I agree Jim, maybe we should hide together
As an engineer, the mechanics of the slide out is just fraught with potential problems, I found the article very interesting to read and it just confirmed my thoughts about slides....
Anyway, each to their own eh??
I would not buy an RV without a slide. (The more the merrier) The difference to the living area is worth every bit of additional weight especially for a large family. But then I have a C licence so weight is not really a concern, I understand that they do nick a lot of payload, so if you are trying to stay under 7.5 ton then it is a big consideration. But Slides are why I bought an RV, if I couldn't have slides then I would buy European, a nice fat German A class.
I would love a slide but know americans that dont.
They like to travel and camp overnight without the agro of pitching up (however easy it is)
To be honest it's horses for courses.
I went out to the states with the intention and enough cash to buy a slide but my bottle went when it came to it as the DVLA worries were raging this time last year
I would find it difficult to justify the size and fuel costs of an RV if I didn't have a slide. For us, as fulltimers, we spend a LOT of time in the living/dining area, which is given much more space by virtue of the slide.
But I would not buy a coach with more than one slide, because of the cost, complexity, & weight issues cited.
:Cool: When Wild Camping we have never used a Slide-Out. When on a Campsite (Campground in the USA) we always use the Slide-Out. It really DOES make a difference.
BTW. NEWMAR were the innovators of Slide-Outs. All the others followed suite.
For me its got to be slides, as suzy said technology has moved on alot since 1999. No problems so far with operation or sealing, and after visiting the weighbridge fully loaded with petrol, LPG, water and all susans clothes last month I still have over half a ton of payload left.
There is more to go wrong, but you can say the same about the engines, fuel injection, ECU, and all the eco stuff they put on, most of us can do a few basic checks but after that if it won't start we are buggered. 20 years ago we could fix most things that went wrong.
To get the same internal storage we would need to go up to a 34-36' and that would make the RV less manoeuvrable and slightly reduce the sites we could get on.
We do use it with the slides in when we stop overnight at service stations and longer when wildcamping without any problems, just incase some idiot gets to close and tries to take one of.
I admire people like Jim who drive a 36' or 38' around without a care in the world, but that's to big for me, and the only way in short length RV to get good internal space is with slides.
Our RV is 9 years old and has a huge dinnette/sofa slide.
Makes a massive difference to our 30' RV we wouldnt be without it especially as we live in it fulltime.
Have never had any problems with it at all during our 2 years of occupancy.
have been to the weighbridge with it when we first picked it up and when van was empty with full fuel driver and passenger we still had just under 1000kg to spare for payload...
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