Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-20-2019, 12:36 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 141
Wobbling/Rocking Slide When Going Out

I have a 5 year old Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheel. I'm a fulltime RV'er and have lived in it since I bought it new. It has 40,000 miles of towing and has been border to border and coast to coast with stops at well over 200 different campgrounds. The main slide (electric thru frame slide) is for the sofa and dinette. It also has a slide topper that sags a little when it rains but has been doing so for a couple years with no problem.

About 2 months ago, when putting the slide out,, it started wobbling/rocking about 1/2 out. It continued going out and except for the wobbling/rocking everything appeared normal. It seals tight both while in and out with no leaks. The motor is not hesitating or sounding unusual. Like I said, everything appears normal except for the wobbling/rocking about half way out. It does not do it when it is coming in (retracted). I've looked underneath and do not see anything out of the ordinary.

One of my thoughts, since it happens going out but not in, is maybe the slide topper is jamming and releasing a couple of times while the slide is going out which would cause a temporary restriction at the top of the slide on the way out. It doesn't do it when the slide is coming in because the topper is retracting.

Has anyone run across this before? Any thoughts as to the cause? Thanks in advance.
__________________
2014 Ford F250 Lariat
2014 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8280 WS
2023 Forest River Rpod model 201
Louisiana before, fulltiming since April 11, 2014
blog--- www.gozatravels.blogspot.com
Darrell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2019, 12:43 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
jeff64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: N. Illinois
Posts: 2,371
Not knowing whether you have the gear drive or schwintek system I would ask do you regularly clean and provide lubrication to the slide mechanism and support tubes with a dry lube containing PTFE? Like maybe 3X a season. You can probably find a YouTube video on it
__________________
2016 Flagstaff 27VRL Emerald
14K Equalizer
2020 Silverado 2500HD CC 4X4 6.6L gas 3.73
jeff64 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2019, 02:06 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 141
It is a:
Lippert Electric Through Frame Slide-out System which is a rack and pinion guide.

It has been lubricated as per manufacturers instructions.
__________________
2014 Ford F250 Lariat
2014 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8280 WS
2023 Forest River Rpod model 201
Louisiana before, fulltiming since April 11, 2014
blog--- www.gozatravels.blogspot.com
Darrell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2019, 02:42 PM   #4
Just as confused as you
 
Scrapper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: south central Wisconsin
Posts: 5,108
Check that the gears are not binding. You will need a helper run the slide in and out as you watch the gears from below. You may also need to drop the underbelly. Also check that the adjustment nuts have not come loose.


Operators and Service manual attached.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Lippert Electric-Through-Frame-Slide-Out-Manual.pdf (2.34 MB, 176 views)
__________________
Richard & Jill
2014 Flagstaff 832IKBS Classic Super Lite
2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4WD All Star Edition
Camping since 1989, Seasonal since 2000.
Car Shredder Op/Tech, Scrap Metal Recycling - retired
Scrapper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 12:34 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Fishtexx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 114
I would start with proper lubrication of the slide. If that does not completely solve the problem, some adjustments may be required, or worn components may need replacement.
__________________
Terry and Laurie
2017 Flagstaff 27RLWS
2020 F-350 7.3 Godzilla 10 speed 4X4 CCLB
Fishtexx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 03:33 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Rvdixie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Zephyrhills, FL
Posts: 176
Disconnect your topper before you get too involved in dropping underbelly etc. It happened to me that the topper was binding causing issues.
__________________
Richard Charron
Zephyrhills, FL
2015 Ford F150 Eco Boost
2016 Coachmen Chaparral Lite 29MKS
Rvdixie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 03:51 PM   #7
Carknocker Family
 
Ida Ratherbe Camping's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 690
I vote that the topper is touching slide out when it is in. As it rolls out it is binding on slide and causing your slide out to shake. Have someone either deploying slide with you standing out side watching or vis versa . You will see what I mean
Ida Ratherbe Camping is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 03:52 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Delaware
Posts: 279
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrapper View Post
Check that the gears are not binding. You will need a helper run the slide in and out as you watch the gears from below. You may also need to drop the underbelly. Also check that the adjustment nuts have not come loose.


Operators and Service manual attached.
Thanks for posting that!
Lee Pedrick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 07:04 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 141
After doing some more inspection, I found the actuator is rubbing the side of the hole it comes through the frame. That must have started in the last couple of months. I'm not sure the corrective action for that and whether or not the topper may have caused the slide to get skewed. I have an appointment with an RV repair place in a couple of days to look at my bedroom A/C unit, I'll have them check the slide if I get good vibes from them. Ain't RV living great!!!!!

Click image for larger version

Name:	1.jpg
Views:	149
Size:	232.1 KB
ID:	199317
__________________
2014 Ford F250 Lariat
2014 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8280 WS
2023 Forest River Rpod model 201
Louisiana before, fulltiming since April 11, 2014
blog--- www.gozatravels.blogspot.com
Darrell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2019, 03:41 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 141
Puzzle Solved

It was the slide topper that was causing the wobble as the slide was going out. One of the topper brackets that is screwed onto the slide had worked itself loose. After tightening those screws, the slide goes out without any wobble. Big relief. Now the questions is did the screws simply work themselves loose or did the topper create a bind that worked them loose. I'll keep a closer eye on the screws for the next few stops to see if they start backing out again.
__________________
2014 Ford F250 Lariat
2014 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8280 WS
2023 Forest River Rpod model 201
Louisiana before, fulltiming since April 11, 2014
blog--- www.gozatravels.blogspot.com
Darrell is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
slide

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:31 AM.