# Slide Ceiling Rails



## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Borrowed this from another thread as it we have just experienced this issue and have a bit of time - and a few more trips planned - before Puff goes in for other work.


camping479 said:


> Those ceiling tracks are very light duty and aren't there to carry much weight of the slide. They're there to guide the slide in but not carry any weight, the rear wall and the locking mechanism does the brunt of the work. The tracks in our trailer started to crack around the screwholes because they were carrying some of the weight so I adjusted the rollers to not be carrying any weight when the slide is in and that was a couple of years ago.
> 
> I'm in the cabinet business and looked into replacing the track since mine cracked and I discovered that the hardware in our trailer is rated for only 50 to 75 pounds, not nearly enought to support the slide.
> 
> Mike


We have one rail that has come loose (likely jostled loose on those fine South Dakota roads







) The screw at the end of the rail is either stripped or not into anything solid as it doesn't hold when "tightened" (the 2nd rail seems ok). The other screws on the "bad rail" are tight - for now - but I'm concerned that the added pressure will pull them out too. We have several trips planned this Fall before Puff goes in for her "nose job", which is when we'll have them really fix the rail. Any ideas for a temp. fix until then? What is the "adjustment to the rollers" mentioned above? How does one do that and how do you know how much to adjust it?

Thanks.


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## campingengineer (May 16, 2008)

I don't know how to adjust the rails, but I have used something called a "panel driller" for mounting some drawer slides and shelves in the walls of my TT. I bought them at Lowes (I took a picture of the box but it's on my home computer so I can't post it right now). They're metal and have a really large thread - just drill about 1/4" hole and thread these in - they can support about 25-50lbs each - not as good as if you managed to hit one of the ceiling trusses, but it would at least let you tighten your screw.

My 2 cents worth...good luck.

Colleen


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Hey Judi,

I'll try to take a picture tonight of how you adjust the rollers (if I remember, had a lot of sun last week). there is a plastic clip that rotates out and you use a skinny wrench (home depot or lowes) to get in there and adjust the roller up or down, it has quite a bit of adjustability. I set mine so they just contact the track when the slide is in. There is wood up there in the ceiling pretty much the whole length of the track, you might have to drill a new hole in the track to get to some "fresh" wood that will hold a screw.

Mike


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

camping479 said:


> Hey Judi,
> 
> I'll try to take a picture tonight of how you adjust the rollers (if I remember, had a lot of sun last week). there is a plastic clip that rotates out and you use a skinny wrench (home depot or lowes) to get in there and adjust the roller up or down, it has quite a bit of adjustability. I set mine so they just contact the track when the slide is in. There is wood up there in the ceiling pretty much the whole length of the track, you might have to drill a new hole in the track to get to some "fresh" wood that will hold a screw.
> 
> Mike


Thanks, Mike. I'll have my crack mechanic address this !! (But pictures are always helpful







)


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

wolfwood said:


> Thanks, Mike. I'll have my crack mechanic address this !! (But pictures are always helpful
> 
> 
> 
> ...


or.....maybe not


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

skippershe said:


> Thanks, Mike. I'll have my crack mechanic address this !! (But pictures are always helpful
> 
> 
> 
> ...


or.....maybe not
















[/quote]
They are obviously members of the Y generation


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

wolfwood said:


> They are obviously members of the Y generation


Would that be (Y) or "WHY??"


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

skippershe said:


> They are obviously members of the Y generation


Would that be (Y) or "WHY??"








[/quote]
"Y"

Why?


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Hate to break up the uh.......er.......conversation..........









I'm assuming your outback has the same track and hardware ours does.....

Photo of the ceiling track with the plastic clip closed










photo of it open and you use a wrench to turn the nut up or down to adjust the trolley.










Mike


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

camping479 said:


> Hate to break up the uh.......er.......conversation..........


Sorry, we got off Crack err...Track there for a minute


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## Piecemaker (Nov 15, 2007)

or.....maybe not
















[/quote]

Excellent


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Thanks......................*MIKE*!


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

wolfwood said:


> Thanks......................*MIKE*!


what


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

wolfwood said:


> Thanks......................*MIKE*!










you're welcome

Mike


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

skippershe said:


>


Ewwww...









Please stop!


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## hyewalt34 (May 9, 2004)

Hi All,

Hey a couple of years ago someone on the forum suggested putting large fender washers on the rail screws to distribute the bed weight. I thought this was a great idea and did it the next time we took the trailer on vacation. It's a cheap easy pro-maintenance project!

Walter


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

hyewalt34 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Hey a couple of years ago someone on the forum suggested putting large fender washers on the rail screws to distribute the bed weight. I thought this was a great idea and did it the next time we took the trailer on vacation. It's a cheap easy pro-maintenance project!
> 
> Walter


Got a picture?


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## hyewalt34 (May 9, 2004)

Not tonight, sorry. Here's a picture of a fender washer. I guess you would need 10-12 for each rail.Fender Washer


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