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Paradigm 340 RL Stranded in New Mexico

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Dan54

Well-known member
We’re on a trip from our home in Ohio, visiting Kentucky, Colorado & New Mexico for the Balloon Festival so far. Yesterday we made the trip from Albuquerque to Silver City where we stopped at a KOA. When we were putting the kitchen slide out we heard a loud bang so I went out back to investigate. The slide appears to be at a strange angle with the bottom extended further than the top. The bang was caused by slide topper when it tore loose from the slide on one side & fell on top of the slide. So the 4 screws holding it were ripped out, it appears that the topper frame was bent & the fabric torn. There also appears to be damage to the top of the slide. There’s no way we can travel this way & I’m not sure I want to touch it. So here I am at 6am looking for help. We’ll call the dealer to see what they say, it’s still under warranty. Also probably end up calling Alliance & talking to the KOA to see about finding someone to work on it. May take a while since we’re out in the middle of nowhere.
Can anyone who’s been stuck in a situation like this chime in on how they were able to get repairs done & what steps need to be taken to make sure the warranty isn’t voided? Does Alliance have the ability to send someone out to do mobile repairs? I’ll include photos but it was getting dark last night so may need to take more today. ThanksIMG_0645.jpegIMG_0643.jpegIMG_0644.jpegIMG_0644.jpegIMG_0643.jpegIMG_0645.jpegIMG_0644.jpegIMG_0644.jpeg
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
Sorry about the number of photos. They weren’t showing up on my preview so I attached them multiple times.
 
Hotrodjohn

Hotrodjohn

Well-known member
It’s not that hard to remove it to get going. I had to do that once as the wind ruined one of mine. The part along the coach is just slid into a channel and a screw holds it in. The hard part is the weight of it
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
More worried about the cause. After our first trip the dealer adjusTed the slides. The bedroom slide was real bad, caused damage to the side of the rv. If this slide is in a bind or otherwise out of adjustment there maybe more trouble looming when we run it in or back out again. Have a message in to Alliance. General RV was no help at all. No surprise there, most of the work they did after our first trip with the rv was ineffectual including this & our shower still leaks.
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
I guess I can set up ladder delivery to us at the KOA since we might be here a while🙁
 
Hotrodjohn

Hotrodjohn

Well-known member
Dan54 said:
More worried about the cause. After our first trip the dealer adjusTed the slides. The bedroom slide was real bad, caused damage to the side of the rv. If this slide is in a bind or otherwise out of adjustment there maybe more trouble looming when we run it in or back out again. Have a message in to Alliance. General RV was no help at all. No surprise there, most of the work they did after our first trip with the rv was ineffectual including this & our shower still leaks.
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Our shower was leaking at the end of the track. Would drop down to the floor but nothing in the bathroom. Turned out we were a hair low in front and the water would run under the pan and into the bedroom. Caulked the ends and had no issues for two years. Since then I have removed those horrid glass doors and put in a nautilus screen. Way better and way lighter. The glass door track was disgusting. Especially with two dogs (hair)

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BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Dan54 said:
We’re on a trip from our home in Ohio, visiting Kentucky, Colorado & New Mexico for the Balloon Festival so far. Yesterday we made the trip from Albuquerque to Silver City where we stopped at a KOA. When we were putting the kitchen slide out we heard a loud bang so I went out back to investigate. The slide appears to be at a strange angle with the bottom extended further than the top. The bang was caused by slide topper when it tore loose from the slide on one side & fell on top of the slide. So the 4 screws holding it were ripped out, it appears that the topper frame was bent & the fabric torn. There also appears to be damage to the top of the slide. There’s no way we can travel this way & I’m not sure I want to touch it. So here I am at 6am looking for help. We’ll call the dealer to see what they say, it’s still under warranty. Also probably end up calling Alliance & talking to the KOA to see about finding someone to work on it. May take a while since we’re out in the middle of nowhere.
Can anyone who’s been stuck in a situation like this chime in on how they were able to get repairs done & what steps need to be taken to make sure the warranty isn’t voided? Does Alliance have the ability to send someone out to do mobile repairs? I’ll include photos but it was getting dark last night so may need to take more today. ThanksView attachment 2729View attachment 2728View attachment 2727View attachment 2727View attachment 2728View attachment 2729View attachment 2727View attachment 2727
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Hi folks, sorry your experiencing this issue.
As others have stated, I to don’t think that there is anything wrong with your slide out. The “taper” you see on the side is normal and has even been communicated in one of @Bill Martin ’s what you know Wednesday’s shorts that he does.
Obviously the slide topper is another issue, can’t say why it tore out for sure, maybe loose/stripped mounting bolts, maybe a retainer wasn’t removed preventing rotation ( unlikely unless this was the first extension) Maybe the mounting bolts missed the backer plates that are supposed to be installed, or maybe the topper “axle” was seized up or binding and preventing proper unrolling. Hope you get it resolved soon!
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
Alliance sent us a link to find a mobile tech & we found Sundry RV who are located here in Silver City New Mexico but service all over the region. They were great to work with, very knowledgeable, professional & friendly. Breanna & Joe said the brackets & tube were bent & since those parts would need to be ordered their recommendation was to remove the topper and wait until we had the time to get to a service center.
so here it is 24 hours later & we will be on out way shortly. Big relief! Also there is no significant issue with the slide, he said it could use some adjustment because it is not 100% aligned but nothing that’s going to hold us back. So thanks for all the replys & I’ll update after we’ve done battle with General RV about this & a bunch of other issues.
 
BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Dan54 said:
Alliance sent us a link to find a mobile tech & we found Sundry RV who are located here in Silver City New Mexico but service all over the region. They were great to work with, very knowledgeable, professional & friendly. Breanna & Joe said the brackets & tube were bent & since those parts would need to be ordered their recommendation was to remove the topper and wait until we had the time to get to a service center.
so here it is 24 hours later & we will be on out way shortly. Big relief! Also there is no significant issue with the slide, he said it could use some adjustment because it is not 100% aligned but nothing that’s going to hold us back. So thanks for all the replys & I’ll update after we’ve done battle with General RV about this & a bunch of other issues.
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Hi Dan, just wanted to put this out there. I am not familiar with the 340 RL ODS slide length, but for toppers that are 16 feet or more, a center support is required for proper topper installation.(per installation instructions)
 
Oregon_Camper

Oregon_Camper

Forum Admin
Staff member
BryanValRox said:
Hi Dan, just wanted to put this out there. I am not familiar with the 340 RL ODS slide length, but for toppers that are 16 feet or more, a center support is required for proper topper installation.(per installation instructions)
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Factory installed toppers on our 2022 340RL...no center support installed.


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BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Oregon_Camper said:
Factory installed toppers on our 2022 340RL...no center support installed.


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Hi Jim,
I am only guessing from your picture, but that topper appears to be less than 16 feet. So, no support would be required.
I am not aware of the actual measurements on your 340RL , so I just wanted to post it out there in case it did apply to Dan’s situation.
The 16 foot and over requirement of a center support comes directly from the Lippert installation manual.
We to had factory installed toppers on our 310 RL so, I had to run out and measure our slide because my OCD kicked in and I wanted to be sure our installation was in-line with the recommendation. Turns out my beer got warm for nothing, we came in at 14 feet on our largest one.😂
Just wanted folks to be aware the center supports are required on longer lengths.
Best regards to all!
 
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Mike in North Wales

Well-known member
BryanValRox said:
Hi Jim,
I am only guessing from your picture, but that topper appears to be less than 16 feet. So, no support would be required.
I am not aware of the actual measurements on your 340RL , so I just wanted to post it out there in case it did apply to Dan’s situation.
The 16 foot and over requirement of a center support comes directly from the Lippert installation manual.
We to had factory installed toppers on our 310 RL so, I had to run out and measure our slide because my OCD kicked in and I wanted to be sure our installation was in-line with the recommendation. Turns out my beer got warm for nothing, we came in at 14 feet on our largest one.😂
Just wanted folks to be aware the center supports are required on longer lengths.
Best regards to all!
Click to expand...
Always take the beer with you....
 
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Mazboy

Well-known member
As J. Thomas said. It is probably just your slide topper. Take it off and there you have it.

A ladder and a friend will do it. Then store the topper in the trailer.

Good luck.
 
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