RIV Report?

[David Brady]

Hi Lloyd,



When I first purchased my coach 4 years ago, the slide seal was

replaced and I've had nothing but success since then. I always

like to remind slide equipped LXi owners to never over inflate the

seal. This is the primary reason for failures. My slide and the

controls associated with it are HWH items. HWH is very clear

that max pressure for the seal is 12 to 15 psi. Believe it or not, mine

seals with as little as 8 to 10 psi, so that's what I do. I run 8 to

10 psi in my slide seal. I'm a little confused by your statement

that "the air seals and the electronics were a very weak link on

the LXi". My slide is hydraulically powered, dirt simple, and built

by HWH. I've had nothing but stellar performance from it during

my 4 year ownership. Maybe you're referring to the 450LXi. The

beauty of the air seal is that it's very forgiving of slide alignment -

it just fills in the gap. Many owners put in a new seal and discover

that there's a gap between the body and seal when the seal is

inflated. This may occur if the slide/body gap exceeds 5/8". Don't

over inflate to fill the gap. The new seals are stiff and will stretch.

Sometimes stretching takes several weeks. Be patient. They will

stretch to a great degree.



Lloyd, is this your only complaint about the M380? Otherwise is

it a good coach giving good service? I've heard great things about

the 380. They ride and handle great. The maneuverability is unmatched.

George Morris told me a story of one falling six feet off a set of those

bus lifting jacks ( the type Prevost Car uses: one jack per wheel).
There

was some minor body damage. They sent it in for alignment and the

bus was perfectly straight - a very strong structure.



If that's it, just the slide, then hang out here and we'll get it
fixed. If

it's like my LXi slide, then it's infinitely adjustable on every axis.

Be glad for the air seal. Many other manufacturers don't use it cause

its expensive. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water! If the

superstructure/chassis/frame is high quality, that's all that matters,

everything else can be fixed.



David Brady

'02 LXi, NC



Lloyd Chaffin wrote:

David, I know we are getting off subject here for this RIV thread but I

must respond to your slide comments. I agree with everything you are

saying. Once everybody went to slides Bluebird had to or they would have

never sold any coaches. And they did do what you just explained to a

point. They desinged a great slide structure into the coach but a slide

is only as good as it's weakest link. No matter how strong it's

structure is if it won't slide in and out or leaks like a water falls

when it rains then it would be best not to have it. If I'm not mistaken

doesn't your 02 LXI have the air seal on your slide. How many times have

you had it replaced because it leaks? The air seals and the electronics

were a very weak link on the LXI and M380 and since they never worked

right the slide was a major pain. I don't no about the LXI owners but

alot of M380 owners actually got rid of it because of the slides and

some other issues. If you had a 80 thousand dollar Lexus that ran like a

swiss watch but the driver door would not stay shut and leaked when it

rains would you say you had a great car? The differance in my example is

that I bet Lexus would have fixed my drivers door the 1st time I took it

to them. I know people who have had their air seals replaced 5 or 6

times. The 1st time I drove my coach all the way to Georgia to have my

air seals fixed they put some supper glue on them and gave it back to

me. Said it was fixed. Lasted about 2 weeks before they started leaking

again. But, the good news is I have worked on my slides so much now that

I just about know how to fix them myself if I could just get the parts.

Some of the electronics are real hard to fix but the air seals are made

by HWH and the newer seals are lasting must longer now,,,knock on wood.



I hope you have a great day, I'm fixen to get the Bird ready to go to

the Nascar races at Texas Motor Speedway,



Lloyd Chaffin



2004 M380



--- In "WanderlodgeForum%40yahoogroups.com",
David Brady "dmb993@..." wrote:

>

> But one could also argue that someone invented electronics which

> resulted in a demand for dvd players, televisions, computers,

> electric refrigerators, gps units, hi-fidelity sound systems, etc.
The

> customer then demanded all of these features in their motorhome

> which unfortunately required heavy batteries and heavy generators,

> which then resulted in heavy chassis, axles and tires; culminating
in

> a coach which overloads it's suspension. The list goes on. People

> invent things which are cool, the buying public demands cool things

> in their motorhomes, and manufacturers scramble to accommodate

> these cool things. If the manufacturers delay, they lose market
share.

> Slides are in this category.

>

> It's not the demand for features that damaged/ruined the

> motorhome manufacturer, it's the manufacturer's rush to

> accommodate these features without first doing the necessary

> engineering.

>

> BB actually stands out amongst these manufacturers by their
insistence

> on doing the necessary engineering. Every slide equipped BB was

> designed from the ground up to accommodate a slide. Never did BB

> simply take an existing bus and chop a hole in the side of it. In
all

> cases the overall superstructure from basement triangulation, to

> subframes, to side and roof construction was designed to support

> slide technology. This can not be said of every manufacturer. By

> providing slides in their coaches, BB brought it's product line
into

> the 2000's and sustained (for a few additional years) it's
Wanderlodge

> business. This is what I mean by "slide-outs saved 'em".

>

>

> David Brady

> '02 LXi, NC

>

> Don Bradner wrote:

> >

> > David, as someone who moved from slides to no-slides
deliberately, I

> > would say there is a big difference between demise and ruin
in this

> > instance.

> >

> > A lot of manufacturers were dragged kicking and screaming
into the

> > slide business because they had to (because demise was the
other

> > choice). Slides did a lot of damage (ruin) to many coach
models, and

> > it is likely an M450 wouldn't have weight problems without
them. We

> > would all have been better off (in my opinion) if the slide
had not

> > been invented so the public wouldn't have insisted on them.

> >

> > Don Bradner

> > 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"

> > My location: www.bbirdmaps.com/user2.cfm?user=1

> >

> > On 10/28/2008 at 7:55 AM David Brady wrote:

> >

> > >Actually, slide-outs saved 'em. Imagine trying to sell

> > >a motorhome today w/o a slide out. Impossible. The

> > >buying public demands expandable rooms. There are

> > >many things that may have spelled the demise of
Wanderlodge,

> > >but please, let's not single out the expandable room.

> > >

> > >David Brady

> > >'02 LXi, (Living room slide, works great)

> > >

> > >

> > >Lloyd Chaffin wrote:

> > >>

> > >> John,

> > >>

> > >> I will keep my M380 because I do like it and I have
put too much

> > >> blood sweat and tears into it now to give up. Alot
of M380 owners

did

> > >> give up and got rid of it. I enjoy reading about you
guys who

have

> > >> the older "Real" Birds and I am kind of envious. My
father-in-law

> > >> owned 10 Birds in his life. His last was a 97 and he
said he

wouldn't

> > >> buy another one because they where going to start
putting slide

outs

> > >> in them and that would ruin em. Ha, he was so right!

> > >>

> > >>

> > >>

> > >>

> > >> ----------------------------------------------------------

> > >>

> > >>

> >

> >

> >

----------------------------------------------------------

> >

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Date:

10/9/2008 12:00 AM

> >

>

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