slide lubing frequency - Montana Owners Club

captbanjo · 06-07-2005, 11:04 AM

I was asked this at the last campground we were at and it occurred to me that I don't have any idea of the answer. Anyone know how often the slides should be sprayed with lubricant?

sreigle · 06-07-2005, 11:54 AM

Wayne and Cathy, I don't really know the answer, either. I've done ours two to three times per year because we use ours frequently. A couple of times when the slides start to be a bit jumpy in moving I'll lube them at that time, too. That probably doesn't help you much but at least tells you what seems to have worked for us.

RMccord · 06-07-2005, 12:18 PM

Steve:

What are you using for lubricant.
I bought some slide lubricant from Wally World and also some foam slide seal lubricant.
Is the Wally World slide lubricant as good as just an aerosol spray silicon? I would suspect you want dry lubricant so as not to attractice dirt and creat a build up.

sreigle · 06-07-2005, 06:36 PM

Bob, that's correct. MIMF, who works for the people who build the slide mechanisms, says silicone spray is enough.

Here's what I found out at the factory this past week or two. I'm going to paste this here from another post.
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During our recent appointment at the factory service center the tech told me our slide rails are accumulating dirt/grit. He asked what I use for lubricant and I showed him the dry-lube slide stuff. He took that can and sprayed a piece of cardboard, then sprinkled dirt on it. He shook the cardboard and the dirt stuck to it. He said it contains petroleum products. Not good. He then did the same test with a can of lubricant they had in the shop and the dirt did not stick. He gave me a can of this so now I have to find out where to buy more.

What I was using is ProtectAll Heavy Duty Slide-Out Dry Lube. It says it "resists" Dirt, Sand, Salt, and Road Grime, but "resists" is not apparently good enough. The label says it contains Petroleum Naptha, in the fine print at the bottom of the can.

What he gave me is SprayWay (brand), No. 101 Industrial TFE-DRY Lubricant Release Agent. It says it contains a waxy fluorocarbon. It also says, among the ingredients, it contains a "liquefied petroleum gas", which I guess is ok.

There are probably other equally good products out there but at this point I'm not aware of them. So my two remaining cans of the ProtectAll product will be used for the slider hitch and rear stabilizers until gone.

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So I guess you just want to make sure it has no petroleum products in it other than for the propellant. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas is the propellant, from one of the replies to the above post.

Bill and Ann · 06-08-2005, 12:47 AM

When we were at the service center in Middlebury, In. The owner told us a couple of times a year. I guess it all depends on how much you use your slides. Stay put during the winter and use our slides once a month just to keep things lubed.

SRD · 06-08-2005, 01:42 PM

If this is posted twice sorry about that, I responded but didn't see it posted. Anyway here goes.

Steve, Is the dust/dirt build-up noticeable on the slide mechanism? I have a can of Super Lube Dri-Film with syncolon (PHFE). It doesn't have the ingredients on the label so I went to the web site (Super-lube.com) and pulled up the MSDS on it. I didn't see any petroleum product in it. If it does cause dust/dirt to be attracted to the slide I wanted to be able to catch fairly quickly. Do you know what they cleaned the slide mechanism with? Sorry about all the questions. Thanks

Steve

sreigle · 06-08-2005, 02:36 PM

Steve, yes, it's visible on the teeth of the slide rack, the long bars. You can run a rag or your fingers across it and feel it but you also can see the buildup visually.

Alas, they didn't clean them. They left that to me.

It's on my list to get done before we pull up stakes here in early July.

Montana_2779 · 06-27-2005, 03:27 AM

Based on Steve's note above, we ordered a couple of cans of the Sprayway #101 lube from an on-line vendor (printing supply vendor, in fact). This stuff is fantastic!! No resude, no drips, no dirt collection! Works like a charm, and the slides are as quiet as I've ever heard! The store at our park is now going to stock it.

Can't thank you enough for digging up and posting that note, Steve!

sreigle · 06-27-2005, 04:00 AM

Pete, I'm planning to get our slide mechanism cleaned and lubed with this stuff while doing the pre-trip things today and the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the hitch in the truck got scratched up (different story) last trip and the bare metal got some rust very quickly. I sanded that down and repainted the saddle with flat black Rustoleum. Then I sprayed this 101 on it for lubrication, thinking it might protect the paint a bit even though I use the teflon disk. So I'm curious to see how well the lubricant works in that application. Since there's no residue to get on clothing (will have to doublecheck that) this might be a really good application of the lube. We'll see as we'll be on the road for 8 of 10 days starting 7/5.

The thanks go to Rick at the Keystone Service Center. He's the one who showed this to me and gave me a couple of cans of the lube.

ols1932 · 06-27-2005, 06:09 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

What he gave me is SprayWay (brand), No. 101 Industrial TFE-DRY Lubricant Release Agent. It says it contains a waxy fluorocarbon. It also says, among the ingredients, it contains a "liquefied petroleum gas", which I guess is ok.

Steve, do you know where this product can be purchased?

ols1932 · 06-27-2005, 06:10 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Pete Alford

Based on Steve's note above, we ordered a couple of cans of the Sprayway #101 lube from an on-line vendor (printing supply vendor, in fact). This stuff is fantastic!! No resude, no drips, no dirt collection! Works like a charm, and the slides are as quiet as I've ever heard! The store at our park is now going to stock it.

Pete, where did you purchase the product?

Montana_2779 · 06-27-2005, 12:11 PM

Can't remember. Yahoo or Google "Sprayway 101" and you'll get pages of supply houses that carry it. I went down the list until I found one that sold less than a full case and was easy to deal with (quick on-line purchase). I got three cans, so I should be good for a year or two.

Wordsmith · 07-01-2005, 07:33 AM

Glad to see this post as I almost bought a can similar to what Steve mentioned he had been using earlier at an RV shop the other day. Guess I need to do a search the same as Pete.

Now for my “stupid” question of the day: do you just spray the slide arms with the teeth?

captbanjo · 07-01-2005, 08:19 AM

When I search for Sprayway 101 I get a bunch of sites that show a lubricant for art frames. Is this the same stuff?

Montana_2779 · 07-01-2005, 10:17 AM

Wayne and Cathy-- Yep, the Sprayway 101 is apparently intended for the printing industry. Almost all of the distributors I found were in the print hardware business.

J.D-- I understand that the chromed hydraulic pushrod should not be lubricated. This concurs with my understanding of other automotive hydraulic aperatures (this can create issues with the sealing of the rubber o-rings and grommets). What I do is wipe down the square tubes that have the teeth on the bottom with a dry rag, cover the chromed pushrods with another clean rag, and spray the 101 on the entire length of the squre tubes (all sides AND the outer portion of the roller geared mechanism). I spray on a relatively light coat, and it absolutely positively stopped ALL of the noise I was getting when retracting the slide.

I'm also planning on following Steve's lead and using this on my kingpin latch (we use a Teflon disc for hitch-to-hitch lubrication).

Wordsmith · 07-01-2005, 10:57 AM

Pete, thanks for the information! I was under the impression that the chrome pushrod was not to be lubricated, but I suppose it does not hurt to ask a question, no matter how stupid I think it might be!

Montana_2779 · 07-01-2005, 11:29 AM

Actually, that is a VERY good question! Under almost any conditions, one would lubricate any part that moves against another part. The chromed aperature (similar in design and function to those in shocks and struts) is one of the very few that use an internal oiling system to lubricate the mechanism in a very specific way (the top ring on cylinder pistons comes to mind, as well, keeping oil south of the top of the piston and away from combustion).

By the way, I also wipe the chrome pushrod with a clean, dry rag each time so that dirt and dust won't create any breeches in the grommets and o-rings when the slides are manipulated. I tend to wonder if that isn't where some folks' hydraulic leaks start (?).

captbanjo · 07-02-2005, 06:29 AM

So, if some were stupid enough to have sprayed the chrome rods (not someone like me of course) is there enough damage potential to seek repair or should one simply wipe them down?

Wordsmith · 07-02-2005, 07:24 AM

Pete, once again, thanks for the insight!

I wish I had a fraction of the technical knowledge you have shown on this board!

Montana_2779 · 07-02-2005, 08:50 AM

Naw, just wipe them down. That's actually a long-term issue. A little lube or grit on the rods every once in a while shouldn't have any real effect on the seals.

Many thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, I had to learn SOOO many things by doing them twice. That gets mighty expensive!

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