Slide out or in...that is the question

[RonLynnJr]

This is my first trailer with a slide out. Over the years I have noticed that there are some people that leave there slides out and those that leave them in between trips. Just curious if there is something that I am missing? Either way your compressing a seal so does it really matter if you store your trailer with the slide in or out?

[OldCoot]

Don't really know the answer to this, but we always leave ours out and have never had a problem in the 4+ yrs we had the Flagstaff 831RLSS. The slide was only in when we were traveling.

[Oakman]

A water leak can occur in areas of the slideout other than just the rubber seals. If it were me, I would always keep the slides in when not in use.

[Len & Cheri]

I would think keeping them closed would be best. That would prevent the seals from being exposed to the elements, atleast the majority of the seals.

[bikendan]

slide in when not in use. keeping the seals exposed all the time, just shortens their life and gives dust, debris and junk more of a chance to adhere to them.

[RonLynnJr]

I had a thought that it was really just a personal preference. I have enough room where I park my trailer to have the slide out but then I wouldn't be able to take the trash out. Not sure if that would be such a good idea with the wife.

[slipf18]

...just a tip from someone who also maintains a sailboat here in Florida...years and years of experience definitely points to keeping as much stuff from being exposed to the elements and critters as possible -- fiberglass, rubber, plastic, painted metal, electrics, gears, motors you name it...keep your slide retracted.

[Herk7769]

I keep mine in unless I am working on the camper or using it.
The logic for that decision is as previously expressed.

[OldCoot]

As I said before, we have the room and don't have to worry about harsh elements, so we just leave it out. I do understand the concerns of others about the dirt, etc, but we just haven't had the problems others have had. (so far anyway)

[fordmantpw]

We leave ours out as it is easier to pack and upack that way. But, ours is kept inside, so it is not exposed to the elements. If it were kept outside, I would definitely keep them in.

[buckeyefan]

So what if you have it on a seasonal site?

I was thinking of leaving mine open from May through August. We are under shade trees with little direct sun light. We are also there every weekend (most of the time). We leave the camper plugged as keep so the fridge stays cold and stocked.

We will bring the slides in in the off season.

[V-Lite]

My first tripple slide and we leave ours in, but every 6 weeks spray the rubber so they will not rot or crack.

[trudinator]

Well thanks for giving me something else to worry about! I'll have to bring this up to DH tonight when I get home. We leave ours out when in "season" and it's parked next to our house. We bring it in, in the fall. Now he'll politely tell me either "it'll be fine" or "whatever you want to do dear."

[lefaivre]

Leaving the slide out when not in use will put you at risk of tearing the slide top awning ... increased UV and wind damage. If you look around, it is quite common to see torn slide-top awings at RV dealerships.

[h20ski]

I store mine indoors so I store mine out about 1 inch off the outside seals. But the Lippert Slide manual has a note in it that reads

NOTE: For long-term storage: It is recommend that the room be closed (retracted).

Now the question is, what is long term storage?

[crocus]

Opening the slides when you return home means that you will be operating them twice as much. Considering the problems people have had with their slide mechanisms, that might be a consideration.
Plus the weathering issue that everyone else has mentioned.
My vote is for "in".

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by crocus

Opening the slides when you return home means that you will be operating them twice as much. Considering the problems people have had with their slide mechanisms, that might be a consideration.
Plus the weathering issue that everyone else has mentioned.
My vote is for "in".

So if you use your camper about every other week, wouldn't you be running them in MORE often than if you just left them out when you get home from a trip? When we get ready for the next trip, we like to have the slide out so we can access the refer better, and have everything accessible in case we need to re-stock anything else. that would mean running it in and out two or three times while it's parked. Better in our situation if we just run it out once when we get home and leave it like that until we get ready to leave again

[OldCoot]

Don't think it makes any difference one way or the other. Everyone has there own opinions and bottom line, do what you want for your situation. There are pluses for in, pluses for out, negatives for in and negatives for out. We have had a trailer with a slideout for 5 yrs now and it sets out in the weather and the only time the slide is in is when we are towing it. Have had no problems with the awning, seals or mechanism. When we traded it in for our new one last month, it worked and sealed just like it did when new. Never lubed anything but the mechanism. SO, do whatever suits you or maybe I should say do whatever DW wants.

[crocus]

"So if you use your camper about every other week, wouldn't you be running them in MORE often than if you just left them out when you get home from a trip?"
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Well, I put my slides in when I travel, but that's just me!
But I understand how some need the slides out to load, as many campers are not set up very conveniently. Luckily, on ours, the fridge and all of the storage is readily accessible even with the slides in, so we only put out the slides at the campground.
The only exception is when we put it away for the winter in our heated shop, then the slides are extended and we put braces under the superslide. That does two things, it takes the load off of the slide mechanism, and also decompresses the inside slide seals.

[j2detroit]

Ours have been out for about 6 years now we have our camper at a perm site I have had our slides in twice for only a couple of hours in this many years