Bedroom Slide-Out Lifts off the Floor

[kdelcar1]

I have a 2000 Forest River Sierra. When I pull the bedroom Slide-out in, the foot of the bed lifts off the floor. Does anyone know if there are any adjustments that can be made to keep it down on the floor?

[dieselguy]

I've owned 4 fivers in the last 18 years each of them had your issue from time to time. I never experienced any related problems. The slide pulls from the bottom and resistance to the bottom seals makes it rear up a bit at first then settle back down. As long as it seals both while in and out, I see no worries.

[kdelcar1]

Thanks dieselguy. The problem I am having is that the Slide-out creeps out during the winter 3-4 inches. I suspect that the weight of the bed is causing the slide-out to creep-out to relieve the pressure. When it creeps out the bed rests down on the floor again. I don't see any oil leaks anywhere. My main reason for asking the question is to prevent the slide-out from creeping out on its own. Would it help to put some blocks under the raised foot of the bed to support it or could this cause structural damage?

[dieselguy]

If your slide creeps out over time, it's usually one of two things if you don't have a simple hose or fitting leak ... bad piston seal in the cylinder or bad check valve in your hydraulic pump. No slides should creep out ... So you're saying when the bed slide is retracted in all the way, the foot of your bed is off the floor?? If so, that isn't right. I thought you were talking about the foot of the bed rearing up a bit when you first start to bring the slide in but settling back down on the floor.

[kdelcar1]

Yes, the foot of the bed lifts off the floor about 1 1/2 inches (and stays this way) when the slide is fully retracted in. No, it doesn't rear up and settle back down. It slides in very smoothly on the floor, then lifts off the floor just as the slide completes its travel. So, there is nothing supporting the foot of the bed when it is fully retracted. It is just cantilevered out from the edge of the wall. Any idea of what may cause this and/or how it can be fixed?

[hillsdaletc]

The bedroom slide is designed to lift off the floor when full "in" . The reason for this is to apply pressure to the top of the slide out against the trailer wall. Since the mechanism to move it in and out is all the way at the bottom there is no mechanism to pull the top tight against the side except the levered weight of the slide itself.
If it is dropping over time your Hydraulics have a leak.
The new schwintek slide system with cables at the top and bottom will ride level as it moves in and out. and the four cables will pull it shut against the side when properly adjusted.

[kdelcar1]

OK, Thanks hillsdaletc. I guess my hydraulics have a leak. I don't see any external leaks. Are the leaks internal? Do you know if it would be OK to put blocks under the foot of the bed? It seems like this would prevent the slide from creeping out.

[hillsdaletc]

Originally Posted by kdelcar1

OK, Thanks hillsdaletc. I guess my hydraulics have a leak. I don't see any external leaks. Are the leaks internal? Do you know if it would be OK to put blocks under the foot of the bed? It seems like this would prevent the slide from creeping out.

A block won't hurt at all. If you have no visible leak in the bedroom you may want to look at all the other lines. If your system is a sequential system bedroom slide first, then another slide etc. it is interconnected.

[dieselguy]

I kinda sorta disagree with hillsdaletc ... I'm on my 5th fiver with a bedroom slide and have never had one that stays lifted off the floor at the foot of the bed. My current 2016 Silverback 33IK doesn't do it. It stays flat to the floor full travel. I'd go with the piece of wood under the foot of the bed until a more permanent fix occurs. Like said most all slides are hooked together in one big hydraulic loop. Any one slide cylinder with a bad piston seal will make the slide with the least resistance creep and that's usually the bedroom slide. Like also mentioned, a bad check valve in the pump assembly itself will also cause slide creep.

[hillsdaletc]

Like I said, not all slides lift. But after working for more than 35 years on about every model of slide mechanisms there is out there and removing and replacing them in units I will tell you the seal at the top of the slide is kept tight by the weight of the slide hanging over the rollers on the big slides. And by the top of the slide hitting the side of the unit first and then pulled in at the bottom on the smaller bedroom slides. This is critical in keeping slides from leaking at the top.

[dieselguy]

I've worked on a few slides myself over the years ... adjusting, replacing seals, calking the plastic drain gutters the factory missed, replacing flooring, replacing balance shaft bolts. I worked mostly on SOB's. They had no rollers on the main slides, just the teflon ramp. If the slide room attaching brackets on the extension arms were positioned correctly as well as the stroke of the cylinder, when the slide came up the ramp and slid across the flooring, it had a positive seal all the way around the opening. The bedroom slides had small roller wheels under the foot of the bed frame to give support all the way across the bedroom floor and save wear an tear on the carpet. On none of them did the bed raise off the floor when fully retracted. I never had a unit leak around the slide perimeter seals. When they pulled up against the wall, the bed wheels sat on the floor and the seals felt near the same all the way around. I'm a bit new to Cedar Creek products, but my current Silverback's bed sits flat on the floor slide in or out and I have a positive seal with no leaks. With the weather this year ... we've been in some doozy rain storms. I reckon we'll agree to disagree on this aspect of slides.

[hillsdaletc]

Sorry if I offended you. Not here on the forum to do that. Please note BEDROOM slide outs do not have the ramp configuration. They are mounted on rollers with a hydraulic or electric ram or gear system. I would think going back 15 years that his model is same. You are correct that the large slides with the floor leveling slide DO have the ramp, and glides flat on floor while many with ceramic flooring use rubber coated rollers to protect the tiles. This is a great forum and it's great that owners can get many views on how to repair their units , or just get some great ideas.

[kdelcar1]

Thanks for your help everyone! I do have a "one-button" system. The slides are hydraulically interconnected in one big loop. I have traced the entire length of the lines and cannot find external leaks anywhere. There are no isolation valves in the system. I must have a bad piston seal or check valve somewhere. The bedroom slide creeps out over several months, so it is very gradual. The living room slide does not lift at all, and stays in place without any creeping problems.

I just hate to see the bedroom slide-out open 3-4 inches when I come back after the winter. I'm hoping that a simple fix is to just support the foot of the bed with a couple wooden blocks when I winterize the trailer in October. I just want to make sure that this solution will not cause the slide-out structure to bend or break, if the cylinder is trying to force it out due to a bad seal. Is anyone worried about structural damage if I try this? Do you think the blocks will keep the slide from creeping out?

[kdelcar1]

I just saw your posts dieselguy and hillsdaletc. Thanks for all your input. I'm not sure about rollers, but when you look at the slides from under the trailer, there are no rollers. Each slide just moves on two steel channels on each side of the hydraulic cylinder. From all the responses, it sounds like I may have an internal oil leak. But, is there anyway to make sure my bedroom slide is adjusted properly? Are there any adjustments to the cylinder travel or slide structure that can be made to keep the bed on the floor? (Please also see my questions from the post I made earlier today).