Rear Slide Adjustment

[Edward Buker]

I have noticed that my bedroom slide on my 2002 Marquis does not seem to be quite square in the opening. With the slide in the closed position, it would appear that the right side along the bottom, as viewed from the outside of the coach, has less spacing in the opening at the bottom than the left side. The narrow spacing is close to scraping between the slide and the frame. This also translates into the upper right slide spacing having a narrower spacing than the upper left of the slide in. This all fits with the slide being a little out of square with the opening. What needs to happen is to raise the right side of the slideout about a quarter inch.

Has anyone had this problem and what is the remedy? I can see some rollers under the small bedstand and my guess is they may have to be shimmed. They do not look to be accessible but I may be wrong. Any insight would be appreciated. Glad it is not the main slide....

Regards Ed

[Gerald Farris]

I had a similar problem on my 2000. I think that your slide is designed like mine, and if it is, it can be aligned by adjusting the the connection between the support stands and the slide out frame under the bed.

My slide was so far out of align that it cut the seal and caused a bad water leak. To correct the leak, I had to replace all of the exterior seals after I aligned the slide because the old seals all leaked after I had aligned the slide. So if the seals are good and you have no water leaks, you may not want to adjust the slide until you are prepared to replace the seals.

Gerald  

[Edward Buker]

Thanks for your insight Gerald. If I make an adjustment I will keep it minimal and take note of the seal fit issue. I'm afraid if I do not adjust it, at least minimally, that I will cause some physical damage soon.

Is that connection needing to be physically shimmed or is there some mechanical means (threaded adjustors) that hold the support stands to the slide out frame?

Not sure what is involved in changing the seals but if you had a few lines on that subject it would be appreciated also. Mine are not leaking at the moment but they are original and are showing their age. If you have already posted that info let me know and I will search for it. I will keep your seal post info for that future work.

Regards Ed

[Richard And Babs Ames]

If you can prevent seal damage do so.

We just had the exterior seals  replaced on our 1997 Patriot as they had wore out due to elements and the cost was over $1400 at Alliance Coach in Wildwood. That was without removing the slide.  

[Gerald Farris]

 The adjustments are bolts in slotted steel. I used two pry bars between the support and the frame to raise the low side to get the proper alignment. It took a little time to get the proper alignment with the trial and error adjustment method, but since it was the first time that I had ever worked one there was a learning curve. If you remove the mattress and lift the bed platform, you will see how the frame is supported.

The exterior seals on the bedroom slide are not too difficult to replace if necessary. You will need to measure the total length of the seal that you need, because it is sold in a roll and priced by the foot. You will have to cut the individual peaces to fit.

The seal is self-adhesive and will only need a slight amount of glue or sealant a the corners if any is needed. The hardest part of replacing the seals will be removing the old adhesive that will usually stick to the coach and not come off with the seal. It took me about four hours to replace the exterior seals on the bedroom slide and a little over $100 for the seal material. It is not a fun job and I would only do it if needed.  

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Thank you Gerald. I will take a look under the bed when I am done fixing some Aqua Hot leak issues and servicing the burner. So far I have a love hate relationship with the Aqua Hot. Love it when it is working right, hate it when it has a problem....
later Ed

[Edward Buker]

Gerald,

Decided to attempt the rear slide adjustment today. I loosened the rear two bolts in the slots(see attachment) and worked with about a two foot pry bar on a block placed under the frame. We would be lucky if we gained 1/8 inch on the side of the slide that we were trying to raise. We did not loosen the two slotted bolts at the inward end of the frame on the same side thinking that would be a tilt adjustment. We were not getting a whole lot of movement with the bar. We were doing the adjustment in the out position given the limited access. I suspect this unit is quite heavy. Do we need a bigger bar or a jack under the frame? How much effort was required to get the slide to lift? I would rather use some caution on my part rather than more force if I am missing something. Does this look like the same mechanism as yours?

Hope you see this tonight, a friend is coming over in the morning to give me a hand.

Later Ed

[Gerald Farris]

Your slide looks like mine from what I can tell from the picture. When I aligned my slide, I used two pry bars (one to hold position if you need another bite with the other one) that were about 3 1/2 feet long each.

I did not use a block of wood to pry against, but I was able to use the top of the stand as a pivot point to lift the slide frame.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

I take it you loosened just the outer two bolts that are in the photo and with a lot of pressure on the bar raised the slide? I will break out the longer bar if that is what it takes... We can pry up and put a wedge on the block to hold position.

late Ed