Quote Originally Posted by MachWun View Post
Researching it, it appears the piston is not all that far back in the underbelly. I am not an RV slide engineer and I know homes are different than an RV. But some concepts I would think apply. When you cantilever out in a home, the joist must be 2 feet within the foundation for every foot you go out. So, if it is not doing that in an RV, my next thought was around metal fatigue.

Enough are saying no that I will forgo but this was my logic in considering them.
I'll add to the chorus of 'no'. Like many of the Solitudes our trailer has really big, deep slides. One of them has a fair bit of heavy equipment in it. Another other has recliners and a dining table at which I sit, making that slide very well-burdened too. No problems, don't feel the need to further support or strengthen them.

I'd also add that I don't think the "cantilever" analogy fully applies here. Rather than being supported entirely by its bottom and elements extending back under the floor of the trailer (a classic cantilever) the slide is significantly supported by its inside frame. The hydraulic ram (or electric screw) pushes out the bottom of the slide. As it nears full extension the top of the slide's inside frame presses against the wall of the trailer and begins relieving the "cantilever" underneath the slide, bearing some of the weight of the slide as it tips it up to level. At full extension the bottom of that frame is also pressed against the wall. A lot of the weight of the slide is held between the wall / upper part of the frame and the ram / screw holding out the bottom.