Anyone use Slide out stabilizers?

[Crabman]

Wondering how many use these slide out stabilizers, particularly on the large super slides? These are the kind used when the slide is out, not the slidelocks used when it is retracted. Looks like a good idea to take a load off the slide mechanism and secure the slide but I`m guessing, have never used them. They get good reviews on Amazon and CW.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[NVGun40]

A nice topic which has mixed answers. I like these.
To start.
Yes, I use the same slide stabilizers you posted. I love them.

Now without getting too technical. The slide rails and slide mechanisms are designed to support the weight of the slide when it is fully extended; so are slide stabilizers necessary? no.
Can they help? yes they can. Can they damage the slide rails and/or mechanism? Yes they can.

Designers of slide stabilizers designed them to stabilize only. Once you park the RV, you should get it leveled, front and back, and side to side before you extend your slide(s). All the RV manufacturers recommend doing it this way.
Yet, once leveling is complete, and you extend the slide(s), it can change your side to side level by 1 to 3%. This is not enough to affect the operation of your refrigerator or anything else, but some people will be sensitive to this gradual shift (if for nothing more than OCD of not being exactly level).
A slide stabilizer can provide additional stability and remove that 1 to 3% slant. That is all it should do. Excessive lifting force on the slide when extended can damage the rails and side mechanism.

With that said. My usage is as such. For just a short weekend camping trip. I do not use them. However, if I am going to be out 4, 5, 6, or more days, a week or more? I use them. They work great and provide the additional stability from rocking etc.

Then again Crabman, you have been around here long enough, you probably already know all this.... But, I am bored so I blathered on.
"if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bulls--t"

[Grumpy]

JAYCO and most slide manuf say not to.

[troutslayer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

JAYCO and most slide manuf say not to.

YES! I have a hardly-used pair for sale...cheap

[Mustang65]

Jayco informed me, when I asked about them (4 years ago).. they said if they notice that they had been used on the slide out, the warranty would be void for the slide out and any parts related to it. So, we have not used them, the 4 jack stands and the TT's 4 stabilizers work fine. DW has no complaints.. since I added the 4 jack stands by the wheels. The TT's stabilizers used alone are useless.

Don

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

Jayco informed me when I asked about them (4 years ago).. they said if they notice that they had been used on the slide out, the warranty would be void for the slide out and any parts related to it. So, we have not used them, the 4 jack stands and the TT's 4 stabilizers work fine. DW has no complaints.. since I added the 4 jack stands by the wheels.

Don, when I contacted Jayco about my slideout, that was a question I didn't think to ask. But they were emphatic about NOT using slideout stabilizers/braces, that my slideout is designed to operate without and I could potentially damage it by using stabilizers. Your additional point about the warranty is a good one. Thanks!

Roger

[Crabman]

Looks like its a no go then. One would think it would take strain off the slide and slide bars/gears but there must be a good reason they discourage their use. The ones that reviewed them seemed pleased for the most part, but likely they did not check with their manufacturer first.

[Crabman]

"if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bulls--t"


Believe me I have been dazzled and baffled many times in life, and on this forum, lol.

[Mustang65]

At the CG, I believe I know why Jayco took that stance. There were 2 TT's there that had the stabilizers under the slide out and you could see that they had not been adjusted properly and the slide out was pushed upward and not level with the TT. After a few times like that, I can hear them yelling that the slide out does not retract any more and complain that they were not designed or installed properly.

I will stick with the jacks...

Don

[Seann45]

Crabby the problem with those stabilizers is guys like nambarC will put to much torque on them and mess up the slideout adjustment

[hoppers4]

Settling of the jacks or wheels while parked will put a strain on (or break) the slide mechanism. With my limited memory, I'd forget them and try to retract the slide with the slide jacks still in place.

[Murff]

It was once explained to me the reason NOT to use them is that if you park at a seasonal site, the air pressure in your tires tends to decrease and your rig is going to slowly and slightly sink. The jacks stay in the same place and will push up on your slide put a bind on it.

Murff

[Parcany]

We have them on our Bungalow. But we also have the trailer, not only with the normal stabilizers but 4 more jacks under the frame. Under the stabilizers we have concrete blocks and wood. There is no chance that the Bungalow is going to sink into the ground. They [stab] are just touching the slide arms.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by Crabman

there must be a good reason they discourage their use.

You get a flat tire, or tire pressure drops after your tires cool, or anything else happens that causes the camper body to drop... but the slide out is supported and doesn't drop at the same rate. You are then transferring a LOT of weight on the slide, potentially damaging the slide mechanism or the slide itself.

Even tire's losing pressure and dropping a quarter inch puts a lot of pressure on that slide. Not worth the risk, in my opinion.

[Parcany]

Forgot to mentioned the bungalow we have doesn't move. When we leave for the summer we close everything up.