RV slide-outs are a miraculous invention because they dramatically increase the space inside your RV. That leads to a much more comfortable camping experience, but it also means you must consider whether installing RV slideout supports is a good idea for your coach.
When a slide room is extended, a lot of weight is placed on the slide room extensions and supporting frame. This leads some RVers to ask the natural question: should I use RV slideout supports?
What are RV Slideout Supports?
Slide-out supports are a weight-bearing accessory with a wide, flat base at the bottom. The top secures under the frame of your slide-outs. They can be raised or lowered to accommodate your situation.
The Benefits of Slideout Supports
Here are a few reasons to add slide-out supports for your RV:
- Relieve stress on your slide-out extensions.
- Reduce sag on the entire slide-out.
- Reduce swaying and rocking when you’re moving around inside.
- Stabilize fully extended slide-outs.
Are Slideout Supports Necessary?
Once your slideouts are extended, it’s time to consider if they warrant additional support. RV manufacturers design how slide-outs work so that they’re safe and stable without supports, but extra support will extend the life of your slide-out and reduce maintenance needs.
They are also helpful when camping on uneven ground and essential when slideouts contain heavy RV furniture or camping gear. Slide room supports are best for long-term RV living.
They’re most useful for full-time or seasonal campers that are set up in one place for a month or longer. They should also be used each time you set up camp if your slide-outs hold a lot of weight, but they’re not absolutely necessary, especially if you move camp frequently.
But be careful!
Technician Tip: Failure to support the coach chassis with jacks and/or stands before installing slide-out supports can damage the sidewall and/or the slide-out as the coach and slide-out would not be able to move together in the wind and as occupants move about inside.
How To Extend RV Slideouts
Regardless of whether you use slide-out supports or not, many slide-out issues can be avoided by operating them properly. Complete these checks before extending your slide-outs:
- Ensure your slide-out has enough clearance by knowing its depth and adding six inches.
- Ensure all people and passengers are clear of the slide-out and its components.
- Refrain from standing on the floor of the slide-out when extending or retracting.
- Remove slide-out locks (if applicable).
- Ensure the space around the slide-out inside your RV is clear – above, below, and on the sides. Items may have shifted during your drive. Check every time!
- Ensure your RV battery is fully charged.
Now, here are the quick steps to using your RV’s slide-outs:
- Locate the slide-out control switch inside your RV.
- Depress the switch’s ‘Out’ or ‘Extend’ side to extend your slide-out.
- Listen for the slide-out motor winding down or groaning, indicating it’s time to release the switch. You may hear a clicking sound on some trailers when fully extended. You may also notice interior lights dimming as the slide-out seals.
- On Schwintek systems, hold the switch for five seconds once the room is fully opened (or closed) for the control board to complete its calculations. Failure to do so will cause the room to go out of synchronization over time.
- Visually, look for the fascia on the interior of the slide-out to set flush with your RV’s interior wall.
- Never extend or retract slide-outs partially. They must be fully open or closed to maintain their seal and keep the interior of your RV waterproof.
How To Manually Retract RV Slideouts
Picture this: You’re packing up camp and hit the RV slide-out’s retract button to bring your slide in – nothing happens. You can do a few checks first, but the good news is that the main RV slide-out types can be retracted manually.
Watch the video above to learn how to retract your RV’s slide-outs manually, or check out our step-by-step written tutorial.
How To Troubleshoot RV Slideouts
Here are a few more resources to help you problem-solve common RV slide-out issues.
Rack and Pinion
Learn how to troubleshoot issues if your RV has a rack and pinion – also known as a through-frame – slide-out.
Cable Slide
Here are some easy methods for troubleshooting your cable-driven RV slide-outs.
Schwintek Slide
Explore solutions for common issues with Schwintek slide-outs.
For full-time RVers, slide-out supports are a great investment. They’ll protect your slide-out from sagging when extended for a month or longer. For more full-time RV tips, here are a few great resources:
- How to Live in an RV Full-Time to Save on City Living
- Full-Time RV Life or Part-Time RV Life: How to Know Which is Right for You
- An Authentic Budget Breakdown of Full-Time RV Living
What other questions do you have about RV slide-out supports? Share in the comments below!
My partner and I just got a new mallard travel trailer with two bumpouts. We supported the trailer after leveling with the 4 stabilizer jacks and then got 4 more jacks to support the slide outs. Two on each side. Topped with wood to cushion the pads and disperse the weight some. My partner decided to test the stability rocking their weight back and forth and then exited the trailer. A moment after they exited there was an incredibly loud reverberating popping sound. One solid thunk and twang. Should I be worried? I can’t find any mention of sounds after the extension has been opened and sat for more than 24 hours. Only when extending and retracting.
Hi Sam,
Modern RV slide rooms are fully engineered to be self-supporting, and some warn that warranties may be voided if slide room jacks are utilized. The issue with them is that the RV will never be 100% stable when set up on stabilizer jacks. This means that the RV can be prone to settling unevenly, rocking in the wind, or shifting as loads inside the RV shift (i.e., occupants coming and going, holding tanks filling, cargo being moved about). If the slide rooms are resting solidly on the portable jacks and the RV moves in any direction, the room(s) can be placed in a bind or twisted and torqued within the wall opening and this can result in damage. If more stability for the RV is desired overall, the portable jacks can be placed at points along the RV chassis rails without any issue.
Based upon the information provided, the sounds could be caused by one of the following:
According to the Mallard site, the 283RK is the only model with 2 opposed slide rooms. Mallard specifications show them to both be cable operated, so the shifting tensions caused by rocking the RV against the portable jacks may have broken a cable, damaged a pulley, or cracked the room or mechanism frame. The cable are attached to chains at the motor and gear drive with metal blocks that pass very close to one another, and it is possible that rocking the room within the wall opening could have simply popped the cables across one another similar to plucking a guitar string.
The Mallard site also shows that the chassis suspension is the leaf spring type. When the loads on the springs was altered with the stabilizer jacks and the portable jacks, the act of rocking the RV and then walking out of it could have caused the springs to settle, pop, and reverberate.
Since this is a new RV, you may be able to take advantage of a free courtesy inspection within 60 days of purchase. This is so our warranty professionals can coordinate to take care of “shakedown” issues under factory warranty. But the window for such repairs and adjustments is very short, usually 60 or 90 days depending upon the manufacturer. We recommend immediately making an appointment with your advisor and explaining this concern in detail so a technician can properly identify the origin of the sounds.
Here’s a link where you can find a service department near you: https://rv.campingworld.com/locations