) If you have a hydraulic slide system (not too common), there could either be air in the lines or a leak.
Often times (not always) slideout operation failure is due to the operator and not the equipment.
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