UPDATE ON SLIDEOUT REPAIR

Currently in Goodyear AZ (Low 65 Sunny and Very Warm High 93) 

When the mobile service tech in Albuquerque diagnosed the slideout problem he was afraid that there was something structurally wrong that would require ordering parts. Because of that he was unwilling to work on it in the field. Our timing was also bad since the Balloon Fiesta had just ended and all the dealers and repair places in Albuquerque were booked and the earliest we could get it looked at was late October or early November. That was when we decided to forego most of our fall plans and head to Goodyear. We called ahead for an appointment the day after we arrived.

On the heaviest slide that we have, the kitchen slide, the operation is that the top of the slide hits first. As the bottom is pushed in it lifts the slide inside the coach off of the floor. There is a piece of trim screwed to each side of the main box of the slide with a bracket that must remain stationary for this to work.

Steve from KISS RV came out and did a thorough job of troubleshooting the problem. At first he also thought it was structural, probably a busted weld. He checked the rollers and they were OK. He then checked the assembly underneath and no busted welds. Once he got to the bracket he found multiple problems. Lifestyle RV used screws that were too short, some screws were broken off and some were missing and there could have been more. Plus the locking set screw to stop the slideout was not locked. Over time the screws gave way and bent the trim back at the top while bottom of the slide wasn't flush. Luckily this problem was caught and fixed before we damaged the floor.

Steve started the repair but ran out of the longer screws so he had to come back yesterday for a second visit. We wish that we had taken photos to show the difference but suffice to say it is much better now. Here is the side of the slide showing the trim and bracket.

Here is the slideout fully extended.

Thanks to KISS RV and Steve we got this fixed without having to take the RV into the shop. Plus it was much cheaper than we were worried it would be. Finally, it was done before we would have been able to take it into the dealer in Albuquerque. Needless to say we are very glad that we came to Goodyear to get our slideout repaired. If you are ever in the Phoenix area and need service we highly recommend KISS RV.

We cannot believe how hot it has been, the BWE (Baskerville Weather Effect) is in full effect with temperatures 10 degrees above normal. In fact this is one of the hottest Octobers on record. We are in the midst of 25 days in a row 90 degrees or hotter. The day before yesterday was 100 which also set a record for the latest 100 day in the year, BWE rears it head again. Even though it is hotter than normal we are happy to be at our winter digs, especially with the worry of the slideout behind us.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo