What do you do..............

[stiles watson]

How much do you lubricate when, lubing your slide rails? Do you lube all around the square tubing or just along the cog rail strip that's spot welded to it? I am cleaning it up and re-lubricating. I know you don't grease up the hydraulic cylinder push rod unless you want to ruin the seals. You just wipe them down with a clean cloth.

[ole dude]

All the way around--just seems like the thing to do.

[exav8tr]

Stiles, I watched the service tech at Keystone service center do mine once and he sprayed everything with a dry lube. I have done the same since. Works great!!!!

[stiles watson]

Before I posted, I looked up the Lippert slide user's manual online. It was a waste of time. No specific information that I could find.

After I posted, I did some more cleaning and looking. Obviously, the cog strip needs to be lubed. I also saw marks on the sides of the square tubing indicating metal to metal contact so the sides need to be lubed. I use CRC-White Lithium Grease. I sprays on easily.

I must confess that this is the first time in four years that I have thoroughly cleaned these surfaces. They were cruddy with build up of grease and dirt. Guess I was just lazy. Now that they are clean and newly lubed, I suspect they will work very smoothly.

[CamillaMichael]

A while back I read an article in Trailer Life Mag about some guy who was complaining about his slide hitch malfunctioning and wanted compensation from the manufacturer...turns out the guy had not bothered to lube his hitch...ever! As yout guessed, no compensation. What I like about this post, and the Mag article, is a reminder that many of the things we use need some kind of maintenance.

[bncinwv]

Good info and it makes me think that what we all need is a lubrication and maintenance checklist for our rigs. Rather than having to consult many different manuals (Yechhhh!), a one page summary of lubrication and regular maintenance items that we all forget at one time or another would be a great asset. Any volunteers??????
Bingo

[Parts Ed]

That is one of the first things I did when we had our travel trailer each spring, is lube the slides. Never had any problems and hope to not have any problems with our 5th wheel.

[stiles watson]

Ed, I always lubed the rails but did not clean them. I could spray on some lube without crawling under there, so I did. Bad idea.

[CORattler]

You're right ... don't use grease on the shiny surface of a hydraulic actuator.
Clean off the built up residue with a clean no lint cloth lightly sprayed with hydraulic fluid. When it's all clean, use a separate clean cloth lightly sprayed with hydraulic fluid so that it leaves a light coat of hydraulic fluid on the shiny part of the actuator rod. If you just wipe it dry, you will shorten the life of your seals and eventually you will have a leak. This is how aircraft struts are maintained and the same maintenance procedure applies here.

quote:Originally posted by stiles watson

I know you don't grease up the hydraulic cylinder push rod unless you want to ruin the seals. You just wipe them down with a clean cloth.

[Richard Wallace]

I always clean and lub prior to every trip. We usually sit for two to four months and may travel three times a year work camping. Thanks for the heads up on the hydraulic push rod.

[Parts Ed]

In our previous trailer the slides were "gear" driven so all I did way spray some lithium grease on the "geared track" as shown by our selling dealer at walk thru.

[Slufoot733]

The gear teeth on the bottom of the slide rail is mated with a pinion gear on either side of the slide out room. The gears are joined by a square (usually) shaft so that both gears turn together. This ensures that the room glides out evenly on both sides. These gears are NOT driven. The power to move the room in and out is either hydraulic, mechanical actuator, or a mechanical cable system. The hydraulic and actuator systems are very similar in that they both use pressure in the middle of the room to move it. The square rails with the gear teeth on the bottom support the full weight of the room. (the cable system is new to me and I have no experience with it) The rails themselves are supported by rollers above and below the rail. Therefore the rails should be lubricated on top and bottom. There are also guides on either side of the rails to keep them moving in a straight line. SO, the side should also be lubricated. I guess this is a long winded way of saying "lub the heck out of it!". Just don't over do it cause you have to clear it up sometime in the future.