One of the challenges of writing any technical content for RVers is being able to provide information that is specific to the individual type of RV one has. Since there have been over 100 different RV companies over the years and even more models within those individual companies, it becomes difficult to provide information on every individual scenario without being to generic or to specific to one type which means the information does not pertain to a wide majority.
And so it is with slide room maintenance. Slide rooms were introduced in travel trailers and 5th Wheels as far back as the 1970s and the “Power Slide” was invented and introduced in 1990 by Newmar. Most other companies joined the slide-out craze a few years later with a variety of new mechanisms such as HWH, Power Gear, and others. Since then there have been both hydraulic and electric mechanisms from companies such as Kwikee, RBW Industries, and more recently, Lippert Components Inc (LCI) which has purchased Power Gear, Kwikee, BAL Accu-Slide, and others.
Hydraulic Mechanisms
Typically a hydraulic slide-out mechanism uses a pump that that is often shared with the hydraulic leveling jacks if equipped. It has a fluid reservoir and pumps the fluid through the lines and cylinders to move the room in and out. There is little maintenance required of the pump other than making sure the fluid level is checked and topped off with the recommended hydraulic fluid.
The actual mechanisms vary between manufacturers, HWH uses two telescoping rams with a synchronizing rod. HWH recommends periodically cleaning the rams with WD 40 and wiping off the excess. They also recommend extending and retracting the room twice a month to keep the seals lubricated. One note: run the room all the way to the extended and retracted position, do not stop part way!
Lippert Components Inc (LCI) uses an inner and outer assembly with a drive tube. They also recommend extending and retracting the room twice a month to keep the seals lubricated and to visually inspect all components for debris, dirt build up, and bent parts. If you experience a squeaking noise during operation apply a coat of lightweight oil and wipe off the excess and DO NOT USE GREASE!
Several manufacturers have used the RWB Industries motor (owned by Dexter) and a proprietary gear driven mechanism such as Newmar, National RV and others. Since there are so many different mechanisms used, it’s a safe bet to run the unit a couple of time a year, visually inspect the components, and verify what lubricant your manufacturer recommends to clean and lubricate the gears and arms.
Electric Mechanism
Smaller, lightweight rooms use a more inexpensive electric motor, especially models that do not have hydraulic leveling jacks that could utilize the jack motor. Once again there are several options such as the cable slides (BAL Acu-slide), Schwintek with small motors in the sidewall and a gear driven track, or a standard mechanism with an electric motor.
The electric motor requires no maintenance other than having 12-volt power to the unit. The cable systems do require a periodic visual inspection to make sure the cable is not sagging, loose, or frayed.
Cable Slideout
It is also a good idea to visually inspect all components for debris or obstructions and clean out any tracks with fluid film, a spray product available at O’Reiley Auto Parts. This is a rust inhibitor and will not damage rubber seals. Make sure to wipe off any excess spray.
Schwintek
The Schwintek slideout mechanism can develop a grinding or squeaking noise and it is recommended to spray CRC Power Lube with PTFE on the rails as well as the gibbs and motor coupler. These can be found by pulling back the rubber seal outside at the rails.
Slide Room and Seal Maintenance
Most slide rooms or the “Box” are fairly similar, the outer wall cut out of or built from the same material as the sidewall, laminated side/top/bottom panels. These do not require much maintenance other than making sure there is no debris on the top of the slide room when you bring it back in! Some manufacturers have an awning over the slide room to keep sticks and other debris from falling on the top which would tear the bulb seal during retraction. If you do not have an awning cover, you need to clean off the top every time you retract the room!
LEVEL THE COACH BEFORE RETRACTING THE SLIDE! I’m amazed at how many companies do not have this as a standard operating procedure? RV chassis are not rock solid, they will bend and twist in an unlevel situation which causes the sidewall to twist which creates addition pressure or binding as the square box is trying to go out of an unsquared opening.
All slideout rooms have a weather strip or seal around the opening of the sidewall. Some use a two part rubber gasket or seal applying both inside the rig and outside. Others use a two sided bulb seal that is applied to the flange of the sidewall. In either case, it’s a good idea to condition the seal with an approved product such as the ProtectAll SlideOut Rubber Seal Treatment or ProtectAll All Surface Care.
Both products have UV protection that will help keep the rubber seal from weather checking and reduce friction.
Visually inspect the underside of the slide room both inside and out. Look for obstructions or any sign of wear and tear. Most use a roller or glide underneath, make sure there is no damage to the mechanism or the floor.
And finally, make sure you look for items around the side of the room inside such as lawn chairs or other items that might have been placed or stored when packing up the camper. You can not believe what a mess a boxed wine container makes when the room is extended!
About the author:
Dave Solberg: Managing Editor, RV Repair Club
For the last 25 years, Dave has conducted RV maintenance and safety seminars, developed dealer and owner training programs, written RV safety and handyman articles, authored an RV handbook reference guide and logged over 100,000 miles on the road in an RV.
RV Repair Club is your go-to online resource for enthusiasts who want quality RV maintenance, repair, and upgrade information – a community where passionate RVers can come together to gather knowledge and share their experiences.
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Ken S. ~ “I’ve had to use Coach-Net Roadside twice since signing up. Your response is fast and you follow up to make sure the towing company showed up during the window quoted. It’s great!”
Coach-Net 
Can you please help us? We are in a Fleetwood Excursion 2007 and 39Sand have an extractor fan in the galley. We have checked incoming wires and they appear to have no power to it. Is there a fuse or breaker somewhere that I need to check? If not where does the wire go back to so as I can trace it through.
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A good reminder for those of us that know but forget this service. Easy to do.
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Excellent advice. I have a Lippert system operating two slides. When you mention a squeaking noise during operation and applying a light weight oil. What should be oiled? The ram tubes, the gears, the toothed side of the slide support bar , the bottom of the slide support bar where it slides in metal guides in the main frame or all the above? I’m concerned that if you lube the sliding support bars that they will accumulate a lot of road dirt since they are totally exposed under the cabin possibly then needing cleaned every time you operate the slide after a road trip.
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John, you don’t want to use anything oily or, as you said, it will accumulate grit and cause wear. There’s a very specific lub you need to use, CRC Power Lube with PTFE. It goes on as a spray but immediately dries to a thin white coating. You can order it on Amazon if your local RV service/dealer doesn’t carry it.
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Thanks. As recommended I placed an order from Amazon!
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I have a 2009 Fleetwood Bounder 36B DP with a full wall slide. It worked flawlessly for 10 years. After an alternator failure which road service changed, the bed became detached from the wall and jammed the slide. The slide was closed electrically and supposedly only needed to be reprogrammed. Now my coach is at Camping World in Fort Myers and has now been there for over a week and still not fixed. Is this typical for a Power Gear slide? What kind of training are these techs getting on such a situation? It has been checked 3 times and confirmed that it has power in all the correct places. Still not working.
I am very disappointed in trying to get this situation rectified. Help!!!! Any suggestions?
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I’m amazed the author actually put this in the article:
LEVEL THE COACH BEFORE RETRACTING THE SLIDE! I’m amazed at how many companies do not have this as a standard operating procedure? RV chassis are not rock solid, they will bend and twist in an unlevel situation which causes the sidewall to twist which creates addition pressure or binding as the square box is trying to go out of an unsquared opening.
While this may be sound advice for Winnebago Owners it is poor advice for a number of other RVs. Particularly HR, Monaco and Entegra have instruction in the Owners Manual to Deploy the Slide Rooms then level followed by Retract the Leveling System then Retract the Slide Rooms. Failing to follow this procedure in our Entegra will lead to possibly twisting the Spartan Cassis.
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Can you tell me if I can manually retract my Schwintek slide should power fail ? I was told I could not do it and would have to bring I to dealer. It is an inclosed slide with not panel under it for access
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Good luck at Camping world! I had a slide problem and a water heater problem. They adjusted the slide because the forward end was not closing completely. After they made the adjustment and I went on a trip , the slide opened ok but would not close. It was jammed and cocked at an odd angle. It took the help of a fellow camper and about 20 minutes to fix. Camping world had tightened the unit in a crooked position after a week of my waiting. As for the water heater. They said it needed a new valve for the outlet side $12 bucks for the part and $450.00 to install it. Installation was a “really big and time consuming job”. I bought the valve and took it home. It took me 15 minutes to replace the valve and it worked fine. Training? Hmmmm…. I wrote to the President, Mr Lemonis and was ignored. No reply, no concern, nothing. I suggest you look for a reliable independent RV store. I found one closer to home than camping world. They’ve done excellent work for me.
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Not all manufacturers have the same procedure for leveling and operating the slides. On my Monaco the owners manual clearly states to extend slides and then level and then to raise Jack’s before retracting slide. The best advice is to tell people to follow the procedure in their owners manual.
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Maybe I misunderstood but the jayco tech. Said not to use anything on the gear rail?
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This should be put in every unit sold. No one tells you how to care for slide outside. They hand you the keys and that is all. They need to care about the unit they are selling. Thanks for the information.
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I had the Schwintek mechanisms on our prior coach (2014 Palazzo) that I lubed monthly with PTFE lube. Unfortunately, Thor only had one top rail on each side of the mega-slide which was inadequate for the weight/size if the slide. Gratefully, they stepped up and replaced the mechanism with two top tracks which improved slide operation.
Our new rig has Lippert tracks under the slide, which I still lubricate with PTFE, is there a reasin that you did not mention bottom driven track/motor maintenance?
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What’s the difference between Schwintek mechanisms and Lippert mechanisms?
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Norm,
Schwintek is the name of a system available from Lippert Components. Perhaps you are asking about two different slide-out systems. Lippert makes a hydraulic actuated wall slide out system and the electric powered system branded Schwintek. Generally Lippert’s Schwintek system has tracks at both top and bottom sides of the wall slide-out. Gears driven by electric motors mesh with the tracks to move the wall. Unfortunately the description given earlier of the Lippert hydraulic system is totally inadequate. It describes nothing related to the system I have on my RV.
Additionally, if the under body gears and racks on the Lippert hydraulic unit are left unlubricated they will accumulate rust and become frozen in place. The racks slide on a metal to metal support mount and MUST be kept clean AND LUBRICATED along with the gear wheels that guide the racks.
As noted in the original Coach Net posting, there are numerous different systems all requiring their own proprietary maintenance.
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I was reading the E-Mail that is sent to notify you of new posts which said “One of the challenges of writing any technical content for RVers is being able to provide information that is specific to the individual type of RV one has. Since there have been over 100 different RV companies over the years and even more models within those individual companies, it becomes difficult to provide information on […]”. I am wondering, just what the difference is between the automobile and the RV, the automobile has been produced for well over 120 years with more makes and models and the automobile has much better manuals covering a lot more different subjects.
The RV industry needs to catch up to the automobile in providing better technical information and not leave it up to the manufacturer of a component to write a comprehesive manual. The RV industry needs to provide much better information to the end consumer.
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Interesting article re slide out protection. Very good good and helpful. One comment—not all manufactures instruct slides in/out on “Level “.
My motor coach manual clearly states to do so in
“Travel Mode”. It has an “HWH” air system.
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Got an RV? How about anything around the house that needs a quick lube without gumming up and attracting dirt and lint? I purchased and use Camco Slide-Out Lube on my RV slide at the direction of my mechanic, who also loves it. I soon found that it worked so well I should try it elsewhere, so I lubed my smith rack in the gym.
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