Manuals/Instructions to adjust 2005 Adventurer slide

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 05:45 AM

I have a 2005 Adventurer 38R and the living room slide is out of adjustment. When it is firm again the coach ( when in ), the bottom on front and back and touching properly. However, the top rear is off the coach about 1/2 - 1" and the top front appears to be TOO tight against the coach, squeezing the seal.

I am very mechanical and have looked at the slide and see there is a way to adjust it, but I would like a manual or some instructions before I try.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 05:45 AM

I have a 2005 Adventurer 38R and the living room slide is out of adjustment. When it is firm again the coach ( when in ), the bottom on front and back and touching properly. However, the top rear is off the coach about 1/2 - 1" and the top front appears to be TOO tight against the coach, squeezing the seal.

I am very mechanical and have looked at the slide and see there is a way to adjust it, but I would like a manual or some instructions before I try.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

Tom N · 10-10-2007, 06:30 AM

Someone mentioned they had the same problem.

This is what they did but be VERY careful if you do this.

With the slide almost retracted they placed a block of wood between the coach wall and the lip of the slid on the side of the slide that was contacting the coach wall correctly. This forced the side of the slide that was not contacting the coach wall to still move in a little. This realigned the slide.

IF YOU DO THIS JUST TAP THE SLIDE CONTROL BUTTON VERY QUICKLY WHEN THE SLIDE CONTACTS THE BLOCK OF WOOD.

You may also place the wood and try pushing the other side of the slide in by hand rather than using the hydraulic system. I think I would try this first.

-Tom

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 06:40 AM

I know there is a threaded rod that goes from inside the coach to the outside of the slide. There is a thumbscrew in place that keeps this rod from turning, but it appears it has some control on how far out/in the slide travels.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

Tom N · 10-10-2007, 08:50 AM

I've placed the flat floor slide room adjustment procedure online. The PDF file is password protected and the password is "winne".

http://www.nauticom.net/www/tomnagy/FlatFloor.pdf

CAUTION. Using this procedure and making incorrect adjustments can lead to MAJOR and EXPENSIVE problems.

Let me know how you make out.

-Tom

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 09:14 AM

Tom,

Thanks for the information. It appears the slide on my 2005 Adventurer is a little different than what you are showing. The ram assembly slideroom mount bracket on mine has a threaded run running through it that has the thumbscrew that prevents it from spinning. I am not sure, but I believe there is some adjustment on it that controls how far out or in the slide will go, but I don't know for sure.

I will take your information and look at exactly what I have on my coach. I will take my time and won't do anything extreme, but I will see where I can make adjustments.

Also, on the block adjustment, if the front top is hitting too hard, and the back top isn't, are you saying try to put a block at the TOP FRONT and slightly bump it to see if it will bring it more into alignment?

Thanks

Tom N · 10-10-2007, 09:57 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gtcoatie:
Tom,

Thanks for the information. It appears the slide on my 2005 Adventurer is a little different than what you are showing. The ram assembly slideroom mount bracket on mine has a threaded run running through it that has the thumbscrew that prevents it from spinning. I am not sure, but I believe there is some adjustment on it that controls how far out or in the slide will go, but I don't know for sure.

I will take your information and look at exactly what I have on my coach. I will take my time and won't do anything extreme, but I will see where I can make adjustments.

Also, on the block adjustment, if the front top is hitting too hard, and the back top isn't, are you saying try to put a block at the TOP FRONT and slightly bump it to see if it will bring it more into alignment?

Thanks </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have more slide manuals. Let me look and see if I have the appropriate one.

I also have a 2005 38R but mine is a Suncruiser. The 38R is a great floorplan. I have the W24 chassis.

Where in GA are you?? I'll be in GA in 2 weeks on our way to FL for the winter.

-Tom

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 10:09 AM

Thanks[/QUOTE]

I have more slide manuals. Let me look and see if I have the appropriate one.

I also have a 2005 38R but mine is a Suncruiser. The 38R is a great floorplan. I have the W24 chassis.

Where in GA are you?? I'll be in GA in 2 weeks on our way to FL for the winter.

-Tom[/QUOTE]

I live in Bremen GA...about 45 miles west of Atlanta off I-20. Mine is on the W24 chassis as well. I think they are virtually the same coach. If you have the slide manual for yours, I am pretty sure it is the same as mine....

Thanks

Tom N · 10-10-2007, 10:24 AM

I think what I have is for 2004 and earlier.

Here is an overview.

http://www.nauticom.net/www/tomnagy/...deOverview.pdf

Download these 2 files. They take too much space on my webspace and I'll remove them in a few hours.

-Tom

gtcoatie · 10-10-2007, 11:13 AM

Tom,

Thanks. I downloaded the pdf you listed, and the one above. The last one was the one that describes the 2-cylinder slideout, but doesn't talk about how to adjust it. I should be able to figure it out once I get under there....at least I hope so.

Thanks again for all your help.

gtcoatie · 10-14-2007, 03:20 PM

Hey Tom,

When doing some work on the coach today, I looked at the slide. It appears it tracks going in just fine with the top leading the bottom slightly. However, when the top rear gets about 1" or so from the side of the coach, it stops and the rest of the slide touches the wall. I had my son stand outside and I pulled the top rear in some, and it came in, but when I let it go, the top went back out.

It appears the wheels that are used for the vinyl section of the floor ( there is a glide for the carpeted section ) are keeping the slide up a little when it is in keeping the top rear of the slide out. It might not be the case, but it appears. I am not sure why the bottom would not seal on the rear, but it could be the same thing....

Any thoughts? Anyone?

Also, anyone got any idea what the threaded rod is that comes from the hydraulic unit through the beam where the slide is bolted to the coach?

tderonne · 10-14-2007, 03:59 PM

Wow, thanks Tom. The know nothings at the dealer have screwed mine up like 4 times. And yet, I'm too dumb to handle having the manual, at least according to HWH, as they won't give them too me. Hopefully your first link is what we have in our '04, a quick look makes me think it is.

And that threaded rod is a emergency retract mechanism, as noted in the first link, right?

As for the top not coming in, once the slide is in, it's really just a big box sitting there. I'd guess something is amiss on the bottom of the box, like you're looking at. I guess if the infamous plastic guides were gone the outer edge of the box might drop too. Gotta read the instructions...

B K · 10-14-2007, 09:02 PM

Hey Tom. I want to add my thanks for the pdf's. I also have had no luck w/ the dealer and looking to try myself. I think gtcoatie should look under Exterior Top Gap- Retracted Room. This sounds like the "tilt adjustment".

Let me add my own experience that may shed some light to his problem. I was driving up from Salt Lake one time and it started blowing from the left side like crazy. I mean 30+ knots and gusting higher. I didn't think too much of it at first 'cause the rig handled really well, but my wife started freaking 'cause she said the right side slide was falling out. I looked over to see the top of the slide was tipping out like at least 4". Thought about it for a minute and figured there was so much wind on the left it was causing a vacuum on the right side. Remembering that in tornado's you want to leave windows open to equalize the pressure, I told her to open a couple of windows on the right side slide. Sure enough, problem solved. The bottom line of all this is to say that the outside edge of the slide is attached to the ram, but the interior side is just gravity. Perhaps you've had a simular experience or maybe some heavy rocking and have bent something.

Just a thought.

Duner · 10-15-2007, 11:57 AM

I recommend that everyone should have the slide adjusting bolts/nuts checked to make sure they are tight. I have the same flat floor slide in my rig.

Here's my story......
When I took new delivery there was 1900 miles logged and the living room/kitchen slide alignment was perfectly straight. I believe the delivery drivers are not allowed to open this slide for their use. Anyway, the slide worked fine and no issues with alignment.

After the first month of fulltime use, I noticed the slide when closed was hanging down about 3/8 of an inch in the front and was putting a deep rubbing mark in the carpet. I returned the coach to the Winnie (selling) dealer to adjust the slide. The service mgr told me that they found that the lock nuts (jam nuts) weren't tight so it came out of alignment. They readjusted and looked like new again except it was still rubbing hard on the carpet the full length of the sliding motion just behind the drivers seat.

As the first year passed the slide slowly dropped again, this time in the front and rear. It also developed a sharp metallic squeal/scraping sound that was getting worse. I took to a Winnie dealer closer to my home. After they made the adjustments, they reported that locking nut(s) were loose and bolt had backed out and was rubbing.

In year two, it was dropping again front only about ¼ inch. I got under the slide, and guess what? Two loose lock nuts! I did the adjustment myself this time. Since then, about every 6 months, I check all the locking nuts I can find and make sure they are tight. It's almost 4 yrs old now and the slide has kept its alignment.

Seems like the slide adjustments are like the lug nuts on your dually's .... you can torque all 8 of them down hard and in 500 miles when you re-check, you'd be surprised how many are not up to the specified torque.

Happy Trails,
Duner

gtcoatie · 10-15-2007, 12:07 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Duner:
I recommend that everyone should have the slide adjusting bolts/nuts checked to make sure they are tight. I have the same flat floor slide in my rig.

In year two, it was dropping again front only about ¼ inch. I got under the slide, and guess what? Two loose lock nuts! I did the adjustment myself this time. Since then, about every 6 months, I check all the locking nuts I can find and make sure they are tight. It's almost 4 yrs old now and the slide has kept its alignment.

Seems like the slide adjustments are like the lug nuts on your dually's .... you can torque all 8 of them down hard and in 500 miles when you re-check, you'd be surprised how many are not up to the specified torque.

Happy Trails,
Duner </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Any photos? Exactly what adjustment bolts/nuts are you talking about? Any more information would be appreciated.

Duner · 10-15-2007, 03:13 PM

Here's a few shots of the nuts/bolts on my slide that I check. These are not the only ones, but it'll give you an idea. Once you get under the extended slide you will find more fasteners that hold the various brackets. It's raining outside now so I didn't crawl under the rig for more pic's. The pic's below can be seen from either end of slide.
I'll be intesting to see if other folks find a potential problems under their rigs too.

I found this nut loose but not out of adjment:

I adjusted this one to get the bottom of the storage doors aligned with the doors next to slide:

These nuts are one set of 4 total that adj the up/down alignment of slide in closed position. I found two loose on front rail that cause the front of the slide to be lower by 1/4 inch.

After owning the coach for more than 3 years, I found this big hex nut so loose that it was protruding past the bottom of the tube and carving away at the nylon bushing. Fortunately the nut can not come off while driving because it is resting on top of the bushing inthe closed position.

gtcoatie · 10-16-2007, 04:01 AM

Hey Duner,

Thanks for the photos. They really help because they look pretty much like my coach. It looks like to me that your 1st and 3rd photos above are the points where I could get some adjustment to close the gap at the top when the slide is retracted. I will just have to get outside and look at it closer and see. I will look and determine if I think I can handle it, or take it to a dealer.

Does anyone know if there are step by step instructions for making adjustments on these slides anywhere?

EDIT...

I checked at lunch, and it appears your first photo above is the point I can make an adjustment. If I loosen the two screws and then adjust the ram assembly up slightly, I believe it will close the gap at the top. I will try tomorrow evening and see what happens. I will try a little at a time, also noting the other side to see if I need to let it out slightly so they will close together.....

Thanks for the photos.

B K · 10-16-2007, 10:19 AM

I'd be careful making any adjustments until you really understand how the slide operates. You may make one thing look good, but mess up something else. It seems that the most important thing is that the rams are parallel to the floor. If that is correct you dont't want to adjust the box position there. I think you're on the right track in trying to figure out an exact step by step process. I'm going to want on adjustments 'til I understand this thing a little better.

gtcoatie · 10-16-2007, 11:31 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by B K:
I'd be careful making any adjustments until you really understand how the slide operates. You may make one thing look good, but mess up something else. It seems that the most important thing is that the rams are parallel to the floor. If that is correct you dont't want to adjust the box position there. I think you're on the right track in trying to figure out an exact step by step process. I'm going to want on adjustments 'til I understand this thing a little better. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am pretty sure I understand it. The adjustment I would make ( and I would be able to reverse it ) would simply raise the outside slightly. The ram would still be in line....

gtcoatie · 10-18-2007, 04:02 AM

I was able to make some adjustments last night and have the slide sealing pretty good to the outside wall in the retracted position. It appears the entire slide is low as the graphics on the full body paint don't match up, but at least it is sealed now, and that is the main thing. I will approach it one issue at a time.

Thanks for the photos and advise.