Yes, ours has the strip of rough stuff that Gerald mentions, so the seals will turn over properly. And everything I've read says to just keep the seals clean - do not apply any so-called treatment, like those products commonly seen in RV stores supposedly for the purpose.
But somehow Jerry's thread got sidetracked to seals and away from his question.
Seems there was something in the Good Sam newsletter or somewhere recently about slide lubrication. I think dry lube is best for anything exposed to weather, to keep road dirt and ambient dust from sticking to gears and screws, and the article basically concurred, recommending one made by Protect All. Either dry silicone, or Teflon lube would be my preference (dry PTFE). The problem with both of those in this application, though, is they are not meant for heavy load situations, and I'd think slide mechanisms qualify there. I'm not sure what BCS uses, and since they do most of that kind of maintenance for me, I've not actually had to lube our rig's slide mechanisms myself.
I do have, similar to Ed, a Teflon grease I use for limited applications. It's used on bicycle mechanisms, and though not a dry form, spendy, and hard to find anywhere but bike shops, it works really well for chains and other uses as long as it's something you clean and relube regularly.
If I were you Jerry, I'd get under there and inspect and clean the drive mechanism parts. Don't use a power washer (not that that would be particularly easy to do in close confines) as you don't want to jeopardize any rams. A good brushing with grease cutter and rinse, and drying spell, and then try some PTFE or other dry lube and see if things quiet down.
Joel
