Unexpected Repairs to our Slide

Quick Overview:

Let’s cover time and cost for a DIY project. 3/4″ plywood, paint, and screws were about $100 for the floor repair. This was a slide floor that was less than 8 feet wide. I have not had to source anything longer. The flooring ran about $1 per linear foot. We wound up purchasing about 6 x 12 section of flooring, at an approximate cost of $75. Time was 6 hours of work time with two trips to the big box store, one for parts, and one for flooring.

The Problem:

No matter how much you try to keep everything in working order, SOMETHING will break! Early 2025 we noticed a dip at one one of the legs of the couch on a slide. “I’ll look at it later,” was my response on seeing it.

Over the course of a few months I looked at the bottom of the slide and there was a bulge pushing down in the same area. My curiosity was raised but time and location was not permitting to start tearing things apart.

Middle of February, the kiddo decided to sleep on the fold out couch. The Mamma was tucking him in and stepped on the corner of the slide. An audible POP was heard around the world. Alright, that is an exaggeration, but it was loud and reiterated it was time to fix the slide.

The Repair:

Quick look at the calendar, and pick a day before travels, but not during normal work. Sunday! Yes Sunday is a great day for fixing a slide.

Here is a list of tools needed: Screw driver (drill/screwgun), razor knife, plastic scrapper, couple large sockets for the slide adjustment, a couple bottle jacks, a 2×4 in pieces, saw, paint brush.

Here is how I tackled this project.

First, remove the corner trim from both sides of the slide. Remove the row of screws holding the aluminum skirting on. Both of these are using phillips head screws, and sealant. Cut the sealant with a knife, and you may need a pry bar (I used a 4″ tape knife) to remove the corner trim.

I used a couple of blocks from the 2×4 to make connection points to the slide. Using a long screw, I attached the block at places where screw holes were already at so I did not have to drill any new holes in the siding. Attaching a 2×4 to the blocks, I now had a jack point to support the slide when needed.

Jacks were used to take the weight off of the slide mechanism. Mark the slide adjustments with a marker or chalk. This will make it easier to get the slide reallined when putting it back together. Loosen the adjustment bolts, then remove the lag bolts holding the slide mechanism to the slide. Remember here that the slide is no longer being supported by the camper. Any weight dropped would then slam the insides together, and we want to avoid that!

Send a handy dandy button pusher inside to run the slide mechanism in. I had ours moved to about the mid way point on the slide to “catch” the floor when the screws were removed.

One of the pieces of trim on the ‘side’ of the slide needed the screws removed. This piece was placed in the wood and not on the aluminum frame. I think this is where our water intrusion was from that deteriorated the floor.

From here the screws holding the floor in place were removed. When we found a hole where a screw should be, the screw gun was then jammed in trying to get a hold of the phillip’s head screw. On ours, there were screws about every 6″ around the 3 exterior sides of the slide.

From here you’ll need to get a few friends together. Holding the outside part of the floor, run the slide mechanism all the way in so it is out of the way. We had to lift up on the inside (front) part of the slide to get the weight off of the floor, while pulling the floor out the ‘back’ of the slide. It took some jiggling, but it finally came loose.

With the floor out, the flooring pulled off fairly easily, even though there were a lot of staples holding the sides down. We found a lot of water damage here on the side that was busted. From the growth we had, it had been leaking for a while.

Here I took the measurements needed to replace the wood. 3/4″ plywood was the right stuff, and the size was smaller than an 8 foot sheet! Lowe’s and most other big box stores keep that plywood in stock. I had them cut the length down to the size needed. This made it easier to handle, fit in the truck, and made for one less cut to be made. The width was left at 4′ because a bevel was needed on the inside of the slide. A few new screws, a snack, some sealant, a drink, some oil based paint, and too much money later…back to the rig.

Measure 3 more times, set the saw to the lowest angle possible, and start ripping it down to size!

LOTS OF PAINT! The goal was to water proof/resistant the sheet of plywood to minimize water damage later if there are any more water issues.

While watching paint dry, I cleaned up where the other sealant was. A lot of scraping with a plastic scraper, then resorting to a razor blade and light pressure. Be careful of any stickers or paint, you don’t want to accidently remove them.

FLOORING. Well, I was just going to put the old flooring back on the new slide floor and call it a day. BUT with the ick from the water intrusion and the accidental rip on the corner, Sonya convinced me we needed to replace that too. BACK to Lowe’s.

We found a linoleum flooring that was similar in color, but the design was turned from the way we wanted it. The roll was 12 feet in width (we only needed 4 feet) but we needed 6 feet in length. So 6 linear feet of flooring was purchased. We found “Delightful Driftwood 69” at Lowe’s. The color was close, but the plank sizes were a little larger.

Back to the rig, the paint has dried. Laid out the linoleum and cut it down to manageable. Pick a spot, tacked in with a staple. Here we pealed the flooring back and used a generous amount of spray adhesive. Pull the flooring back onto the floor and start rubbing out any bubbles. Staples on the 3 sides under the walls, trying to not have any visible after installation.

With all the extra hands regathered. Time to wiggle the board back under the slide. This process was backwards to removal. Lift the ‘front’ of the slide and shimmy the new wood under the front edge. Get everything aligned as well as possible and then run the slide mechanism out about half way to catch the new floor. Double check the alignment, and start putting screws back in. I used similar screws to what came out, but I did predrill the holes through the new wood and into the frame. I started on a back corner and then worked across and then up both sides. I placed screws approximately 4 inches apart.

Once the floor was back in place, time to reattach the slide mechanism. I did mark on the frame where all the lag bolts were removed from, in hopes of getting them back in the same holes on the frame. Have the helpers finger run the slide mechanism out to the edge of the slide. When you think it’s right, check again, and look again. Pre-drill the holes and put in the lag bolts. This went easily for us this time, bringing some joy to the project.

Next realign the index marks made earlier.

Tighten down the bolts. Remove the supports and jacks and boards. Here we did run the slide in and out a couple times to make sure it was still operating as it should. I did have to make a slight adjustment here. Ran the slide out and start putting back on all the trim. After the trim was in place, sealant all around!!

Seal It All:

I used silicone on all the trim pieces and I even covered the screw heads and holes that let water in the last time.

That’s a Wrap:

I hope this is not a repair you’ll need to make. Remember, this is not a project to be taken lightly, and you could get over your head very quickly. Have a plan, watch videos, and read blogs before trying to attack yours. I am glad to have our repair completed knowing that our kiddo is not going to fall though the slide.