Keep Things Operating Smoothly With These Essential RV Slideout Maintenance Tips

RV slideouts offer an easy way to add square footage to your RV, usually just by pressing a toggle switch.

When you’re ready to move on, you just press the other side of the toggle switch and the slide comes back into the RV so you can get on your way.

A little routine slideout maintenance can keep them operating smoothly.

However, most seasoned RVers can recall at least one time that the RV slideout didn’t want to come back in.

Usually all that was required was a little love and attention to get them moving again, but sometimes it requires the services of an RV technician.

Problems happen because we often don’t think about slideout motors and mechanisms until they give us a problem.

The two keys to keeping your RV slideouts working reliably are a proper care and a little routine maintenance.

In this article, we’ll take a look at six essential RV slideout maintenance tips to help keep your RV slideouts extending and retracting for a lifetime.

Key Components of an RV Slideout

Knowing what the key components of a slideout are, and how each of them works helps us to understand why care and maintenance are so important to their function.

• The slide room The slideout, including its roof and furniture.
• One or two small electric motors (depending on the size of the slide room)
• The slideout mechanisms
  • Rack and pinion – This system is recognizable by having two steel arms beneath the slideout
  • Schwintek – This system is recognizable by having two long, zipper-like gears at either end of the slideout.
  • Cable– This slideout system isn’t as popular as the other two, but cables on both ends of the slideout make it easy to recognize.
• The slideout seal– Slideout seals are flexible rubber seals that help keep rain, wind, and insects from getting into the RV. The flat part of the slide out seal faces the interior of the RV when the slideout is retracted. When the slideout extends this seal flips to face outward, so it can keep outdoor elements outside the RV.

6 Tips for RV Slideout Maintenance and Care

1: Always level the RV before extending slideouts

When the RV is on an angle (even a slight one), the slideout motor has to work extra hard to get the slideout out or in.

Even if you can get the slideouts in or out when your RV isn’t level, you’ll shorten the slideout motor lifespan.

2. Don’t overload slideouts

Just like your RV, your RV slideouts have a cargo carrying capacity.

If you exceed this capacity when your slideouts are extended, you may find yourself hiring an RV technician to fix them one day.

Overloading the slideouts is easy to do because the excess weight can come from people, the new furniture you bought to replace the stock furniture in the slideout, gear, clothing or food.

Too much weight can burn out the slideout motor and/or the slideout’s mechanical components as well as damaging the slide room itself.

3. Nobody should be in the slideout while it’s extending or retracting

RV slideouts are designed to extend and retract with a certain weight in them. Operating them with additional weight from occupants is hard on the slide components.

This can eventually lead to failure of the motor or other components.

4. Lubricate all moving components at least three times per year

As a general rule RV slideouts operate best when mechanical components are kept lubricated with dry lubricant (like silicone).

Lubrication should be done 3 -4 times per year. This is not where you want to use lubricants like WD40 or any kind of grease.

This is because these popular lubricants can attract dust and other debris.

No matter what slideout system you have, you’ll want to lubricate all moving parts on the slideout mechanism.

On Schwintek system lubricate the gear teeth on the two bars at each end of the slideout.

If your RV has a rack and pinion system: You’ll need to get under the slideout and lubricate both the racks and the pinions.

On a cable system, lubricate the visible cables.

5. Keep rubber seals soft and supple with slideout seal conditioner

Slideout seals help keep rain, wind and bugs out of your RV. In order to perform this function, they need to be soft and supple.

Foaming slideout seal conditioner is designed to do just this, so it’s the perfect product to use for this application.

6. Keep slideout roofs clear of debris and snow

You might be surprised at how much dirt and debris collects on slideout during a camping trip.

Retracting the slideout in with this stuff on it will eventually wreck the horizontal seal at of the top of the RV slideout.

Therefore, before you bring your slideout in, it’s a good idea to sweep the slideout off.

Snow accumulation on roof of the slideout can result in a layer of ice. This can prevent the slideout from from functioning normally.

It’s important to clear any snow from slideout roofs before it can accumulate.

7. Keep slideout mechanisms clean and free of debris

Dirt and debris can interfere with slideout function.

Before you bring the slideouts in, be sure to make sure that the mechanisms are clean and free of twigs, leaves or other debris.

8. Store your RV with the slideouts retracted

Storing your RV with slideouts extended exposes them to the elements.

This can lead to damage to the slideout mechanisms and seals as well as interior of the slide room. It’s good practice to store your RV with the slideouts in.

RV Slideout Maintenance and Care Keeps Slideouts Running Smoothly

RV slideouts add a lot more square footage and livability to your RV.

They’re designed to offer years of trouble-free service and you should never have to worry about a stuck slideout.

With just a little care and maintenance, they should last the lifetime of your RV.

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