Slide tearing flooring

Hankdog · 05-12-2016, 08:40 PM

Has anyone ever had a problem with their slideout tearing the flooring? It is a Cherokee 304r. The front slide has torn the flooring in 2 different places. I had the dealer check it after the first tear and he didn't see a problem. Now after the 3rd camping trip it has torn in a different spot. Not a bad tear but on a 3 month old trailer any tear is bad. Any recommendations on the best way to glue the flooring down? The dealer says there is nothing he can do to fix the tear in the flooring. I love the trailer but beginning to think I have a bad one. Found a springy spot in the floor after the first trip, dealer said it was a bracing issue but he could not brace it because of the air duct. Now the electric fireplace has quit, no time to take it to the dealer, we leave in 9 days for a 2 week trip.

dalford · 05-12-2016, 08:53 PM

Your dealer is not treating you right. We have a 33IK and in the first week we noticed a tear in the vinyl floor. We called our dealer (Tri-Am-RV, Ocala, Fl,

) and we made an appointment to bring it in. They said their floor guy was going to be there but he had left before we arrived but he showed one of their techs how to fix it. They use a heat gun and some kind of glue. They heated the floor and applied the glue (not sure what to call it). Once the floor was hot they then have a rubber type mat that has the same grain as the floor and they press it down on the floor. Long story short, I can not see the tear anymore. It was about 3" long.

They also checked my slides for alignment. Never did find out why it ripped the floor but we suspect a small pebble or something was under the lip of the slide. Make sure you are not dragging rocks or hard items in on your shoes.

The vinyl floor used in RV's is also used in houses. I'm sure you can contact a flooring company or just google vinyl floor repair and get it fixed or do yourself.

You also need to find out what is causing your problem.. Good luck..

**Platokidd** · 05-12-2016, 09:03 PM

Have to agree on your dealer not treating you right. Think you may want to give Forest River Call.

Lefty59 · 05-12-2016, 09:06 PM

We have a vinyl plank floor and have two deep scratches in the flooring near the edge of the slide too. At first, we thought the slide was the culprit causing this but have since decided we are tracking rocks into the unit while the slide is in and they then find their way under the edge of the slide. Next time we put the slide out if there is a rock of any sort it gouges the floor as the slide moves out.

We going to try donning shoe covers whenever we enter the unit with the slide in with the hope of keeping the rocks out. We've also laid a throw rug over the edge of the slide nearest the entrance door to help too.

I agree that you should be able to fix a vinyl floor...either yourself...or the dealer. I don't think it should be all that difficult with the right equipment.

Best wishes!

MacGumbo · 05-12-2016, 09:06 PM

We had a tear starting in the vinyl through the carpet from the slide.

I crawled under the slide and found that when they screwed the seats down in the slide, one of the screws had penetrated oh so slightly through. I removed the screw, ground the point off, returned the screw and sealed the hole.

No problem since.

dalford · 05-12-2016, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hankdog

Has anyone ever had a problem with their slideout tearing the flooring? It is a Cherokee 304r. The front slide has torn the flooring in 2 different places. I had the dealer check it after the first tear and he didn't see a problem. Now after the 3rd camping trip it has torn in a different spot. Not a bad tear but on a 3 month old trailer any tear is bad. Any recommendations on the best way to glue the flooring down? The dealer says there is nothing he can do to fix the tear in the flooring. I love the trailer but beginning to think I have a bad one. Found a springy spot in the floor after the first trip, dealer said it was a bracing issue but he could not brace it because of the air duct. Now the electric fireplace has quit, no time to take it to the dealer, we leave in 9 days for a 2 week trip.

As for the fireplace..
1. Have you checked the breaker?
2. Does it turn on with manual controls on top?

I hate to ask that but I thought mine was not working because it did not turn on with the remote. I found out once power is removed from the RV that the first time after that it has to be turned on with the manual push buttons and then it will operate with the remote until the next time you remove shore power.. Just a thought..

Hankdog · 05-13-2016, 07:39 AM

Thanks everyone for the replies. Dalford as far as the fireplace, I removed the unit from the wall and checked the voltage at the plug with my voltmeter. The voltage is good, I tried the remote and manual controls worth no luck. I also checked the fuse on the control board. Not sure what is wrong with it. Maybe I'll get all the bugs worked out of the camper before I get frustrated. We really like the camper.

dalford · 05-13-2016, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hankdog

Thanks everyone for the replies. Dalford as far as the fireplace, I removed the unit from the wall and checked the voltage at the plug with my voltmeter. The voltage is good, I tried the remote and manual controls worth no luck. I also checked the fuse on the control board. Not sure what is wrong with it. Maybe I'll get all the bugs worked out of the camper before I get frustrated. We really like the camper.

You're one step from being done, slide in the new unit.. LOL...

Maybe you can call the fireplace mfg. and see if they will send you a new unit express shipping. I had problems with an awning and toilet made by Dometic. Did not deal with the dealer, went directly to Dometic and they took care of it. Not sure who makes your fireplace but I'm sure you have seen the mfg. label when you had it out or it's in your manual package.

If you can't get one and need temp heat, purchase a ceramic unit for now.

Don't give up, most of us have issues on new units but once you get them worked out you will love your RV.

DSMURPHY · 05-13-2016, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platokidd

Have to agree on your dealer not treating you right. Think you may want to give Forest River Call.

x2
It won't hurt to have the issue on file with Forest River.

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