Roof, Slide and Awning
Slide-Out Repair
In short: A slide-out that binds is usually telling you the opening is no longer square rather than that the motor is failing, which is why replacing the motor twice is the most common wasted expense in RV ownership.
- Typical range
- $500 to $8,500+
- Labor hours
- 3 to 40 hours
- Updated
A slide-out is the single most complex mechanical assembly on a recreational vehicle. It is a room that weighs several hundred kilograms, travels a metre or more on a mechanism, and has to seal against weather at every position of that travel, on a vehicle that flexes.
When it goes wrong the symptom is almost always the same, a room that binds, stalls, moves unevenly or will not seal, and the causes behind that single symptom range from a $500 part to an $8,500 structural rebuild.
The mistake worth avoiding
The most common expensive error in RV ownership is replacing a slide motor because a slide is binding.
A motor that stalls is usually doing so because it is being asked to move a room through an opening that is no longer square. Replace the motor and the new motor will also stall, because the load did not change. We regularly see coaches on their third motor with the original structural problem untouched.
So the diagnostic order is: check the structure first, then the mechanism, then the drive, then the electrics. That order costs a little more on day one and saves a great deal over the following two years.
Systems we work on
Schwintek in-wall. Motors at the top of each side driving vertical toothed tracks. Compact, no rails through the floor, common on newer and lighter rooms. Sensitive to alignment and dependent on both sides staying synchronised. Loss of sync is the characteristic failure and it will bind the room hard if it is not caught.
Lippert and Power Gear rack and pinion. Through-frame rails with a gear drive. More tolerant of slight misalignment, heavier, common on larger rooms.
BAL Accu-Slide. Cable driven, found on many travel trailers. Cables stretch and require periodic adjustment, and an out-of-adjustment cable system racks the room.
HWH and other hydraulic. Used on the heaviest rooms, typically on high-end Class A coaches. Failures are usually hydraulic rather than mechanical: a leaking cylinder, a failed solenoid, contaminated fluid.
What we do
Structural assessment first. Is the opening square. Is the floor sound under the room and under the rails. Has the frame moved. On a coach that has been in a collision this is where frame straightening enters the conversation.
Mechanism inspection and rebuild. Rails, gears, racks, cables, rollers, bearings. Cleaned, inspected, worn components replaced, adjusted and synchronised.
Motor, controller and wiring. Motors, controllers, limit switches, harnesses. Slide controllers are also a common failure and they present exactly like a motor fault.
Room structural repair. The room itself has a floor, a frame and walls, and a room that has taken water at the leading edge or been forced while binding needs structural work rather than mechanical work.
Seal replacement. Covered separately under slide-out seal replacement.
Synchronisation and adjustment. Both sides moving together, room seating evenly, seals compressing uniformly, travel limits set correctly.
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic and adjustment | $500 to $1,000 | 3 to 6 |
| Motor or controller replacement | $700 to $1,500 | 4 to 8 |
| Mechanism rebuild, one room | $1,500 to $4,000 | 8 to 20 |
| Hydraulic system repair | $1,800 to $5,000 | 9 to 24 |
| Room structural repair | $3,500 to $8,500 | 18 to 40 |
Mechanical and electrical labor is $260 per hour, body and structural work $210. Diagnostics are $285 for the first hour and credited back against an authorized repair. See the pricing page.
What breaks and why
Loss of synchronisation on Schwintek systems, from a motor drawing differently to its partner or a track fouled with debris. Binds hard and can damage the tracks.
Cable stretch on BAL systems, which racks the room progressively until it will not seal.
Water at the leading edge rotting the room floor. This is what a failed slide topper causes over time.
Structural movement in the opening, from collision, from a soft floor, or from a sidewall that has sagged with age.
Forced operation. A room that was binding and got run anyway. This is the one that converts a mechanism repair into a structural one, and it is why a room that stalls should not be persuaded.
Travelling with a problem
Never travel with a room extended. Every system has a manual override, and its location is in your owner manual. Get the room in, secure it, and then deal with the fault. A room that shifts at highway speed can destroy the opening.
If the room will not retract even manually, call before doing anything creative. There is usually a documented release procedure, and improvising instead is how a repairable mechanism becomes scrap.
Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.