Slide-out Comments from Roger Kline
Read your article.....here's a couple slide observations. We have a single kitchen slide in our 38' SMC pusher.
Compartments: ours come out with the slide. This makes them significantly smaller and limits the amount of weight that you can put in them. My observation is too much weight (my tools) is rough on the slide load-bearing surfaces and gaskets. It also limits the amount of pass-through storage that is available. The SMC is raised-rail with 140+ cubic feet underneath, but more really big stuff space would be nice.
Large vs small: ours is a "kitchen" slide (sink/stove). I feel a much deeper slide would intrude too much into the passenger compartment when on the road. I also like having the kitchen table on the curb side....the view is usually better there when parked. For longer stays, it feels better to have the kitchen table looking out on the "patio". Our slide is super long, so there is plenty of counter space in the kitchen, and a folding extension at the stove end really helps.
Negs: we have a flat floor slide. Quite a bit of cold air came in the bottom and the cats kept batting small toys under the kitchen slide. I now use 1" pipe insulation foam....split it, cut length to fit, and fold it to slip under the cabinets. It must be removed to bring in the slide, but it's better than the alternatives. Also the upper slide "hole" has to be blocked while underway to keep the cats out...it's a natural tunnel for them to explore. Hope this info is useful.
roger
