Our slidout is causing the flooring in front of the refrigerator to ripple when the slide is pulled in. Upon inspection I noticed that the vertical alignment adjustment is bent on that side of the slide. I’m not sure if that would be causing the problem. Here’s a picture of the bent alignment area along with a video of the floor. Does anyone have any thoughts on what may actually be causing this? We are a long way from the dealer and if I can make an adjustment it would be much easier.
First, the cause...
1) Poor Engineering Design
2) Possibility of inferior Foreign Steel (Asian or South American)
3) Sometimes...it could be a missed maintenance moment. We've got to inspect our rigs regularly.
If the bolts are not torqued and tight, the weight of the slide can slide down and bend the metal support bracket while bouncing down the road.
At this point, assume that the metal plates are weak.
The fix...
It appears that the metal is now "stressed". You could take it off and bend it back into shape with a hammer and a little heat. Chances are, it's going to break. And if it doesn't, it's much weaker than it was.
So, I would propose the following:
1) You may want to purchase new brackets from someone like Tiara RV in Elkhart, Indiana. They are the official Redwood parts distributor or call Lippert. To help prevent this in the future, consider taking the new brackets and the RV to a weld shop (or do it yourself if your handy like that). Weld in new angle supports (see diagram at bottom of the string). It won't take much. But you'll have to do both halves. You could bend the existing brackets back into shape and add the gussets, but I would not want to do that. There is too much risk.
Then, reinstall the bolts. Adjust the slide and be sure to torque properly. If you want to know a little bit more about bolt grades and identification, check here. Grade 5 is a medium strength steel. Grade 8 is a high strength steel.
http://www.fastenermart.com/understanding-fastener-grades-and-classes.html
Here are the directions for re-alignment from Lippert:
https://www.lci1.com/assets/content/support/manuals/om-hydraulic-slide-out-web.pdf
