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Topic: Forward slide glide plate adjustment (Read 719 times) previous topic - next topic

Forward slide glide plate adjustment

So I am replacing the carpet with vinyl flooring. There is a slide plate On the slide that is adjusted to ride on the carpet. .125 90 degree angle with nylon slide block on bottom. Goes full length of the slide. How much free play should be left to clear vinyl flooring. Our coach will is primarily used in the desert and the floors will have dust, possibly dirt on them. Too close and they will destroy the flooring below them. Too high and they Never will be in contact to support the slide floor when retracted. Don't really know if they even need to be there but there going back in. They do have slotted mount holes to adjust as needed. Anyone know what's best for clearance?
Scott

Re: Forward slide glide plate adjustment

Reply #1 –
Quote from: dsd –
So I am replacing the carpet with vinyl flooring. There is a slide plate On the slide that is adjusted to ride on the carpet. .125 90 degree angle with nylon slide block on bottom. Goes full length of the slide. How much free play should be left to clear vinyl flooring. Our coach will is primarily used in the desert and the floors will have dust, possibly dirt on them. Too close and they will destroy the flooring below them. Too high and they Never will be in contact to support the slide floor when retracted. Don't really know if they even need to be there but there going back in. They do have slotted mount holes to adjust as needed. Anyone know what's best for clearance?
Scott

Scott, you do need to leave those in.  We replaced  our carpet last year and went with rubber flooring.  What I do is insert 3 of the extra pieces of flooring under the slide runners and let it run on that and not hurt the floor.  I also used some ceiling material that was graciously given to me by Chris Lang and it gives the steel runners something softer than the teflon that is under them now.  I adjusted the runners down as low as possible and then tighten the screws.  You want to keep the slide as level as possible when extending or retracting or your locks will not engage correctly or not at all.  Just food for thought!  Any questions, please PM me or call me.  If I don't answer, I will call you back, as service here in Yellowstone is iffy at best!
Joe & Dottie Allen
Sold!  December 2023.      2000 U320; build # 5645
Our coach " Maxine"
Motorcade #  15922;  Escapee 150950; FMCA F330833; Boondockers Welcome;  Harvest Hosts;  Thousand Trails
'98 U320 from 2000-'06
USAF '62-'66

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." ―Epicurus

Re: Forward slide glide plate adjustment

Reply #2 –
Scott,

I am impressed with how clean you got the slide bar.  You must have painted it too.

A New Floor, FLOR Carpet Tiles

When we put in new carpet the slide bar that runs the full length of the slide was higher (more clearance) in the middle than at the ends by at least 1/4 ".

At the ends the slide bar plastic part just touched the carpet on top if the padding. We removed all of the padding and carpet, replaced it with an underlayment that was 0.2" thick and carpet that was 0.35" thick.  That was thinner than the OEM carpet on padding. 

I didn't adjust the slide bar, the slide has been in and out many times and no indication of any issues.  If you have the thickness of a floor plank under the slide bar you are probably good to go. Putting something under the front and rear corners as the slide comes in and out will give you an idea if it is dragging.  With the slide it can you still get your piece of flooring under the edge?
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Forward slide glide plate adjustment

Reply #3 –
Roger I probably would of preferred you didn't notice how clean they are. They were covered in 3m 1300L adhesive. I popped them in the sand blaster cabinet, well half way and sandblasting them was a joke. Pulled out and chemically stripped. Put back in cabinet and sand blasted to bare material. Cleaned, primed, painted to match flooring. Talked with DW and she was the one that came up with painting and leaving exposed. So step bullnose on top and screws /slots half covered. I only see it stepping into the coach, near eye level. Was going to put plywood with holes for screw heads over then bond flooring onto it. Would of taken a bunch of time. Ended up taking more time than I guessed it would. Will check clearance when retracted
Scott

Re: Forward slide glide plate adjustment

Reply #4 –
@dsd

Where did you end up with adjustment of the slide bars?  Did you put anything soft under them to protect the floors?

I found out the hard way that the adjustment of these is absolutely critical when retracting the slide.  I had a bad leak from my slide  shortly after purchase in a torrential downpour, and after tearing carpet and padding out, retracted the slide and tried to lock it into place.  Due to the loss of height from the removal of the carpet and pad, the slide bars were resting on the plywood and it put the slide at a downward/inward angle.  The top slide plungers missed the holes entirely and I heard a horrible crunching sound.  Damaged the gel and fiberglass on top of the slide.  I should have known better.  Stupid hurts/costs lots of money sometimes.  Have yet to repair the gelcoat/fiberglass, waiting to do bladder replacement and will address at that time when the slide is removed.
2000 U320 4010
 

Re: Forward slide glide plate adjustment

Reply #5 –
Yikes. Yes mine was posed to do that exact thing. So to date of ownership I have not extended or retracted the slide correctly. I've never operated it with the HWH computer. It was damage and has be repaired, but I have still not attempted to operate normally. I do have a bad slide bladder and the air compressor will only produce 45 psi capped off. I will eventually get to those repairs however too many must fix issues while we use. I was aware of the issue prior to the last retraction. I wedges the slide till it was in the proper position before I extended the locks. I realized it would have to be addressed down the road. I'm planning on building two rollers about 4-6 inches wide that I can adjust the elevation on to set slide position. I didn't want Little Rock's getting in there and destroying the vinyl planks. The outside has a 4" 30 mil thick tape on it we use for waterproofing floors. So far it has worked well. Sorry to hear about your damage. Hopefully next year those items will be sorted out. All I lack is finishing.
Scott