Class B custom slide out

[Al Perez]

Does anyone know of a company that can add a slide out to a class b? I want to add a bed slide out where I currently have a fold over couch bed. I have a 2004 MB Cruiser.

[GeorgeRa]

Modifying an existing B by adding a slide out could be very challenging. Perhaps you could consider a partial slide out such as Westfalia James Cook AD. https://www.westfalia-mobil.com/en/m...elldach_en.php

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Al Perez

Does anyone know of a company that can add a slide out to a class b? I want to add a bed slide out where I currently have a fold over couch bed. I have a 2004 MB Cruiser.

Welcome to the forum Al!

You'd be better off looking into a now-discontinued Roadtrek SS Ideal rear slide or a Winnebago 170M driver-side slide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z27LiGmVXhU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F62mGtX-r2I

[magicbus]

I had seen these suggestions on another site a while ago. The poster mentioned these all work on any coach that can support the slide.

RV Slide Outs
Walker Coach-Custom bus conversions.
http://www.morrisonsvipcoach.com/photos.html

[ks@yvr]

Saw this slide out on a older Great West Van that I have been thinking about something similar to get foot room on an east/west bed without using something like flairspace ($$$ for not enough space) as I want at least 80-82” for my bed length. I also don’t want a slide room and manual deployment would also be fine. I am thinking of building one using honeycomb fibreglass composite panel; light, waterproof and can be shaped (slight arch top) for rain runoff and would not require awning cover seen on the GW Van. Just need a good van seal gasket and to find appropriate slide hardware. Want to have it look factory window like when closed.

[Aggie]

I have Roadtrek SS Ideal with rear slide out. It works well for us for 9 seasons.
It is fully enclosed by standard rear doors for travel and slides out with folding bed. It is well sealed for rain protection with simple flap awning over too to prevent debris from collecting and jamming the works. It makes a longer bed nut also narrower with lower ceiling because of the slide out frame.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Seems like a slide out might make a lot of sense for an RV as small as a B, but I recall the CEO of Pleasure-Way in an interview saying that they had looked at the for vans (Maybe he said they had experimented, I don't recall) but for now, decided against them on the basis of reliability issues.

In way I can see that - already enough things that can potentially go wrong and casue significat problems on a trip. I do seem to hear of quite a few complaints of leaks and slideouts jamming on travel trailers and larger motor homes.

For me, it would be a similar feeling to the discomfort I feel when operating our awning - I push the button with trepidation hoping it will go out - and even more nervous when hoping it will come back in again!

[Aggie]

Yes, reliability is a concern. Our folding sofa/ bed had electric power feature that occasionally needed wires wiggled - on the occasion that failed I removed the motor and some mechanism, added a pull strap and it now works very well manually. I’ve never had a problem with the power slide out but I figure if I ever do have a problem I can easily convert it to manual as well because it’s such a small unit.

[Gryphon]

Leisure Travel also sold a Class B with a slide - the Free Spirit SS. It was only available for a few years (2012-2014 or thereabouts).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHfV0iZtPxw

[KitsapEra]

We are relatively new owners of an Era 170M - which Winnebago has discontinued. I never could get a sure answer from the dealer as to why.... Possibly because it ended up being more expensive than the other Eras and therefore not as popular, possibly because it took a lot of labor at the factory to get it working.

So far, it has worked flawlessly, but still I'm paranoid about it. We are very careful each time we operate it, to check that it is clear of all obstructions and such. I also spent a fair amount of time one day investigating how to manually close it. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be possible to open it manually. To make it worse, it has to be operated via the house computer (as does a lot of other stuff on our 201 which makes me even more nervous.

On the plus side, it does make the van seem much more spacious than a typical B.

[Wanderer2020]

We have a 2013 LTV Freespirit SS. Love the slide out. It really helped moving from a fifth wheel to a smaller coach.

[BigFatGuy]

I love my 170M... and to the poster above, Winnie nixed the line because I bought one... I'm cursed like that.

[Wanderer2020]

So that is why they are no longer available. I was wondering about that we were trying to see if we could use the ideas from them for adding the murphy bed to our slide. Worried about the weight issue it might bring. Does Yours have a murphy bed?

[KitsapEra]

The 170M had a murphy bed. It works well, and we find it comfortable, if a tad small for two. My best guess is that the slide added about 300 pounds to the weight, based on the difference in max load vs the other Era models.

[BigFatGuy]

Originally Posted by Wanderer2020

So that is why they are no longer available. I was wondering about that we were trying to see if we could use the ideas from them for adding the murphy bed to our slide. Worried about the weight issue it might bring. Does Yours have a murphy bed?

all the "M" ones have a murphy bed. The previous "170C" had a terrible jack-knife sofabed, as did the Leisure Travel "SS" model that Winnebago basically copied verbatim.

I love it. I'm 6'6", and I can sleep in a B van comfortably.

[wny-pat]

Slide outs are wonderful until they quit working or quit aligning properly. They they cost lots of big dollars!

[magicbus]

We would have bought the 170M in a heartbeat if it left enough room when closed. We travel with two Labs and it just took up too much space up front for them when traveling.

[Wanderer2020]

I am fortunate to travel with three yorkies alltogether they way 14 pounds

[BigFatGuy]

Originally Posted by wny-pat

Slide outs are wonderful until they quit working or quit aligning properly. They they cost lots of big dollars!

I always hated this argument.

yes, when a slideout goes wrong, it can go very wrong... but to not have one in a Class B would mean pooping in your shower or eating all your meals sitting on your bed/sofa/table thing, having limited storage, and a cramped RV... and that would be the case EVERY DAY you were in the rig.

I'm 6'6", and just the high side of 300lbs. My wife and I can sleep in bed together, I can shower, and we don't have to worry about our TP getting wet. We have enough storage space for WAY more food and clothes than would be required for a weekend of camping... and all because of a single small slideout.

having driven the SS, the 170C, and the 170M, AND more than a few B+ rigs, I can also assert that the slide-out B classes drive better. They climb hills better, they maneuver better.

all because we have a slideout.

Everything made by man will fail... but that doesn't mean we should do without because of fear!

[coss370]

Just buy a bigger RV if you have to go through all the work