Is a slide out worth the money?

[98750sxipro]

Is a slide out worth the money?
I am a first time pop up buyer and we are currently looking at getting a 2001 Rockwood 2318G. Mainly because it has a slide out and this is a feature I really think I would like. An RV rep told me recently to avoid pop -ups older than 2003 with slide outs as they were fairly new and didn't have all the kinks worked out. Any other opinions about a slide out or a Rockwood for that matter are appreciated?!?!
Thanks,
Kelly

[kampingkoge]

We wanted to purchase new, when we were looking we didnt think it was worth it.  We only camp with 2 adults most of the time and with 2 teenagers some of the time.  We are good with space, we do have a large pup however (2 king beds).  Our goal was also not to spend as much money as a hybrid would cost on a pup.

[fritz_monroe]

The main trade off with the slide out is you lose a lot of storage space when traveling.

But the slide out is more than worth the money for us.  But we do have 2 kids and that slide out gives us way more space.  Plenty of room for the 4 of us and a big dog.

[Done Working]

We like ours. The extra room it provides is really nice. Especially on those rainy days.

[outdoors5]

We have a slide out and love it.  Although the slide out does not give an incredible amount of extra space it is just enough to give everyone the little extra room so you do not have to climb over each other.  Also, if I am resting in the bunkend to take a break it seems as if anyone in the slide out dinette is in a different area and not in the same space.  I vote yes for the slide.  
However, keep in mind it does add weight to tow and cost to your purchase.  Some even say it is another thing to repair, but we never have had problems and ours is seven years old.

[Fred420]

3 things were important to us when we were looking for our PUP.  

#1 - Slide out
#2 - Ac
#3 - Furnance

Lynn and I camp with 2 great Danes and the added area is great.  We have a 1999 Camplight, 2nd owner, and it is in great shape.  This company is no longer in business but that it no problem.  All of the equipment is basically "off the shelf" so fixing or replacing anything is no problem.

I lost some packing area, but how much do you have to take?  We are going on a 10 day drive and camp from Indiana, thru Michagan into Canada, pass thru New York to Ohio then home.  2 adults and 2 fur-babies do not need to pack a house.

[mars00XJ]

We like ours. Really adds room to the pup. 1 kid and 2 dogs, so its nice to avoid stepping on the dogs all the time. This was really high on the wife's list of must haves.

As far as early slide outs, I am not sure on that statement your dealer made. Anything over time will have more improvements done to them and they will work better. Used ones we looked at seemed comparable to the new one we got on our Utah.

[OC Campers]

When we were buying our pup we just couldn't afford a slide out model.  We have regreted it everytime we have gone camping.  We have 3 kids and 2 dogs.  When all 7 of us are in the camper it is really tight.
 
If you can afford the extra camper weight and the cost, I would say GO FOR IT!!
 
Jacqui

[Toby]

We dont have a slide out and would really like one, we have a big pop up with a 12' box with front storage.  One complaint I here is that when you pack up you have to lift up the top just to get your food and frig loaded, and no space for packing your gear.  For me I really like being able to just open the door and load everything in and go.  I turn on my frig the night before, we also added 4" toppers to our beds giving us 8" of padding when the trailer is down I can put both of my 4" toppers over the u-shaped table.  I am still not sure if the over all space you have in camp is worth trading for the ease of use.  Also for us having a shower and cassett toilet is a big thing, no more going outside late at night makes us feel alittle better about saftey.  Good luck there is much to consider.  Toby.

[azpopup17]

We orginally wanted to get a PU with slide out, but found that you really do not get any additional seating area unless you went with some of the higher end Highlander or Centennial series Fleetwood and Starcraft trailers.  They run up to $20K new.  We ended with a Coleman/Fleetwood Mesa (from orig owner, barely used) which has a "U" shaped couch in addition to the dining area.  It has the same floorplan as the Fleetwood Sun Valley plus the storage in the front.  

The plus with the slide out is additional floor space for certain.  Expect to pay about another $1000 for the slide out.  One of the smarter floorplans with a s/o is the Fleetwood Bayside.  

My 0.02.

[Miss-Teri]

Absolutely worth it IMO.  The extra floor space is amazing and very beneficial when people are walking back and forth, besides giving it a larger, more "open" feeling.

[garym053]

We bought our Starcraft last July and it has a slide out. Our first pop-up didn't. Even though it's just the two of us, we love the extra room. You don't have to sit down to let someone squeeze by, etc.
If you're camping with friends, it's nice to have the room in the dinette if the weather turns bad.
We camped last Columbus Day weekend with friends who were tenting, and we all ate every meal inside the pop up.
I don't think we lost that much storage space either. We have a wardrobe, cupboards under the gaucho, stove and Dinette benches, as well as the front trunk.
I'd say if you have the towing capacity and the financial capicity- go for it.

[AustinBoston]

Is a slide out worth the money?
I am a first time pop up buyer and we are currently looking at getting a 2001 Rockwood 2318G. Mainly because it has a slide out and this is a feature I really think I would like. An RV rep told me recently to avoid pop -ups older than 2003 with slide outs as they were fairly new and didn't have all the kinks worked out. Any other opinions about a slide out or a Rockwood for that matter are appreciated?!?!
Thanks,
Kelly

I think you are asking the wrong question.  The real question should be "Is the slide out worth the weight?"  Slideouts typically add 150 lbs. or more to the base weight of the pop-up, all else being equal.  That is weight you are going to have to tow, weight you are going to have to subtract from what you pack, weight you are going to have to stop when you brake.

And as far as slides on older pop-ups...our 2001 Bayside has a slide that has been slid in and out hundreds of times, and been slept on hundreds of nights.  On hundreds of occasions, we've sat four adults on it at the dinner table.  The trailer has been dragged over 25,000 miles from Maine to California and from Oregon to Tennessee, seen temperatures over 115

[wavery]

It seems to boil down to...."Is it worth it TOO YOU?"

There are many factors that we don't know about but you have learned about other's through their posts. The impression that I am getting from these posts is that if you have a fair # of people, the extra leg room is worth the cost.

Now I'll give you the perspective of someone that camps 80% of the time with just 2 people.

My wife and I have been on 20 campouts in the last 18 months. We have a 12' Coleman Tacoma with no slide out. We don't get in each other's way and have no complaints about the amount of floor space that we have.

If I had the opportunity to trade for the same PU with a slide out for an additional $1,000, I wouldn't do it. If I could trade straight up, I would have to think about it.

In other words, the extra room would be nice but I wouldn't pay for it. It simply has little value to US. It has nothing to do with maintenance or weight, however the only downside is that, "one more step to setting up camp". We have simply drawn the line in the sand and are trying to simplify (not complicate) set-up. I know.....It only takes 5 minutes.......that's just ANOTHER 5 minutes to all the other 5 minutes's that we have added to our set-up and we are done adding and are looking at subtracting 5 minutes's .

[kimrb266]

We've needed to purchase 2 PUP's in the past 4 years because our family was in transition.  Our 1st PUP was a Sata Fe which was fine for us at the time(didn't have slide).   The interior space was tight but as the kids grew (in 2 years), we found that the Santa Fe was too small so we purchased an 05 Niagara.  This unit had everything including the slide.  The slide is the main reason we purchased the unit.  It gave so much more interior space and that made it perfect for me.  We purchased a hybrid this year and again it has the slide.  

Just look at your family's needs and see if you need more walking room.  We are a family of 5 and that little extra room meant alot to us.