Here’s an RV Question about leveling and putting out RV slides:
RV slides are wonderful things to have. They give us extra room and truly enhance the RV Lifestyle. But slides are often prone to issues and one of the questions so many have has to do with whether the entire RV should be leveled before the slides go out or whether leveling after the slides are extended is okay.
The question comes from Michael, who asks:
“On a 40-foot class A, should we level first and then put out the slides or put the slides out and then level?
Leveling and putting out RV slide
For us, when we owned a Leisure Travel Vans Unity model with a slide, we were told to always level first, and then put out the slide. The rationale being that if the RV is uneven, putting the slide out that way could cause unnecessary wear and tear on the slide mechanism.
But that was the advice of our manufacturer. There are some manufacturers who recommend the opposite and this question on our Facebook Group has brought over 40 comments. The vast majority said to level first and then put out the slide but not all. Here are some of the replies:
Leveling — There are differing views
Rick says “Depends on the manufacturer. Newmar says slides out, then level”
Chad notes that “Different manufacturers have different procedures: It depends on what the manual says…certainly don’t listen to everyone who thinks it’s all the same across the board— my Winnebago said to level 1st, but now my Beaver says to run slides before jacks (even says so next to the switches for the jacks)”
Kimberly Ann says “Our manual says to slide then level. First year, we did that. We were constantly in the shop with “slide” issues. Finally we decided to level first. No issues since then. It’s been 7 years! I say level first. We have 37ft class A.”
Steve says: “Always stabilize first. Slides last.”
Michael says: “I’ve used the slide to help get it level before putting my jacks down.”
The consensus is level first and then put the slide out
So…summing up: Check your manual but if in doubt or you can’t find specific instructions in the manual, level your rig first.
That’s overwhelming advice of our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group.
We have over 40,000 members and whenever you have an RV Lifestyle question, it is the place to go for a quick and immediate response from your Fellow Travelers. To join, just go the https://rvlifestyle.com/facebook.
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4 Responses to “RV Leveling Question: Should we level first and then put out the slides, or vice versa?”
Comments are closed.
October 26, 2020at4:41 pm, RV Question: Should we level first and then put out the slides, or vice versa? - RVing Outdoors said:
[…] Source […]
September 07, 2020at2:15 pm, Kevin said:
Oh, and a 6th sense should be listened to. If some place seems sketchy, move.
September 07, 2020at2:13 pm, Kevin said:
As for guns, various localities have differing laws. Otherwise, anything hard and handy could be a weapon. But anything could be taken from you in a fight. A quick wit and mind are probably better.
As for security, most camera systems are expensive. There are a few that can be created inexpensively. I probably have around $150 in 6 cameras and some battery packs. However, I have way more in cell service that makes sure the cameras are probably attached to the internet.
September 07, 2020at8:35 am, Edward Wayner said:
You may have covered this in a video or commentary but can you talk about RV security. Specifically beyond securing the RV, do you carry any kind of weapons for security? If so do you have a list of how to store weapon state to state? Does your RV have an alarm? Do people have camera systems set up to record if someone breaks in and or damages the RV? Yeas who I saw a 20/20 tv show that covered how scammers would purposely damage underside of an RV when people were away from RV or in a restaurant in order to defraud them into repairs. I’ve never RV’s but are looking to get into RVing in the next 3 to 4 years and am absorbing as much information so that my wife and I can figure out what our RV objectives would be, what kind of RV we would want and how often we would RV. We subscribe to various RV UTube channels including yours and like yours for the detailed information and that you have a small RV. Thanks Ed Wayner – San Marcos TX