Slideout Floor Replacement ?

[ATCguy]

Ok boys & girls... after 5 years (and out of warranty), I'm starting to have an issue with the floor in my main slide out on a Voltage 3200.

Nothing immediate yet, but looking at it from the outside when deployed, I can see what's becoming a significant amount of 'sagging' in the center. Additional indications are that on the last 2 deployments, the slide is becoming increasingly difficult to extend & retract.

At first I attributed this to maybe missing the sweet-spot when I lubed the Swinteck tracks & rollers... but now I can see that it's the floor that may be giving it a difficult time.

An inspection of the floor itself tells me it's solid, with no indications of water damage. No discoloration anywhere to be found... just a pronounced sag of about an inch or 2, dead center of the slide out. Nothing that I know of has been in it to significantly make it overweight. Just a bottled water dispenser, a powered reclining couch that I sit on.

So my question is... have any of you had to deal with replacing the floor in a slide out? Can it be replaced while still in the rig (a field repair), or does the entire box need to be removed at a shop? Being pretty-much full-time in the rig, I really don't wanna lose it for any significant amount of time, especially with summer drawing near. And then finally... what can I expect to have to spend for said repair?

Comments & suggestions welcome... Thanks.

[Tanman]

Tom, I know what your experiencing. After you replaced your el cheapo factory horrible sofa with recliners I followed suit shortly thereafter. I replaced mine with an electric reclining sofa. Maybe 6 to 9 months later I noticed a significant sag in the floor and when retracting the slide I could hear the motor bog down until it was at least halfway in. Not wanting more issues I removed my sofa and replaced the el cheapo factory furniture. The sag went away and the straining of the motor when retracting also went away.

My slide bottom had no evidence of water damage or leakage. I believe the floor was just very thin plywood without supports thus unable to support the additional weight of the sofa or in your case if I remember right you added two recliners. I think you will find the same thing on yours as much as the additional weight and cheap flooring, not bad flooring.

As far as replacing the flooring my guess is the slide does not need removing since its all self-contained flooring and should be accessible just under the carpet.

[sundancer 87]

If normal construction procedures were followed I would expect the floor to be laid first, then the walls and then the roof. Replacing the floor would entail disassembly of the slide. Disassembly inside the RV wouldn't be possible. To replace the floor wouldn't be doable unless at the factory. In this case it might be quicker to have a new slide installed rather than a repair. Not actually knowing how the slide is fabricated this only my opinion.

However, again not in the know, I think the floor could be repaired without going to the factory and being homeless for a few months.
I would remove everything in the slide and expose the floor. Jack it level to remove the sag and then bolt a few lengths of high strength carbon channel steel wall to wall to the floor. This will remove the sag and beef it up to prevent further sagging.

A finish floor would have to be laid over the steel adding an inch or so to the floor on the inside. A new section of carpet would be added to allow overhang on the front to cover the added height.

The bolt heads (carriage bolts) coming up from the bottom on the outside would span the rollers and wouldn't cause any problems with the function of the slide. The bolt heads could be stainless to prevent oxidation.

Depending on how long it would take to source the steel this operation shouldn't take very long at all. Quicker than having the RV sitting on a lot somewhere waiting in line to be serviced.

This idea is based on conventional wisdom of construction practices and SWAG.

[Tanman]

Not trying to be difficult I noticed the bedroom slide on my Voltage seemed to have some evidence of water damage. The tech looked at it and agreed. He showed me the small panel on the outside and bottom of the slide had a crack in the seam. This is where the water intrusion is. It was sealed. He told me he could replace the flooring without a problem but would have to remove the cabinets mounted atop the floor in the slide. The flooring was easy to replace it was the cabinets that would take the time.
With that said since the slide in the bedroom is basically the same as the slide in the living room this told me the flooring should be able to be repaired without removing the slide. Of course, I have been wrong before but that was 3 years ago.