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Old 02-12-2010, 09:42 PM   #1
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Slide outs open year round?

I am looking for feedback on leaving the slideouts open year round. I am considering purchasing a new 2010 Wildwood 392 QBBS. I want to keep it on a permanent site-no electric. Dealers are saying it does not hurt to leave the slide outs open year round. One service tech said leaving them open is the worst thing you can do-ruins the hydrulics, motor etc.

Opinions, experiences , information , feedback would be appreciated.
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Old 02-13-2010, 12:11 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by es335 View Post
I am looking for feedback on leaving the slideouts open year round. I am considering purchasing a new 2010 Wildwood 392 QBBS. I want to keep it on a permanent site-no electric. Dealers are saying it does not hurt to leave the slide outs open year round. One service tech said leaving them open is the worst thing you can do-ruins the hydrulics, motor etc.

Opinions, experiences , information , feedback would be appreciated.
I know I certainly wouldn't take my rig to that service tech for any repairs as he doesn't seem to know a dang thing about what he is talking about. Leaving the slides open will not destroy the hydraulics or motor, this is just pure hogwash. If the hydraulic rams are exposed to air for an extended period of time it is usually recomended to spray them with silicone lubricant spray available at many RV suppliers. Read the literature from the components manufacturer to learn what maintenance is required. You should be fine leaving them open however if it was me I would close them so as to keep debris from possibly acumulating on the tops of the slides and to reduce the heated square footage inside if you plan to keep some kind of heat going.
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Old 02-13-2010, 08:03 AM   #3
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I agree with NWJeeper. The main reason I would close them is just to protect the tops from debris or as in our case right now over 2 feet of snow on our roof. If you have toppers I'm sure they would be destroyed from the weight of the snow. If you're in a warmer climate this most likely won't be the case but you never know, that groundhog has some strange powers.
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Old 02-13-2010, 08:30 AM   #4
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The last two post is great advise and I agree 100%. I have a seasonal site and my slide out stays open all Summer, but any time I have to pull it in I always get up on the roof and check it out before I close it. I have a slide out topper on mine and in most cases if there is any thing on it, it will fall off because of the way it rolls, but If you do not have a topper and did't inspect it before you close it up you could damage the rubber seals or jam things up and even damage the roof material on the slide out it self. The weather is not a real issue unless it is heavy snow or ice storm.
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Old 02-13-2010, 08:54 AM   #5
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Also, it's that much less area to have to wash, when it gets dirty!
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Old 02-14-2010, 12:08 AM   #6
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Thanks folks. I ended up ordering a 2010 392QBBS today. Based on feedback from this site I changed my original order to include Slide covers, and I optd for the fiberglass/gel-coat instead of the alumnum siding. Since this unit has a 19 foot slide out, I felt the Slide covers would save me quite a bit of cleaning when I do close the slides. We have hundreds of trees on the property. Leaves, branches, sticks etc will not doubt land on the roof, the slide covers will help alleviated seal wear/damage from this. I decided to upgrade to fiberglass/gelcoat siding instead of the aluminum siding. The gelcoat seems more durable to me, and, since we do not have water on the site-easier to clean. Here are the options I went with:
Slide Covers (two)
Fiberglass/Gelcoat sides
Double Insulation Floor/Roof
Heated Holding Tanks (all three)
Garden Shower (no tub)
Outside Shower
Couch insted of the lower bunk(Couch makes a bed)
Bar stools
Propane/Electric Fridge
Propane /Electric HWT

Dealer says 6-8 weeks for delivery
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Old 02-14-2010, 12:27 AM   #7
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You said you had no electric at this permanent site. Do you know that the fridge, water heater and furnace all need 12 volts to operate? How are you going to keep a battery charged?

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Old 02-14-2010, 08:34 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by es335 View Post
Thanks folks. I ended up ordering a 2010 392QBBS today. Based on feedback from this site I changed my original order to include Slide covers, and I optd for the fiberglass/gel-coat instead of the alumnum siding. Since this unit has a 19 foot slide out, I felt the Slide covers would save me quite a bit of cleaning when I do close the slides. We have hundreds of trees on the property. Leaves, branches, sticks etc will not doubt land on the roof, the slide covers will help alleviated seal wear/damage from this. I decided to upgrade to fiberglass/gelcoat siding instead of the aluminum siding. The gelcoat seems more durable to me, and, since we do not have water on the site-easier to clean. Here are the options I went with:
Slide Covers (two)
Fiberglass/Gelcoat sides
Double Insulation Floor/Roof
Heated Holding Tanks (all three)
Garden Shower (no tub)
Outside Shower
Couch insted of the lower bunk(Couch makes a bed)
Bar stools
Propane/Electric Fridge
Propane /Electric HWT

Dealer says 6-8 weeks for delivery
A suggestion or two, Once your camper comes in you will be doing pre inspection. First thing make sure every thing works.
A word about toppers on your slide outs, Have the dealer open your slide outs and check to see if they are firm..(NO SAGGING). A sagging slide out topper will collect water and that is not what you want, rain water is suppost to hit the topper and then roll right off. Think of your slide out topper as if it were your awning, the only difference is that your awning can be tilted but your topper can't, so you want it tight when open. From time to time topper may need to be adjusted, caution they are spring loaded, If you fine that your topper is holding water tilt your camper from the front to the rear just a little so that the water will run off.
There are some members here that have a great inspection guide that is a great tool for you to use when it's time for your pre inspection. I suggest that you start a new thread and ask for it and someone will post it and then and again a member may read this and do it any way....Good luck and let us know how it go's.....
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Old 02-20-2010, 10:42 PM   #9
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You said you had no electric at this permanent site. Do you know that the fridge, water heater and furnace all need 12 volts to operate? How are you going to keep a battery charged?

John U
John U
I don't think the fridge/HWT will work on 12 v. On my previous campers I have always run the fridge, and the HWT on propane only-works great. the 392QBBA comes with a regular house fridge (120), and a 240 HWT. I optd to get the propane / electric units.

I do use a battery to run the waterpump, lights and furnace blower. I have an optima blue top-biggest one they make-works geat.
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Old 02-20-2010, 11:01 PM   #10
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I think what he meant was you need 12v power to the fridge and hot water so they will light. New campers don't have anything that runs on a pilot light, in case your old campers did and that is what you're used to. 12 volts required to light these things. 12 volt also required for slides, and for the gas detector. These devices will kill a good battery in a month, or less. And if you get a stereo with memory it may draw power. Just something to think about if your previous campers were several years old. I had to relearn some things. Also the furnace blower is 12 volt only. My previous camper I could switch it between 12 volt DC and 120 volt AC.
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Old 02-21-2010, 10:51 PM   #11
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Ok-that makes sense. I will double ck with the dealer on the HWT and the Fridge. I don't plan on retracting the slides too often. When I do, I will hook the Generator to the Lodge.

Thanks!
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Old 02-22-2010, 08:01 AM   #12
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As mentioned above your fridge requires 12 volt power to operate the controls. Older fridges didn't. Since you don't have electricity I'd get a large solar charger to keep the battery charged. Otherwise you'll be hauling that generator out more than you want to. Also letting the battery completely discharge will ruin it in short order.
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Old 02-22-2010, 03:26 PM   #13
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My two cents...

ES335:

Love your handle. Do you play an ES335?

We have a Wildwood TT and we leave our slideout out full time, unless there is a hurricane nearby, in which case, we install the cover we bought from CampingWorld.

We do EXERCISE the slideout periodically by running it in and out, while lubricating the hydraulic extenders with some silicone spray lubricant. So far, knock on wood, no problems.

Our slideout cover does indeed sag. Not sure HOW to adjust that. It was collecting a lot of rain water, so we put multiple half-inflated beachballs underneath it to keep it propped up, at the suggestion of a local RV tech guy.

Would love to have someone tell me HOW to adjust the slack in the slider canopy.
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Old 02-22-2010, 09:34 PM   #14
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walk the walk,
I absolutely do own an es335 (along with a number of other models). The term "play" might be a stretch but I do bend the occassional string-blues being my favorite genre. Country would be a close second.
I wondered about the sag issue as well. If I find a solution, I will share. Most dealers and owners have told me it is no problem to leave the slides open. Most also have the same process that you do-exercise/lubrication. I have heard that heavy snow can be an issue. However, I see quite a few open with well over 1 foot of snow on top.
Thanks for the feedback.
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Old 02-23-2010, 09:37 AM   #15
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I saw a show a few years back, believe it was on RV Today, where a few of the seasonal campers left their slides out all the time. They cut pices of 2" thick styrofoam from 4x8 panels from HD or Lowes, stacked and glued them together high enough to support the toppers on their slide outs. It added next to no weight on the slide out and kept the topper taunt so the rain just ran off. At the end of the season they just stored the pieces inside.
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Old 05-22-2010, 11:09 PM   #16
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I saw a show a few years back, believe it was on RV Today, where a few of the seasonal campers left their slides out all the time. They cut pices of 2" thick styrofoam from 4x8 panels from HD or Lowes, stacked and glued them together high enough to support the toppers on their slide outs. It added next to no weight on the slide out and kept the topper taunt so the rain just ran off. At the end of the season they just stored the pieces inside.
cfoistman,
I wanted to let you know I took your advice. I bought four 8' x 2" foam insulation boards. There was enough material to make topper supports for both slides (main slide is around 22 ft long). They work SUPER .
Thanks for passing along the idea!!!!
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Old 05-23-2010, 01:09 PM   #17
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cfoistman,
I wanted to let you know I took your advice. I bought four 8' x 2" foam insulation boards. There was enough material to make topper supports for both slides (main slide is around 22 ft long). They work SUPER .
Thanks for passing along the idea!!!!
Great to hear they worked out so well for you. See, we can learn something on TV. RV Today was a nice show to check out. They showed different destinations and some helpful tips from fellow Rvers. I don't think any stations are carrying it currently. Glad I could help.
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Old 05-23-2010, 09:39 PM   #18
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I leave my slides out all summer. In the Fall, I wash the tops, clean the gutters and put them inside. It's get miserably cold and snowy here. Most people where we camp also put in their slides.
Congrats and happy camping! (if you can call it camping!)
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