One of the biggest challenges of owning an RV is making the most of your limited floor space.
Unfortunately, whatever tricks you pull out to make your RV look and feel bigger—add transforming furniture, replace cabinets with shelves, put up flush-mount ceiling lights, etc.—will never be enough. That’s where the slide-out system comes in.
Recent RV models have slide-out systems. This technology allows you to temporarily extend sections of your RV outward to add more space.
Depending on your RV’s slide-out system, these may extend from two to five feet. The stability of this extension also depends on the size of your RV and the availability of support posts.
If your RV doesn’t have this feature, you can take it to an authorized RV builder for customization. It will cost you a bit of fortune, but considering how useful it is for your travels, especially if you tend to stay for many weeks at each destination, this is a pretty good investment.
Common Slide-Out Mechanisms
When choosing a slide-out system, consider the cost and how convenient it is to set up and retract the slide-out room. Think about durability, too.
Slide-outs are massive mechanical structures weighing several hundred pounds. You don’t want to deal with snags that might prevent you from continuing your journey on schedule. Here are some of the top choices you can explore.
- Cable-Driven Slide-Out
As the name suggests, this slide-out uses a cable pulley system. Eight cables run through several pulleys to pull the slide in and out. You’ll see these cables stretched tightly at the top and bottom sides of the slide-out wall.
While the sight of thin cables holding up a massive portion of your RV may give you a bad impression, this is one of the most heavy-duty slide-out mechanisms around, which explains why it is also one of the least-warranted add-ons to most RVs.
- Rack & Pinion Slide-Out
Another way to operate your RV’s slide-out room is through the rack and pinion system. This system consists of a circular gear that engages with linear gear.
It’s the most common and least expensive slide-out option you can find. Unlike the mechanisms of a cable-driven slide-out stashed within the fascia inside the RV, most of its instruments, including the override, are found under the camper.
This allows the slide-out to be flushed to the wall, giving you more freedom to move furniture around.
- Schwintek Slide-Out
Like the rack and pinion slide-out, this one is wall-flushed but can’t go floor-flushed. It is also lightweight and affordable, but you can’t put too much load on it.
The override is under the slide-out room instead of within the interior frame. It has to be well installed to prevent problems, although this sensitivity is why most customers stay away from this option.
- Power Gear Slide System
If you have a Schwintek slide-out installed at the wrong spot, a power gear slide-out system would be the most suitable replacement.
It moves very quickly compared to the other sliding systems, but some of its mechanisms are embedded in the floor, meaning you need a carpet-less deck to access it when necessary.
What if I have a Lipper Slide-Out?
A Lipper slide-out has a rack and pinion slide system. Many RV owners prefer it to other slide-out mechanisms because it’s cheaper and more space-efficient.
The absence of controls along the interior frame and in the fascia allows manufacturers to push the frame a bit higher to get a few inches of additional headroom. It even has a built-in automatic brake feature, which helps prevent a potential failure.
The only downside to the Lipper slide-out system is its lack of serviceable parts. You need to replace any component that fails. If you try to fix the motor, for instance, and accidentally or deliberately break the seal, you can kiss your warranty goodbye.
Lippert Slide-Out Problems and Their Best Solutions
While Lipper Slide-Outs are heavy-duty slide systems, they are not indestructible. Always assume that nothing is beyond the chance of failure in these complex assemblies. Here are some of the issues you might encounter while operating this slide-out.
1. The slide-out room doesn’t move
Have you ever switched on the system, but the slide-out room won’t move even though you can hear the motor running? It’s probably a case of a broken gear on the drive shaft or gearbox.
Remember that the Lippert slide-out uses a rack and pinion slide system, so it will have several gears that turn simultaneously when the system is switched on.
If one of these gears breaks, comes loose, or gets stuck, the system will stop working. It’s also possible that the motor is broken. You can hear some of its components moving, but, in reality, it doesn’t transfer energy into the slide-out mechanism anymore.
Either way, you need to replace the broken gear or motor. To be sure, you might need to swap the whole gearbox assembly.
2. Slide-out room is moving slowly
What if the motor is working, no gears are broken, but the slide-out room moves slower than usual? There are several explanations for this problem.
The most obvious one is that you have a low battery, in which case you should charge the battery before switching the motor back on.
Another possible reason is a weak footing for the RV. If it’s parked on loose ground that sinks at the slightest movement or vibration, the effects of perpendicular motion created by the ground movement may cause resistance in the gears.
So you might need to find a more stable ground to park on first.
Freezing outside temperature may also delay slide-out movement, but the effect shouldn’t be too severe to cause concern. But what if it works fine for the first few seconds and then suddenly begins to slow down to a complete stop midway?
In that case, something must have blocked the gear along the slide or within the gearbox. The obstruction can be anything from thick dust, soil, rust, or even a hard object. Removing it will fix the problem. Lubricating the gearbox and drive assembly may also help.
3. The slide-out room is moving in the opposite direction
This doesn’t happen with Lippert slide-outs, but if it does, it won’t hurt if you know how to fix it. If your press “retract” but the room slides out instead, the switch or motor is probably poorly wired.
The only solution is to reverse the wire on either the switch plate or the motor. This should correct the slide-out room’s movement.
4. The room makes a squeaking sound as it slides out.
The entire slide-out process should be smooth and quiet. However, you may hear the sound of the motor and a little bit of metal-sliding sound from around the room. Shut off the system immediately if you hear other sounds, such as squeaking or screeching.
This sound may come from the gear drive assembly, particularly when a loose component is banging against its surroundings. Broken teeth on the inner rail may also be the culprit. Switching off the system immediately prevents further damage to the gear drive.
Unfortunately, you can only fix this problem by replacing the entire linear or circular gear.
5. The motor won’t start.
There will be instances when you won’t hear or feel any response even after pressing the switch. A broken switch could cause it, but this is rarely the case.
Usually, a faulty motor is to blame. The motor is a small device but supplies the slide-out machine with the necessary torque. So if it’s not working, your slide-out system won’t move.
Before replacing your motor, inspect it first for damage. You never know what else you’ll find down there. Or maybe the motor’s wiring is loose and needs a little push. The location of the motor depends on the system assembly.
It can be vertical, adjacent to the drive side, or horizontal, next to the manual overdrive nut. Remove the faulty motor gently to avoid damaging other components around it.
A Few Safety Reminders
Professional help may not always be available, so you need to learn basic slide-out repair skills. It’s also crucial to practice safety when handling a slide-out system to avoid accidents. Keep the following best practices in mind.
- Always park on level and stable ground. Use a leveling tool if possible to ease your mind.
- Before inspecting the assembly or using the manual override, switch off the slide-out and unplug the battery from the electrical system.
- Make sure no one is near the slide-out room inside or outside the RV before you crank it up.
- Always travel with a power drill with a hex-knot adapter to help with manual override. The turn gear ratio on the manual override is roughly 200 to 1, meaning you might need to crank the valve 200 times to move the slide 1 inch in or out.
Conclusion
Slide-outs are a gift to the RV community. But it still has a long way to go before turning flawless. So, you should always be prepared to deal with mechanical problems.
You can’t always rely on professional assistance to move this heavy contraption. So, you need to learn at least the basics if you want to enjoy RV living.
Then again, it’s imperative to have your slide-out system checked by a professional mechanic now and then to keep it at an optimum state.
1. It starts to slide out, stops then starts and goes fast. Retracts no problem. How do I get to the gears to look at them. In my Newmar I could see them easily. THis is a small 25 ft Fleetwood Tioga Help me here
I have the rack and pinion mechanism what adjustment can i make I had to replace the pinion gear due to sheared he teeth after replacing the pinion gear assembly it is still jumping and banging
No one can hope to help answer a question about a slide room problem without first knowing the Brand and Model of slide mechanism installed. There are too many differences between different brands where no two are alike. However, despite the slide mechanism, the room must move easily for the slide mechanism to work properly. Absent that easy movement, there will be nothing but problems. An easy thing to do is look for flip flops and toys that got stuck under the slide room.