Pantry Slideout Repair

[J Stemler]

I have a 2004 Adventurer 38G which has a pantry slide out to the right of the fridge. Recently a small piece of metal broke off the locking latch and now it does not lock in the closed position. There are two drawer slides on the right side of the pantry and the bottom slide has the latch built in. I ordered a new replacement slide, it appears that the are tabs on the slide that you depress to allow the slide out to be pulled out pass the stops, which would allow the slide out to be removed. I have tried everything and I am still unable to pull the slide out out so that I can remove it from the cabinet to be able to replace the slide mechanism. Anyone every have the same problem or have any advise on this subject

[dengraham]

J Stemler,
You have to pull up on one and push down on the other to get slides to glide past the stops. Take a close look at an eye level drawer to figure out which side is which. Slowly pull the pantry to the stop position, push or pull the tab while still pulling out the pantry. You may need someone gently pulling on the pantry while you are pulling and pushing the tabs at the same time. If you cannot figure out how they work, go to Lowes and look at their sample drawer slides. You then will be able to figure out how to press the tabs to get past the stops. Good luck and let us know how you do.

[J Stemler]

Thanks for the reply, I have done all that, I purchased a new slide from Winnebago and see how you must depress the tabs so that the slide will pull out past the stops, however I still can not get the pantry to pull completely out, it seem to bind up and will not pull out

[Cypressloser]

Sometimes they screw a small piece of plywood on the back of the drawers to keep them from being pulled out to far. Look under the drawer and see if something protrudes from the back.

[Marguerite66]

J Stemler, Did you ever get the pantry problem fixed? I would like to be able to pull mine out further, it seem I've seen them out a lot further in pictures of other RV for sale etc.I didn't understand dengraham's instructions. Can someone explain it better.
Thanks,
MT

[J Stemler]

No I did not, even called the factory, everything they told me to do I tried. After receiving the right replacement slide mechanism, I enlisted help to hold the slide out while I depressed the tabs on the slide to allow it to be pulled out past the stops, no luck, it would not come out, seem to bind and would not come out of the cabinet. Being that I was getting ready to leave on a two week trip, I decided not the push the issue and maybe break something, I will keep trying, I still think I should be able to get it out by bypassing the stops.

[cmpncrsaider]

Hi J Stemler
If it's the type of slide I think it is Sometimes a screw will back out of the drawer just enough to catch the bearing assembly and stop the slide from coming out even with the release held up/down. It's a real pain in the butt. You may be able to slide a butter knife or the like in between the drawer mounted piece and the bearing assembly twist it enough so the screw can pass under bearing assembly it's very thin metal and should flex enough.
You do have a replacement right though right. If you slide the butter knife in with the pantry pulled out you should be able to feel the screw. If it's backed way out you may have to chisel it off. I am a cabinet guy and have delt with this.
Your smart to wait till you get back from your trip!!
Hope this helps.

[Dunnpe]

[Ramzfan]

I had this same problem when I wanted to replace my slides on the pantry. I finally googled the manufacturers name and was able to find details of how to do it.

[J Stemler]

What did they tell you to do ?

[Ramzfan]

I don't remember exactly but I was able to finally take them apart without losing all of the little ball bearings. Try Googling it.

[Macman]

RamzFan,
What was the manufacturers name????

[DAN L]

J Stemler,
When my pantry latch spring broke, I removed the black knob, drilled a small hole in the metal, and installed a small eyebolt about 10" above the latch. A small bungee cord keeps the latch latched.
I also use a spring loaded refrigerator bar between the pantry and the wall when under way to keep the pantry closed in the event of a latch failure.

[imnprsd]

So one day you find your pantry completely extended and it will no longer remain latched. You examine the spring loaded latch and find it broken. So what are your options?

For a detailed explanation, please download the attached .pdf.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by imnprsd

So one day you find your pantry completely extended and it will no longer remain latched. You examine the spring loaded latch and find it broken. So what are your options?

For a detailed explanation, please download the attached .pdf.

Thanks for posting this. I had to remove and replace mine a year ago and it was a PITA. I wish I'd had this PDF at the time. It works but someday, when all the other projects are done, I'm going to re-align things.

[DAN L]

I use a refrigerator organizer tension bar from the pantry to the opposite wall to make sure that the pantry does not extend while under way.
My latch spring failed too. I use a small bungee cord in its place. Not elegant, but it works for me.

[imnprsd]

I would like to make a few clarifications to my previous post:

* We do not recommend having more than 2 locking-latch-types to keep the pantry in place. This includes the top and the center latch.

* If you elect to add a 3rd slider on the bottom, we do not recommend you install this slider in typical fassion -- so the Push-To-Open feature can engage -- as this will make opening the pantry difficult to unlatch at the bottom. To accomplish this just mount the wall side of the slider about 1/8" "short" of the cabinet face so the locking mechanism does not engage. This will reduce the 20" throw of the slider, but who cares since you bought the 20" length slider anyway and you only need 18" to match the center locking slide... supplied by Winnebago.

* The best latching type is the slider you order from Winnebago, but it's a shame you have to pay $116 for it. Does anyone know where you can buy this slider for less?

* Also, if you use the Winnebago supplied slider you may find you need to mount it 1/2" to 9/16” beyond the cabinet face so it slips inside the router'd out pantry door face.

* Again, we found 3 sliders to be the best way to hold the weight of the pantry and give it more stability, but you do need to make sure you have all 3 sliders "plumb" and "square" with the cabinet face, which is to say you don't care about using a bubble-level. What is important is that the pantry slides in and out smoothly and closes "flush" with the cabinet face... but with enough room "forward" so you can use the Push-To-Open feature on the top side.

End.

Updated .pdf attached for a complete discussion on how to fix your pantry slide better than what you will get if you take it to Winnebago and they will charge you $250 in labor for this fix... and only install 2 slides or repair the single slider in the center. This is what happened to me and after they got done I elected to do the job myself because I was not pleased with the work I paid for. (Which is a shame, because we are talking about Winnebago Industries in Forest City. The same Winnebago we count on for 5-Star Service.)

[AndersG]

Cool! Thanks!!