Slide out problems

[Gutz54]

2018 Montana 3811---out slide out next to the front door does not have rollers under it like the two on the back side----just slides out over a long plastic thing that looks like it made out of the same material a cutting board is made of. The problem is the black fabric like stuff under the slide out box is wearing out--has actually some abrasive cuts all the way thru to the wood underneath...why they didn't design this specific slide-out with rollers is beyond me??? Anyway how hard is this to fix and is it a warranty thing?? Anyone else have this situation with this specific slide out ?? I saw on You tube where an RV tech actually put rollers under it . thanks

[sourdough]

You are experiencing the same problem most Keystone owners encounter with darco on the bottom of a slide. It can be sort of simple to fix or very expensive. Where is the wear and torn fabric...on the ends, in the middle or the entire length? The "long plastic thing" is a wear bar....and wear it does on darco.

[Gutz54]

The wear is mainly on the sides--esp the side next to the entrance door--it's actually wearing away some of the underlying particle board under the black fabric stuff.

[DQDick]

My understanding is that to replace the sliding boards you have to lift the slide up enough to get it out and the new one in. The reason they went that way is simple. Those are cheaper than rollers and it's all about how low is the price compared to the trailer next door on the dealers lot. If folks ever quit buying on price and instead went to buyin on quality things would change.

[WeBeFulltime]

It's been my experience that the ones with rollers are electric and the ones without rollers are hydraulic.

[Daryles]

Here is another thread on this and a different fix rather than rollers. I will Probably go with this.

https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=82495

[Gutz54]

I guess we'll have to take it to a dealer and see what happened--we bought it used even though it's only a 2018--I suppose we'll get the typical run around but we'll see......Montana better get their act together ......no business can stay in business putting out defective product and think people will put up with it.

[sourdough]

It will be expensive - btdt. A solution that Keystone presented on this trailer was 8"x 1/8" aluminum strips down the ends with countersunk screws....to run over the wear bar. Now think about drilled rotors against brake pads and you can see what I envisioned, it was a no go.

If it is only on the ends I've done a couple of things, on involved completely hyperextending the slides (by the dealer). Expensive and laborious and not sure the end product was any better than some others I've seen or done. Something you might look into, that I've not done but seriously considered, are the slide skis? Attach at each end under the transition strip on the ends of the slides to hold them up. Easy raise of the slide, place the strips, screw them in and attach the bottoms. Might work. From what I've read they do. You will want to make sure you get those penetrations sealed/fixed/repaired quickly so moisture does not make its way into the slide floor.

For me, on this one, and another failure of darco, I decided to push on Keystone. A brand new MHC, first trip, ruined darco. We have one off solid bottoms on our slides now and I don't worry about darco any longer - what should be done on every new trailer.

[beeje]

All 4 slides on our 2011 unit have wear bars. They have been in and out 1000,s of times with no evidence of wear to the darco. Something else it very wrong. Maybe a screw sticking up somewhere or the slides are not correctly adjusted.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by beeje

All 4 slides on our 2011 unit have wear bars. They have been in and out 1000,s of times with no evidence of wear to the darco. Something else it very wrong. Maybe a screw sticking up somewhere or the slides are not correctly adjusted.

You know I have pondered this situation a lot over the last several years. At first I thought it was just the luck of the draw - some got a good one and some not. Further looking into it it seemed like maybe it was older units vs newer units (construction). In the end I've about determined (in my mind) that somewhere in the 2014 (maybe a year or 2 earlier) the construction of the slides (framing, walls etc.) must have changed leading to a tendency of the slide box to warp and not hold the required shape - cheaper/thinner materials. It's a shame and it's wrong as Keystone does not want to admit it but it's pretty much the deal from what I can tell.

I bought this trailer new because I did not like the GD dealer in the same town as the dealer I like. The Keystone darco construction failed on the first trip - I won't do that again and will have to "groom" the GD dealer in the future. I'm not stuck with anything that I don't want but more importantly, I just don't want to deal with a dealer I don't like...I'll have to figure that out.

[Montana Man]

Mine does the same thing to the point of gouging the floor. That wear bar is held on by staples that pulled out and causing the damage. I ended up laying down a 2x3 sheet of lexan on the floor. The slide slides over it and not the linoleum. I see no way to fix it properly but to remove the slide and go from there.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

Mine does the same thing to the point of gouging the floor. That wear bar is held on by staples that pulled out and causing the damage. I ended up laying down a 2x3 sheet of lexan on the floor. The slide slides over it and not the linoleum. I see no way to fix it properly but to remove the slide and go from there.

As I was told by my service manager, and it makes sense, to replace the wear bar does require pulling the slide out of the hole. On the 1st darco repair we ever did that is what was done except it was "hyper extended" and not completely removed. It does take a lot of "stuff", folks and equipment but then you can access the wear bar. If the lexan is working I'm not sure that isn't the better way to go.

[phillyg]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

......Montana better get their act together ......no business can stay in business putting out defective product and think people will put up with it.

Ha, they keep building less than great stuff and we keep buying it, so I guess their business model works. In all fairness, the other mfgrs. are no better, IMHO.

[Gutz54]

I wonder why no one seems to think adding rollers in front of the slide bar on the metal piece it as attached to would work--I saw on You Tube where a RV repair guy in AZ put the rollers on so they stick up just enough to engage with the floor of the pull out so it takes some of the pressure off the bar?? Seems like a good fix if I can find someone to actually do it??

[beeje]

I think the issues here arise from doing away with hydraulic slides. I believe on the hydraulic slides most of the weight and pressure is Guided by the steel structure of the slide mechanism itself. In other words very little weight or contact is on the wear bar

On a cable slide or schwintek slide most of the weight is riding on that wear bar.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

I wonder why no one seems to think adding rollers in front of the slide bar on the metal piece it as attached to would work--I saw on You Tube where a RV repair guy in AZ put the rollers on so they stick up just enough to engage with the floor of the pull out so it takes some of the pressure off the bar?? Seems like a good fix if I can find someone to actually do it??

In my mind darco is the problem. I have rollers and the darco began disintegrating on the first use. For the brief time I looked at it before having it repaired it appeared the roller was either a git out of square or the darco was possibly applied with the grain maybe a bit crooked. Did not have/take the time to delve into it before it was all taken care of. Both rollers did begin pinching/twisting the darco right off the bat. Rollers seemingly would take care of the issue but I don't think darco is strong enough to stand up to any long term abrasion resistance.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by sourdough

In my mind darco is the problem. I have rollers and the darco began disintegrating on the first use. For the brief time I looked at it before having it repaired it appeared the roller was either a git out of square or the darco was possibly applied with the grain maybe a bit crooked. Did not have/take the time to delve into it before it was all taken care of. Both rollers did begin pinching/twisting the darco right off the bat. Rollers seemingly would take care of the issue but I don't think darco is strong enough to stand up to any long term abrasion resistance.

How can the Darco be the problem ?. As stated my unit has four hydraulic slides, three of which have darco underneath.

The Darco on those three slides after 11 years and thousands of In and Out Cycles is in near-perfect shape.

[beeje]

In my mind there is a reason why the manufacturers have gone away from hydraulic slides. That simple answer is it cost them more money to produce them.

A friend of mine just bought a 2010 Montana 3150rl that has 3 slides. All are hydraulic and the Darco is also in perfect condition.

Let's face the facts in that they don't build them like they used to.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by beeje

How can the Darco be the problem ?. As stated my unit has four hydraulic slides, three of which have darco underneath.

The Darco on those three slides after 11 years and thousands of In and Out Cycles is in near-perfect shape.

I was not referencing anything you have said (note quote). I was responding to the OP....please read post 1..... Your hydraulic slides, lack of wear etc. were not the conversation.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I was not referencing anything you have said (note quote). I was responding to the OP....please read post 1..... Your hydraulic slides, lack of wear etc. were not the conversation.

I just reread the whole thread. I know you were not referencing me directly. However, I will stand by all my statements. IMHO rollers/wear bars are there to aid in supporting the weight of the slides as they go in and out, NOT support ALL their weight. The steel tubes/gears that slide on one another are what supports the majority of the weight. I suspect the slide mechanism is not adjusted correctly. When my slides move, they come in a little and then move upwards, off the wear bars and are supported mostly by the steel structure underneath.