Bedroom slide

[wingnut60]

The BR slide on my '05 is not closing correctly--it leans lower at the rear corner, actually can see that it is lower to rear. Front is in correct position. The BR slide flange is not inside the cutout at the bottome when retracted.
Everything is working fine in/out.
Any suggestions on how to adjust this?
Thanks,
Joe

[wingnut60]

Well, after posting the question above, I thought: the first reply will ask if I checked the teflon blocks that is slides on. So, I took off the bottom gasket holder and the teflon block is turned--over, for lack of better term.
It has rolled to the outer side, appears that is has pulled out and rolled with it outward. So, the slide is now riding on the block, but it is not as high as it should be.
Any idea how to replace it?
Joe

[billr]

Hope someone that has done it chimes in or contact Paul Cross, he will know. I suspect though you need to run the slide in maybe a foot, and shim it under from the outside to get a gap and replace the block.

Bill

[wingnut60]

Thanks. Been thinking about it--trying to think how to raise the slide. Not like the other 2 that are close to the ground. Gonna have to come up with some redneck engineering, I guess.
Can't offhand think of something tall that is stable that I have around the house...
And thanks for the reply.
Joe

[Jack in Alaska]

Joe,

You could use a bottle jack on top of a 6x6 on end, cut to proper length. Also a fairly husky, wide board on top of the jack to distribute the load.
Be real careful with the white material that covers the bottom of the slide. If that gets "buggered" the slide has to come out to replace the bottom as the block slides on that bottom material. It is not real tough stuff either.

Good luck with it.

Jack

[wandrr]

Paul Cross fixed mine a few years ago. As I recall, he used a long 4x4 with a cross piece (2X4 about 12 inches long) on top. I think he simply pushed that tee-shaped assembly in under the slightly retracted slide out, which raised the slide out enough to replace the Teflon block. Could be wrong - it was a while ago.

While you are at it, you might consider adding another panel of some slippery material on top of the existing white stuff on the bottom of the slide. Paul used a second layer of white stuff, but Plexiglas might also work.

[wingnut60]

Jack and wandrr,
Thanks for the advice. I went to a DRV dealer (Bennetts, Granbury, TX) and talked to the service mgr. He was pretty useless, or not interested, in my situation. Said only way to work on it was to bring it in, they would check it and order parts. That is kinda scary as to actual wait time to get it back, and service area was not impressive. So, waiting on call from DRV parts.
Going to try it myself, if I can get the part.
Joe

[Jack in Alaska]

I would NOT use plexiglass in that situation. It is too brittle and not strong enough.
Use 1/8" LEXAN which is expensive but tough and almost unbreakable.
Good luck. Isn't it frustrating to find a dealer that has no interest in helping you out when in a bind???

A good story....... I have an Access Lorado roll-up cover on my truck since 2006. THe roll up material has started to deteriorate. An email note to them resulted in a new cover being sent to me immediately. Can't get any better than that.

[wingnut60]

I had somewhat the same good results from Retrax on my cover--was over 4 years old, and the top of the canister came apart. They sent replacement part with no hassle, just the serial number.
I think the service guy about my slide just wasn't in the mood to be helpful.
Now, just waiting for call back from Greg Vaughn at DRV...that in itself is questionable based on mixed comments on the 2 forums. Been 5 hours so far.
Joe

[wingnut60]

Got a return call from Vaughn at DRV, but I wasn't home at the time. Wife says he thinks he knows what I need to fix slide and is sending the part--free. Now that is service!!
Kay Cross also returned my call--again, not at home. Checking to see if I was able to get DRV help.
Thanks to all for the advice--to DRV for great service.
Now just waiting for the part and see if I can get it fixed.

Joe

[bstark]

I have done that job for someone else and the way Paul did it was the same way I went about it.

You have to be careful to have the slideout in far enough that you are not attempting to lift the rear support roller up and along with it the upper angle iron inside framework.

Lift the inner floorbards out of your under-bed storage and watch how the mechanism interacts between rollers and support framework and you'll see where you need to have the slideout in far enough that it can tip as you lift it. You don't have a lot of clearance but there is enough to lift it up and get a 1/4" drive ratchet onto the top of the screw heads when replacing.

Final tips: wax the underside of that slideout with a very good car wax that will not attract dust or build-up and give it a good wipe down frequently as there is nowhere else on the trailer where that heavy an item is resting and sliding on a cosmetic surface. Your slideout retraction protocol should also include one last push of the "retract/in" putton to make sure that circuit is hydraulicly preloaded as any in/out movement of that slideout while going around corners or over whoop-d-doos puts enormous stress on those teflon block retaining screws trying to keep them upright.

I removed the heavy iron framework under the bed and replaced it with a plywood affair that was hinged in two places to support our comfort-air bed. That modification served two puposes: weight savings and blood savings from catching my fingers on those darn sharp springs every time I made the stupid bed. We also resisted the impulse to store heavy items under there, reserving that area instead for things like the toilet paper and paper towels, etc..

Good luck.

[wingnut60]

Bruce,
Very good information--thank you. I still have the problem that the replacement blocks are not shaped the same as the originals. And no screw hole thru them.
Will be sure to wax the bottom of the slide where it contacts the blocks.
Planning a call to Paul Cross to see if he can help me thru this with what DRV sent.
Greg Welborn was very helpful and responsive, but guess he sent parts that have maybe been changed in later years.

[Motorcycle Jack]

Just so you know Paul is on vacation with Kay until 19th. You may want to delay your call until then.

[wingnut60]

Man, my problems continue to mount--very discourteous for them to be on vacation when I need them.
I don't have much time to devote to working on it anyway--working away from home Mon-Fri, so not able to get deep into it. Have a trip planned for after Labor Day, so probably will have to just use as is and hope it works on the slant.
Thanks for the heads-up on Paul and Kay.
Joe

[wingnut60]

Have taken the bottom gasket off--that allowed me to see that the right-side slide block was tilted frontwards. The screws had pulled out of the wood it was attached to, allowing the teflon block to tilt outward when the slide came out. This allowed the slide to lean to the right side.
Next I took the screws out holding the plastic piece that goes across the bottom of the slide frame--it was also attached to the side of the frame opening, and those screws were tough to access with a screwdriver.The plastic is bradded to the wood piece and there is a gasket across the back of the wood. Quite a complicated piece to put back together from new pieces, especially when the wood needs to be replaced also. It is not a normal measurement piece--something like 15/16 x 1 1/4. Gonna be tough to find something to replace it, but may be able to change a dimension without causing a problem.

The replacement teflon blocks are rectangular instead of L-shaped, when looking at the ends, and have no holes to screw them to the wood. Sure wish I was close to Cross' shop tomorrow.
Will call them tomorrow and see if they can walk me thru it.

I bought a tripod screw jack that has the length to sit on the ground to push the slide upward. Used a 4x6 timber I had laying around, placed it on the jack and eased upward to get room to work. Got everything old out, and that is where it stands til I figure out how to get it back together.

Thanks for all the advice.

Joe

[rjohnsonnm]

I had the same problem a couple years ago. You are on the right track now that you've lifted the unit and got the old stuff out. I junked all of the old stuff and replaced the soft board with an oak board. Drilled holes in the new teflon blocks. I didn't even try to use the old plastic cover that was attached to the board. Instead, I bought a plastic rain gutter downspout from Lowes and cut it lengthwise so one side was a little wide than the other. I used that as the white facade (Used white screws to put it on). Hope this makes some kind of sense.
Ron

[wingnut60]

Ron,
Thank you. Do you happen to remember how close the oak board you used was to the dimensions of the original wood? As I mentioned, I can't come close to the odd dimensions without going to a cabinet shop, and they are not open when I am off work.
Thinking I can be off some on the width (front to rear) but not too much on the height.
Joe

[wingnut60]

Well, I got the project almost finished. Built the wood support up from 1x2 stock and lathe wood. Came out with almost the exact diimensions that were there originally.
Got the plastic screwed onto the wood (original was power-bradded with maybe 1000 brads--the guy was on a roll that day) and then drilled the screw holes in the teflon blocks. Put it all together and then fitted it under the slide. Tested the slide in/out--it works as it should. Now, all I need is to finish attaching the plastic to the frame and the gasket to the frame.
Thanks for all who sent me ideas--the hardest part was figuring out how to raise the entire slide up high enough to work under it.

Joe

[wingnut60]

Another question on this repair--everything is back together and the slide is operating correctly, except it is not centered in the frame. It is running out/in with enough frontward bias that there is a slight gap in the rear side gasket when open. When closed, it is easy to see that it it perhaps 1/2" too far to the front. It does close flush on both sides. Is there some way to move it rearward?
Thanks,
Joe