[Erniee]

Yesterday, I was asked to look at an 07 coach. This is the first time I have observed how the slides operated. The owner wants engineered wood in the salon and carpet
in the bedroom. He operated the front 2 slides for me so I could get the "feel" of how they operated. I was impressed, to say the least. Their precision engineering was what
really caught my attention.
I'm not a newbie at all with slides in all the coaches I have added flooring to. But this coach was, in my opinion, top of the line, in how the slides operated.
So many of the lesser coaches, the slides do all kinds of weird gyrations that quite a lot of them are unpredictable.
I will be "operating" on this coach Feb 1, 2016- I'll post some photos.

[Richard]

Ernie,

I do not know exactly how the Valid slide mechanisms work so my comments may be inValid.

When you start to work on the coach, pay particular attention to how the floor that raises and lowers comes up. On the HWH, it pivots, and the clearance is so close, that if you run the floor all the way to edge of the slide it will catch as it pivots. This will make a lot more sense when you run the slide in and out a couple of times. I was trying to minimize the seam when the slides were out, and I notice on the hard surface floors that Newell installs, that the seam is at least an 1/8 if not more.

Also pay particular attention to the deck height of the flooring, because there are some elements that will slide in and over the fixed portion of the floor. I had to raise the dinette seats, and a couch to get them to clear. It doesn't matter with carpet, but hard surface could scuff.

You are the pro at this and I feel a little sheepish even commenting, but those slides present some unique challenges.

[Erniee]

Richard- I observed the marble floors on the main part of the coach. In the trade, lippage is used, to denote uneven surfaces between each piece of hard surface. The tile in this coach had many uneven surfaces on the part that is stationary. With my experience- that is not acceptable. I would like to hear from others that have the hard surface installed and if they can feel the difference in elevation. This is a learning curve- and I'm not afraid to learn

[Richard]

Ernie,

in my install, I first had to put down 10 mm of decking so that the LVT would be flush with the existing granite. Before I put the decking down, I used a hardening leveling compound to deal with the undulations in the original deck. The undulations would not have been felt under the plush carpet Newell uses, but they would have been noticeable in a hard surface.


There are many things I would do differently, if (and when) I do the install again. I used the high zoot padding between the decking and the LVT to give me the last 1 mm of deck height I needed. That was a mistake since the padding has a wee bit of give to it. When you stand on the edges of the fixed floor and the drop down floor you can feel the edges move a little.

The second thing and this is a big watch out. I have two cornices that define the end of the couch in the slideout. These two cornices will slide over the fixed floor when the slide comes in. Underneath one of them, there is a piece of plywood support structure that intrudes into the fixed floor. When I pulled the slide in the first time, it hit the fixed floor and shifted it about an 1/8. Easy to fix by relieving the plywood, but I never thought to look under the cornice.

[Erniee]

Excellent points, Richard.
My plan is: remove existing pad and carpet. The original granite is 1/2 inch and the engineered wood happens to be 1/2 inch. When the floor is down to the plywood, I will loose lay the new wood and then operate the slides observing if the slides impact the new wood. I actually do this procedure with all coaches.

[Richard]

Ernie,

You may find that Newell installed the granite in a double grout layer. One layer of grout, covered with fiberglass mesh, and then another layer of grout. I am assuming they did that to keep the granite floor from cracking. All in all, I had about 5/8 inch of grout between the granite and the subfloor. Don't assume the 1/2 of engineered wood will lay on the same plane as the granite without installing a sublayer.

The Newell you work on may be different, since there is almost ten years difference in models.

[Dmatz]

Not sure when Newell started with the heated floors, be aware that could be a real issue.

[Erniee]

Thanks, guys. This coach has no heated floors. I know when the carpet is removed, the height of the tile can be measured.