Slide out binding when opening.

[Squeaky-GSO]

Hi everyone. I have a 2006 BT Cruiser 25'. It has the kitchen and the jackknife sofa in the slide out. We have had this unit for a few months without any issues with extending the unit. Recently when I try to extend the slide out, the top of the slide out will not move with the floor and starts to lean inward. I can push on the top of the slide and it will moan and groan, and eventually go all the way out while I hold the button. At this point I only need to push it for about half the travel length and then I can let go and it will fully extend. Retracting is not a problem. I suspect the issue might be with the slide out awning as it seems extremely tight. If anyone has had this issue I would appreciate some advice.
Thanks!

 

[proost]

Hi everyone. I have a 2006 BT Cruiser 25'. It has the kitchen and the jackknife sofa in the slide out. We have had this unit for a few months without any issues with extending the unit. Recently when I try to extend the slide out, the top of the slide out will not move with the floor and starts to lean inward. I can push on the top of the slide and it will moan and groan, and eventually go all the way out while I hold the button. At this point I only need to push it for about half the travel length and then I can let go and it will fully extend. Retracting is not a problem. I suspect the issue might be with the slide out awning as it seems extremely tight. If anyone has had this issue I would appreciate some advice.
Thanks!

I've had something similar. Take a look at both ends of the slide topper roller. The end caps. See if the shaft that the roller rotates on has worn an elliptical hole in the end cap such that the shaft drops out of center and binds. That's an easy fix. I haven't replace my end cap yet but I have screwed in a zigzagged picture frame bracket to hold that shaft in the center. Can't believe that worked!

If that wasn't it and with the slide partially out, check the top corners to see if you can see some reduced spacing between the slide and the sidewall. You should have blade seals there but if you slide is out of adjustment, there may be pinching going on. I currently have a slide that was "adjusted" by a shop that is doing exactly that but pulling out the blade seal every once in a while. Hope this helps.

 

[bmojmhs]

Hi everyone. I have a 2006 BT Cruiser 25'. It has the kitchen and the jackknife sofa in the slide out. We have had this unit for a few months without any issues with extending the unit. Recently when I try to extend the slide out, the top of the slide out will not move with the floor and starts to lean inward. I can push on the top of the slide and it will moan and groan, and eventually go all the way out while I hold the button. At this point I only need to push it for about half the travel length and then I can let go and it will fully extend. Retracting is not a problem. I suspect the issue might be with the slide out awning as it seems extremely tight. If anyone has had this issue I would appreciate some advice.
Thanks!

Not to sure what drives your slideout. I had a 2005 Ultra Supreme with hydraulic driven slideouts. Your slideout is just a big box fitted into the RV. There were two hydraulic cyinders that drove the slideout out. When I pushed the button, the bottom moved out, the weight of the box shifted and the top came in. As the box kept moving out the weight would eventually shift and the top would fall out to line up with the bottom and seal the opening. When retracting, the bottom climbed up a teflon strip, the bottom came in first and the top stayed out. After a certain point the weight shifted and the top came in. The bottom would bring everything in to seal it closed. This was the normal operation. The RV was 17 years old when I sold it. In all those years, I never had any problem with the slideout mechanism.

It's like a lot of things, you push the button and it works. You don't really notice how it's operating. Then one day you start watching it and think, that doesn't make sense. You may have a problem and you may not.

My MH had carpeted flooring which we didn't like. We replaced it with vinyl flooring and thats when I found out how the slideout worked. When the slideout goes out, the top falls in and the bottom corners of the slideout would drag across the carpet. Without the carpet it just dragged across the vinyl flooring damaging it. To solve it we got "Slideout Slickers" that solved the problem.

If you don't have a hydraulic system, you have problems I'm not familiar with.

 

[Squeaky-GSO]

Hi and thanks for the replies. I got the chance to look at it again and this is what I have noticed. The slide out is the type where the rails are completely hidden underneath. What I did was to get the slide out open (by pushing on the top from the inside, at about just over the microwave when it tried to open) and once open, I got up on a ladder by the roller. I could barely rotate the roller by hand to unroll it. I would think it needs to be somewhat tight so it does not sag, but this seems over tight. It does not look like there is an oblong hole developing, it just seems like it is seizing. I imagine I could disassemble it and take it apart. I replaced the main awing and do not recall it being that hard to rotate. Has anyone grabbed hold of the slider awing to see how hard it is to turn out?

Thanks!

 

[Squeaky-GSO]

So I just watched a video of someone replacing the fabric. He was easily able to rotate the roller in order to pin it, so I am pretty confident that is where the issue is.