full length slides - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

full length slides

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

My husband and I are looking for a little bit larger RV to full time in and are currently considering a 2011 Carriage Royals International 36Max1. It's located several hours away so before we make that trip, I have some concerns that I thought I'd check on. First, it has a full length slide that contains the bedroom storage, washer and dryer, kitchen appliances, and entertainment unit. Does anyone have any experience with this or a similar model? Are these slides prone to problems? It seems to me that with a slide that long and heavy it could easily be prone to problems. Also, since the manufacturer is out of business, is there any problem in getting these units serviced?

We're also considering a similar size used Teton or New Horizon so we obviously have a way to go yet on our decision making. Your thoughts and opinions will be much appreciated.

Thanks! Judy

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Carriage was reincarnated as Lifestyles RV. They are still making floor plans with full wall slides. I have never heard any opinions concerning the large slides.

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bear and Jim,

I'm glad to hear that you haven't had problems with your large slides and that former dealers should be easy to find. We're definitely planning to upgrade to a larger truck in the near future. We've been keeping our eyes open for a 2011 or 2012 F-450 to replace our 03 Dodge 2500. Sometime this week we may go out to the local Ford Truck dealer and see what a new one costs but we'd really prefer to buy used if we can find something with reasonable miles and price.

Things seem to be falling into place. We bought the 03 HitchHiker and truck about 1.5 years ago, I retired last June and Bill re-retired in July. We took our maiden voyage to South Dakota in September and then headed to Florida (Bill's home state) for the winter. We decided that we really enjoy this life and don't want to worry about the S&B in Iowa so we came home mid April and got to work sprucing the house up. It was listed and the first person that went through it made an offer that we accepted. Closing is June 21st! Now we just need to find the right 5ver and truck to pull it.

LIFE IS GOOD!! Come fall we'll be headed to NC for the RV Dreams Rally and then wander back down to Florida for the winter.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

-- Edited by Judy L on Monday 3rd of June 2013 08:42:00 PM

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our 5th wheel has a 14 foot long slide that is 4 feet deep. Our 5th wheel is 19 years old and we have only had one problem with the slide. A wire nut came loose through vibration or a rodent took it (I couldn't find it) and the wire powering the slideout motor was disconnected. I twisted the wire together, put on a new wire nut and taped it in place. The slideout works great.

We've had as many as 8 people sitting in the slide area for family events.

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a 2009 CarriLite 36Max 1 that we bought this past December. There are alot of X-Carriage dealers that will service them. This is our 2nd Carriage product and have had no big issues. Having all the items you listed in the slide opens up alot of floor space. We love the layout. You will need a larger truck, our pinweight is on the heavy side at 3800lbs, and a rolling weight of 17800lbs.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

A couple of years ago I visited with the service manager of a dealership. At that time Jo Ann and I were still researching, so we took the opportunity to get his take on various things. He was dead-set against full-wall slides. His concern was that any slide opening weakens the wall, and since all coaches will flex, that big of an opening can make for all sorts of unpleasant things, and he had the stories to back up his opinion. That was part one of the reasons why we decided that we would forgo a slide at this time.

Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have an 2006....Elite Suite from D-RV... 36TK3 and no problems with the full length slides. Just regular maintence if needed.

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our 2011 Landmark Grand Canyon has two slides that pretty well cover the back (off door side). The kitchen/entertainment slide is hydraulic and the pantry/bedroom is electric.