AU2005202366B2

AU2005202366B2 - Slide out for a motor home

Info

Publication number: AU2005202366B2
Application number: AU2005202366A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Colin Maclean
Original assignee: Pmh Manufacturing Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Pmh Manufacturing Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-12-16
Filing date: 2005-06-01
Publication date: 2012-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-01
Also published as: AU2012202294B2; AU2005202366A1; AU2012202294A1; AU2012202294C1

Abstract

A vehicle (1) having a slide out, the vehicle comprising: a vehicle body (2) having a vehicle wall including two side wall sections 5 and defining a vehicle interior; at least one slide out body member (13,14) extending across an opening in a side wall section of the vehicle body (2) that is capable of movement between a laterally expanded position during recreational use and a retracted position during travel, the slide out body member (13,14) having a primary wall 10 portion for covering at least a portion of the side wall section of the vehicle body (2) and the body member (13,14) also including end walls (17) and a bottom (19) and roof (20) extending transverse to the primary wall portion in a direction into the vehicle body (2) so that the space defined by the slide out member (13,14) opens into and forms part of the vehicle interior; 15 a support means for supporting the body member (13,14) on the body of the vehicle (2) in a way that permits sliding of the slide out relative to the body of the vehicle (2) between the expanded and retracted positions; and a drive means for driving the body member (13,14) between said expanded and retracted positions on said support means. cli'

Description

A SLIDING ARRANGEMENT FOR A SLIDE OUT AND A SLIDE OUT FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to a sliding arrangement for supporting a slide out body member on a vehicle body and to a slide out for a vehicle. This invention extends to a vehicle including the slide out. 10 This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a sliding arrangement and a slide out for a recreational vehicle that has been adapted to provide living accommodation such as a motor home and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this example application. The invention also applies equally to other recreational vehicles such as caravans. Yet further 15 the invention is capable of even broader application and could be applied to any type of vehicle. DEFINITIONS 20 In this application the term 'a motor home' shall be understood to cover a vehicle that is capable of being driven by its own motive power. The vehicle has a living area behind a driver's seat that is adapted to provide living accommodation including one or more of a sleeping area, a kitchen and a bathroom. Typically a motor home is formed by taking a light commercial vehicle that is a cab chassis or 25 van vehicle of a type that is available in the market place and then modifying the area behind the driver's seat to turn it into a living area. In this specification the term 'a caravan' shall be understood to be a passive wheel mounted vehicle that does not have its own motive power and is required to be 30 towed by a towing vehicle from one location to another. 1 Further in this specification the term 'a slide out' shall be understood to mean an assembly having a body member that is mounted over an opening in a side wall of a vehicle. The body member can be broadly aligned with the side wall when the 5 vehicle is being used for travelling on the roads. The body member can also be laterally displaced outwardly when the vehicle is being used to provide living accommodation at a camp site, to provide a greater interior inside the vehicle. The portion of the side wall that slides out will usually be positioned rearward of a driver's seat and left and right front doors of the vehicle, although this need not be 10 the case. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is known to provide vehicles with living accommodation and these types of 15 vehicles are known generally as recreational vehicles. One type of recreational vehicle which is a passive vehicle without motive power and that needs to be towed is a caravan. A caravan has an interior that has been fitted out to provide living accommodation and might typically contain a kitchen and optionally also a bathroom and toilet facility. 20 A caravan is towed by a towing vehicle such as a family car to a destination where it is detached from the towing vehicle and established as a compact dwelling providing accommodation providing living amenities for a small group of people. The presence of caravans in caravan parks is a ubiquitous feature of Australian 25 society. A caravan offers flexibility in the sense that it can be towed to any desired destination and it is not fixed to a single destination and it has become a ubiquitous feature of Australian society. Further it offers a living accommodation with fairly comfortable amenities that is considerably cheaper than hotel or unit accommodation. 30 2 A development on the caravan has been the motor home. This comprises a vehicle that has its own motive power and is driven on the road like a van. It has a front seat area for a driver and a passenger and driver's controls that enable it to be driven in the usual way. It also has a living area behind the front seat that has 5 been adapted to form a living space having considerable amenities. For example it might contain a bed, a cupboard, a kitchen area, a storage area for clothes, and a washing area often with a toilet and a basin. It thus provides a living area not unlike that of a caravan that is integral with a vehicle having motive power as distinct from being separate and detachable from such a vehicle. 10 Motor homes are often preferred by couples because they are more compact than caravans and they are more suited to travellers who want to move frequently from one place to another. Motor homes are easier to set up at a camp site and they are also easier to pack up when the users want to pack up and move to another 15 campsite. A motor home is made by taking a light commercial van of a type that is commercially available and is purchased off a show room floor and then fitting out the vehicle to create the living space. The interior space within these vehicles is limited because these vehicles are manufactured with a width of about 1.85m. It will readily be appreciated that the body width of vehicles travelling on public roads 20 would be very tightly regulated. A constant challenge in designing motor homes is to utilize the limited space that is available in the best possible way thereby to provide a comfortable and functional living environment. While some development and improvement has 25 taken place in this area over the years there is a continuing need to come up with further improvements to further improve utilisation of the very limited space. This is particularly so as more affluent and discerning customer's start using motor homes. 30 Accordingly it would be advantageous if contrivances could be devised for enhancing the living amenities provided within recreational vehicles generally. 3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a sliding arrangement for supporting a slide out body member on a vehicle body in a way that permits 5 the slide out body member to slide relative to the vehicle body between an expanded and a retracted position, which sliding arrangement includes: at least one female member for mounting on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, the female member having an internal surface defining a passage open at one end, the passage extending in the direction in 10 which the slide out body member is to slide relative to the vehicle body; and a male member having a longitudinal axis for mounting on the other one of the slide out member and the vehicle body, the male member being slidably received within the open end and passage of the female member, the male member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly 15 transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member, has a friction reducing coating for assisting sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is selected to achieve a snug fit of the male member within the passage of the 20 female member, the friction reducing coating inhibiting transverse movement of the male member within the female member and rattling of the male and female members. The friction reducing coating may be applied to the contact surfaces of the male 25 member, and the friction reducing coating may slide over the internal surface of the female member. In particular the friction reducing coating may extend continuously along substantially the full length of the contact surfaces of the male member. 4 The friction reducing coating may be a polymer coating, e.g. of a polyamide material such as NYLON or a polyurethane material, that is applied to each said contact surface. The coating may have a thickness of 1mm. 5 The female member may comprise a tube of unitary construction, and the male member may comprise a rod or tube of unitary construction having a rod of complementary cross sectional configuration that is received within the female member. The female member may comprise a square tube and the male member may comprise a square tube having four contact surfaces. 10 According to yet another aspect of this invention there is provided a vehicle having a slide out, the vehicle comprising: a vehicle body having a vehicle wall including two side wall sections and defining a vehicle interior, at least one side wall section defining a slide out 15 opening therein; at least one slide out mounted on the vehicle body that is capable of movement between a laterally expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; the slide out including: 20 a slide out body member extending across the slide out opening in a side wall section of the vehicle body; and a support means for supporting the slide out body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the body of the vehicle between the expanded and 25 retracted positions, the support means comprising at least one pair of engaging male and female members, the female member in the pair having an internal surface defining a passage open at one end, on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, and the male member in the pair having a longitudinal axis on the other one 30 of the slide out member and the vehicle body that is slidably received within the open end and passage of the female member, 5 the male member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member are each coated with a friction reducing coating for 5 assisting sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is selected to achieve a snug fit of the male member within the passage of the female member, whereby to inhibit transverse movement of the male member within the female member and raffling of the male and 10 female members. The friction reducing coating may be applied to the contact surfaces of the male member, and the friction reducing coating may slide over the internal surface of the female member. In particular the friction reducing coating may extend 15 continuously along substantially the full length of the contact surfaces of the male member. The friction reducing coating may be a polymer coating and in particular the coating may be nylon or polyurethane and may have a thickness of about 1mm. 20 The female member may comprise a tube of unitary construction, and the male member may comprise a rod or tube of unitary construction having a complementary cross sectional shape that is received with the female member. The female member of each pair of male and female members may be mounted 25 on the vehicle body and the male member of each pair may be mounted on the slide out body member. The vehicle may have two or more said pairs of male and female members that are spaced apart along the length of the slide out body member. In one example 30 embodiment there are four to six pairs of male and female members that are spaced apart from each other along the length of the slide out member. Two said 6 pairs of male and female engaging members may be located at or proximate to the ends of the slide out body member. The vehicle may further include a drive means for driving the slide out body 5 member between said expanded and retracted positions on said support means. The drive means may include at least one linear actuator comprising a lead screw mounted on one of the vehicle body or the slide out body member, and a lead nut through which the lead screw is passed mounted onto the other of the vehicle 10 body or the slide out body member which is held against rotation. With this arrangement rotation of the lead screw relative to the lead nut effects translational displacement of the lead nut along the lead screw and thereby lateral displacement of the slide out body member relative to the vehicle body. 15 The lead screw of the linear actuator may be mounted on the vehicle body and the lead nut may be mounted on the slide out body member where it is held against rotation by the slide out body member. The slide out body member may define a non-circular formation within which the lead nut is received whereby to hold it against rotation by the lead screw. 20 Each linear actuator may include an electric motor for rotating the lead screw and where the lead screw is mounted on the vehicle body the motor for rotating the lead screw may also be located on the vehicle body. This is preferable to mounting the electric motor on the slide out body. The vehicle may include an 25 electrical supply for energising the motors that rotate the shafts of the linear actuators and the electrical supply may comprise a battery. The battery for the linear actuators may be a vehicle battery that is used to supply energy for ignition and services to the vehicle. 30 Further each linear actuator may include a means for limiting travel of the nut along the shaft in each direction, e.g. in the form of a limit switch that interrupts 7 rotation of the lead screw when the linear actuator reaches the retracted position and another limit switch that interrupts rotation of the lead screw when the linear actuator reaches the expanded position. 5 The drive means may include at least two linear actuators on the slide out body member spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the slide out body member for displacing the slide out body member between the retracted and expanded positions. The linear actuators may be positioned towards each end of the slide out body member. 10 Instead the drive means may include a hydraulics system including a piston and a cylinder, an air or pneumatic system including an air ram, a ratchet or a pawl. The vehicle body may have two side wall sections and may define a vehicle 15 interior comprising a front seat area including the drivers seat and a living area behind the front seat area. The slide out body member may have a primary wall portion for extending across the slide out opening defined in the side wall section and end walls at each end of 20 the primary wall portion. The slide out body member may also include a bottom wall or bottom and a roof, all of which extend transverse to the primary wall portion, so that the space defined by the slide out body member opens into and forms part of the vehicle interior, and in particular the living area thereof. 25 In one particular application of this invention the vehicle may be a motor home having its own motive power provided by a petrol or diesel engine. The motor home may be formed from a cab chassis commercial vehicle or it may be formed from a van type commercial vehicle. The motor home may be of a size such that it can be driven on a car licence and it may have total vehicle length of not more 30 than 26 feet. 8 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a slide out for mounting to a vehicle body, the slide out comprising: a slide out body member for covering a slide out opening in a side of the 5 vehicle, the slide out body member being capable of movement between a laterally expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; a support means for supporting the slide out body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the 10 body of the vehicle between the expanded and retracted positions, the support means comprising at least one pair of engaging male and female members, the female member of the pair having an internal surface defining a passage open at one end, on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, and the male member of the pair having a longitudinal axis on the other one of the slide out 15 member and the vehicle body, that is slidably received within the open end and passage of the female member, the male member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member is coated with a friction reducing coating for assisting sliding 20 movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is selected to achieve a snug fit of the male member within the passage of the female member whereby to inhibit transverse movement of the male member within the female member and rattling of the male and female members. 25 The support means may include any one or more of the features of the support means that have been defined in the preceding aspects of the invention. The support means may comprise four to six pairs of engaging male and female members spaced apart from each other along the length of the slide out body 30 member. 9 The friction reducing coating may be a polymer coating and in particular the polymer coating may be a polyamide material or a polyurethane material. The slide out may further include a drive means for driving the slide out body 5 member between said expanded and retracted positions on said support means and the drive means may comprise two linear actuators spaced apart from each other in the direction of length of the slide out body member. The drive means may include any one or more of the features of the drive means 10 defined in the preceding aspects of the invention. The slide out body member may include a primary wall portion for extending across a slide out opening in the side wall section of the body of the vehicle. The slide out body member may also include two end walls at each end of the primary 15 wall portion, and a bottom or bottom wall, and a top wall or roof, projecting in a transverse direction away from the primary wall portion towards the vehicle body, for enclosing the interior of the vehicle body in use. The slide out body member may include any other features defined in the 20 preceding aspect of the invention. According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a vehicle having a slide out, the vehicle comprising: a vehicle body having a wall including two side wall sections and defining a 25 vehicle interior; at least one slide out body member extending across an opening in a side wall section of the vehicle body that is capable of movement between a laterally expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads, the slide out body member having 30 a primary wall portion for covering at least a portion of the side wall section of the 10 vehicle body and the body member also including end walls and a bottom and roof extending transverse to the primary wall portion in a direction into the vehicle body so that the space defined by the slide out member opens into and forms part of the vehicle interior; 5 a support means for supporting the body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that permits sliding of the slide out relative to the body of the vehicle between the expanded and retracted positions; and a drive means for driving the body member between said expanded and retracted positions on said support means. 10 The body of the motor home may define a vehicle interior comprising a front seat area including driver's seat space and a living space rear of the front seat. The support means may comprise at least two sets of complementary guide rail 15 formations on each of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, e.g. longitudinally spaced from each other. The guide rail formations may comprise a female member defining a passage open at one end on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, and a 20 male member that is sized to be received within the open end and passage of the female member on the other of the slide out body member and the vehicle body. The female member/s may be mounted on the vehicle body and the male member/s may be mounted on the slide out member. 25 The female member may comprise a square tube with an open end. The male member may comprise a length of square rod or square tube. The male and/or female members may be coated with a friction reducing coating to assist sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member. 30 11 The coating may be a polymer coating, e.g. a synthetic polymer coating. The coating may be nylon or polyurethane and may have a thickness of 1mm. In one particular embodiment there are more than two said engaging male and 5 female members along the length of the slide out member, e.g. four to six said engaging male and female members. The drive means may comprise at least one linear actuator with a shaft operatively mounted on to the vehicle body or the slide out body member and a passive 10 actuator element defining an opening through which the shaft of the linear actuator is passed, mounted on to the other of the vehicle body or the slide out body member, whereby rotation of the shaft relative to the passive actuator element effects translational displacement of the passive actuator element in an axial direction along the shaft and thereby lateral displacement of the slide out 15 body member relative to the vehicle body. Thus the slide out member can be moved laterally outwardly to the expanded position to increase the living space defined within the vehicle interior when the vehicle is being used for recreational use. The space defined by the slide out 20 member is used to increase the interior space within the vehicle body. The slide out member is returned to the retracted position prior to the vehicle being used for road travel. The support means supports the slide out member on the vehicle body for 25 movement laterally outward into the expanded position on demand. This movement is effected by a linear actuator which is very precise and does not occupy a large amount of space. The shaft or lead screw of the linear actuator may be mounted on the vehicle body 30 and the passive actuator element or lead nut may have the slide out member mounted thereto. 12 The slide out body member may further include a floor vertically intermediate said bottom wall and said top wall or roof and define a living space between said floor and said roof and a services compartment between said floor and said bottom 5 wall. Thus the interior space of the slide out is vertically divided up into a living space which opens into the vehicle interior and forms part of the amenity of the vehicle which can be occupied by people, and a services compartment beneath the living 10 space. Thus the services compartment is located beneath the floor and is immediately above the bottom wall of the slide out. The male and female members of the sliding arrangement described above may be located in the services compartment. Further any other structural members 15 extending between the vehicle body and the slide out body member may be located in the services compartment. The vehicle may include means for connecting services from the vehicle body to the associated service fittings in the vehicle slide out. The services connecting 20 means may comprise one or more flexible conduits, each conduit carrying a service which is located in the services compartment beneath the floor, one end of the conduit being connected to that service on the vehicle body and the other end being connected to that service on the slide out body member. 25 The services that are provided through the services conduits may include: electricity for energising appliances and lights, e.g. 12 V and 240V, water for washing and cooking, gas for cooking and heating, and drainage for draining water from a kitchen sink, shower and/or a hand basin. 13 One such flexible conduit may be in the form of a flexible pipe that carries water to the slide out. Another flexible conduit may be in the form of a flexible pipe that carries gas to the slide out. Another such flexible conduit may contain flexible electrical cable for supplying electricity to the slide out member. Another flexible 5 conduit may form or contain a drain pipe that drains waste water from the slide out member. Each flexible conduit may have one end operatively coupled to a service supply element on the vehicle body and an opposed end operatively coupled to the 10 corresponding service receiving element on the vehicle slide out. Each flexible conduit may have sufficient length to accommodate movement of the slide out member from the retracted to the expanded positions without a tensile stretching force being applied thereto. That is the conduit may have sufficient length that it is not quite fully extended in the expanded position. 15 The services compartment may be sized to receive the necessary length of the flexible conduit to allow movement between the retracted and expanded conditions for all services. That is the compartment can accommodate with comfort all the extra length of the various service conduits when the slide out 20 member is in the retracted position. The vehicle may further include a conduit organiser in the services conduit to assist in guiding the conduits to unfold in an organised fashion when the slide out member is moved to the expanded position and to guide the conduits to fold up in 25 an organised fashion when the slide out member is moved back in to the retracted position. The conduit organiser may include a partition member that extends into the services compartment, e.g. from the primary wall portion. The partition member may extend parallel to the end walls of the slide out member 30 or transverse to the side wall of the slide out member. Further the partition 14 member may extend from the primary wall portion at least part of the width of the slide out body member in a direction towards the interior of the vehicle body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 5 A vehicle that is a recreational vehicle that is a motor home having a sliding arrangement and a slide out in accordance with this invention may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter provide a detailed description of one embodiment of the invention with reference to the 10 accompanying drawings. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the invention how to put the invention into practice. It is to be clearly understood however that the specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding statements. In the drawings: 15 Fig. I is a three dimensional view of a vehicle that is a motor home with left and right side slide outs showing the slide outs in their retracted positions; Fig. 2 is a three dimensional view of the motor home of Fig. 1 showing the slide outs in their expanded positions; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through the motor home and the associated slide 20 outs of Fig. 1 with the slide outs shown in the expanded position, section through 111-111; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the motor home with slide outs of Fig. 1 section through IV-IV; Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of the motor home with slide outs of Fig. 2, section 25 through V-V; Fig. 6 is a three dimensional view of a sliding arrangement comprising a pair of engaged male and female members forming part of a slide on the vehicle body that guide the slide out between the retracted and expanded positions; Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the pair of engaged male and female members 30 shown in Fig. 6, section through VII-VII; 15 Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view of a part of the motor home showing the position of the sliding arrangements and the linear actuators when the slide outs are in the retracted positions; Fig. 9 is a schematic plan view of a part of the motor home showing the position of 5 the sliding arrangements and the linear actuators when the slide outs are in the expanded positions; Fig. 10a is a three dimensional view of part of a motor home having a slide out in the retracted position showing an arrangement of a service conduit within the slide out with some detail omitted for clarity; 10 Fig. 10b is a three dimensional view of part of a motor home having a slide out in the expanded position showing an arrangement of a service conduit within the slide out with some detail omitted for clarity; Fig. 11 is a sectional end view of the motor home in Figure 10a showing the arrangement of the service conduit in the retracted position; and 15 Fig. 12 is a sectional end view of the motor home in Figure 10b showing the arrangement of the service conduit in the expanded position of the slide out member and the vehicle body of Fig 11. The drawings above are very schematic and are provided purely for the purposes 20 of illustrating the structure of the vehicle and slide outs and the functioning of the slide outs. In some instances certain details of the slide outs have been omitted from the drawings because they do not bear on the part of the slide out that is being described with reference to the drawings. 25 In Figs. 1 and 2 reference numeral 1 refers generally to a vehicle that is a motor home in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The motor home I has two slide outs in accordance with the invention having sliding arrangements and a slide out body member on the body of the vehicle. The motor home is built from a donor vehicle that is a commercially available light commercial van vehicle 30 that can be driven on a car licence. 16 The motor home 1 comprises broadly a vehicle body 2 having a vehicle wall including two side wall sections 6 and 7 and defining a vehicle interior. The vehicle interior is in turn divided up circumferentially into a front seat area 8 having a front seat where a driver and passenger sit, and a living area indicated generally by 5 reference numeral 9, behind the front seat area 8. The body 2 is mounted on four wheels 3 in the usual way and is powered by an engine typically a petrol or diesel engine located within the body 2 towards the front of the vehicle 1. The width of the vehicle body 2 is broadly the same as that for normal light commercial vehicles so that it is fit for legal use of a public road. 10 The motor home 1 has two front doors 4 providing access to the front seat area 8 on left and right sides respectively. It also has a side door 5 providing access to the living area 9 rearward of the front seat area 8. It also includes a rear door (not shown) providing access to a rear storage compartment. The vehicle 1 also 15 includes a slide out 11 mounted on a left side of the vehicle body 2 and another slide out 12 mounted on the right side of the vehicle body 2. Each slide out 11 includes a slide out body member 13 or 14 extending across the left and right side wall sections of the vehicle body 2. Each slide out 11, 12 also 20 includes a support means in the form of a plurality of sliding arrangements which is indicated very generally by the reference numeral 21 for supporting the slide out body member 13, 14 on the vehicle body 2, and also a drive means which is indicated very generally by the reference numeral 23, for driving the slide out 11, 12 between the expanded and retracted positions. The support means and the 25 drive means are shown in some detail in Figures 5, 8 and 9 in particular. Each of the components of the slide outs 11, 12 described above namely the slide out body member, the sliding arrangement and the drive means will now be described in more detail. 30 17 Each slide out body member 13, 14 comprises a primary wall portion 15 and two end walls 17 and 18. It also includes a bottom portion or bottom wall 19 and a roof or top wall 20 extending transverse to the primary wall portion 15. Thus the end walls 17 and 18 and the bottom wall 19 and roof 20 fit into a slide out opening 5 defined in a side wall section 6 or 7 of the vehicle body 2. The internal space defined by the various wall components of the slide out member 13, 14 opens into the vehicle interior and specifically the living area 9 thereof . Each slide out body member 13, 14 is moveable between a retracted position in which the primary wall portion 15 thereof is broadly aligned with an adjacent side wall section 6 or 7 of 10 the vehicle body 2 as shown in Fig. I and an expanded condition when the primary wall portion 15 projects laterally outward from the adjacent side wall section 6 or 7 of the vehicle body 2 as shown in Fig. 2. These features are best illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 5. 15 Generally each slide out body member 13, 14 is formed from a basic frame of aluminium tubing with a sheet material applied to this basic frame. In the illustrated embodiments the sheet material extending across the frame is made of fibre glass although other materials could also be used. These features are most clearly shown in Figure 4. 20 The support means is in the form of a plurality of sliding arrangements that are longitudinally spaced from each other along the length of the slide out 11, 12. Each sliding arrangement 21, comprises a male member 30 having outward facing contact surfaces and an engaged female member 32 defining an internal 25 passage. The male member 30 is received within the female member 32 in a way that permits the male member 30 to slide relative to the female member 32. Naturally the male and female members 30, 32 must also provide a suitable level of mechanical strength to safely and properly support the slide out body member 13, 14 in particular on the vehicle body 2. 30 In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 each female member 32 comprises a square tube mounted on the vehicle body 2 defining a passage 18 therein with an open end and a male member 30 in the form of a rod or tube on the slide out body member 13, 14. The male member 30 is received within the female member 32 with a snug fit that permits sliding of the male and female members 30, 32 relative to each other as will be described in more detail below. 5 The contact surfaces of the male member 30 are coated with a coating 31 to reduce friction with the female member 32 within the passage. In one form the friction reducing coating 31 is a smooth coating that is a polymer coating such as a nylon or polyurethane coating although clearly many other low friction coatings 10 could also be provided. The thickness of the coating 31 in the illustrated embodiment is very thin being of the order of about 1 mm. The male member 30 is snugly received within the passage of female member 32 with a space of the order of 0.4 mm between the coating 31 and an internal surface of the female member. Thus the male and female members 30, 32 have a very close tolerance 15 and a tight fit and this reduces any lateral movement which causes raffling. Conveniently the male and female guide members 30, 32 are made out of aluminium which is a strong but lightweight material. In the illustrated embodiment the male member 30 and the passage defines in the 20 female member 32 have a complementary square cross-sectional shape. However it will readily be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that other complementary cross sectional configurations could equally be used, such as a rectangular cross section, provided that the cross-sectional shape of the male and female members 30, 32 complement each other. The male and female members 25 30, 32 must provide a snug fit which does not permit any lateral movement of the two members relative to each other to resist the sliding arrangement from rattling. In the embodiment shown in Figures 5, 8 and 9 each slide out 11, 12 has a support means comprising four sliding arrangements 31 that are spaced apart 30 along the length of the associated slide out body member 13, 14. The four sliding arrangements 31 provide sufficient support to mount the slide out body member 13, 14 securely on the vehicle body 2. The male and female members 30 and 32 19 are located in a vertically lower region of the slide out body member 13, 14, proximate to the bottom wall thereof. Applicant has found that it is not necessary to have further male and female support members at the top of the slide out body members 13, 14. 5 The drive means 23 driving each slide out 11 and 12 between the retracted and expanded positions includes a plurality of linear actuators indicated by numeral 40. In the illustrated embodiment each slide out 11, 12 has two linear actuators 40 that are positioned towards the ends of the slide out 11, 12. 10 Each linear actuator 40 includes a shaft or lead screw 42 that rotates to effect translational displacement of a passive actuator member that is a lead nut 44 which is mounted for rotation on the lead screw 42. The lead screw 42 is elongate and has an external screw thread defined on its surface along its length. The lead 15 nut 44 has a complementary internal screw thread that engages the screw thread on the lead screw 42 so that rotation of the lead screw 42 effects linear movement of the lead nut 44 along the lead screw 42. In the illustrated embodiment the lead screw 42 is mounted to the vehicle body 2 20 and the lead nut 44 is mounted to the slide out body member 13, 14 in a retaining fashion that holds it against rotation. Thus rotation of the lead screw 42 produces linear displacement that moves the slide outs 11, 12 and the associated slide out body members 13, 14 between said retracted and expanded positions. Each linear actuator 40 has a rotational drive arrangement such as an electric motor (not 25 shown) for driving the lead screw 42 to rotate. The motor is energised by power from a battery provided by the standard vehicle battery which supplies electrical energy to the starter motor and the lights. Further each linear actuator 40 includes limit switches (not shown) at each end of 30 its range of travel; for stopping rotation of the lead screws and thereby 20 advancement of the linear actuators when the slide out body member is located or seated in each of the retracted and expanded positions. A combination of two linear actuators 40 spaced apart from each other in the 5 direction of length of the slide out 11, 12 is particularly suitable for moving the slide out 11, 12 between the retracted and expanded positions because its movements are very precise. Further each linear actuator 40 is positioned in proximity to a said sliding arrangement 31 as shown in the drawings. 10 Each turn of the lead screw 42 moves the lead nut 44 a very specific incremental amount and this enables the slide outs 11, 12 to be moved very precisely into the retracted and expanded conditions. Another advantage is that each linear actuator 40 only occupies a small amount of space. Yet another advantage is that electrical cables (not shown) which electrically connect the actuator motor to the 15 battery to provide the electrical power to drive rotation of the lead screw 42 can be fed through the vehicle body 2 in a very unobtrusive fashion without encroaching on the living space 9 to any material extent. This is advantageous in motor homes 1 because space is at a premium. 20 The vehicle body 2 has a bottom wall 56 and a floor 58 that is positioned above the bottom wall 56. The bottom wall 56 and the floor 58 define a vehicle body services compartment 59 between the bottom wall 56 and the floor 58. This is shown particularly clearly in Figure 3. The vehicle body 2 also includes a chassis in the form of a flat substantially horizontally extending chassis frame shown 25 generally by the reference numeral 60 and the chassis frame 60 is received within the vehicle body services compartment 59. Each slide out 11, 12 further includes a floor 50 spaced a short distance above the bottom wall 19 and below the roof 20. This floor 50 divides the space defined by 30 the slide out 11, 12 into a slide out living space above the floor and a slide out 21 services compartment 52 between the floor 50 and the bottom wall 19. Thus the slide out services compartment 52 is positioned underneath the floor 50. The linear actuators 40 are conveniently located in the services compartment 52 5 of each slide out 11 or 12, and in the services compartment 59 of the vehicle body 2. Further the engaged male and female members 30, 32 of the sliding arrangements 21 that support the slide out body member 13, 14 on the vehicle body 2 are also located in the services compartment 52 of the slide outs 11, 12 and the services compartment 59 of the vehicle body 2. This way the sliding 10 arrangements 21 are located beneath the floor 50 of the slide out 11, 12 and beneath the floor 58 of the vehicle body 2 and do not project into the living area 9 of the motor home 1. As shown in Figures 1OA to 12, the services compartment 52 within each slide out 15 11, 12 also contains one or more service connectors 53 each of which is in the form of a flexible conduit 54 that carries services from the main vehicle body 2 into the slide outs 13, 14 and other services from the slide out 11 or 12 back to the body 2. The conduits 54 have sufficient length to accommodate movement of the slide outs 13, 14 between the retracted and expanded conditions. 20 The type of services that are transferred through the service connector 53 between the vehicle body 2 and the slide outs 11 and 12 include both supply services and drainage services. The supply services include the supply of fluids such as water and gas, and also the supply of electricity. Each said supply or 25 drainage service is directed into the slide out or drained from the slide out through one of the flexible conduits 54. Each conduit 54 has one end operatively coupled to a the fitting or fixture 56 associated with that service in the slide out 11, 12 and a corresponding supply or waste disposal facility on the vehicle body 2. 30 The drainage services provided in the slide out 11, 12 include a drainage service for draining grey water that results from washing or cleaning in a bathroom fitting 22 that is a basin or sink 56 housed in the slide out 11, 12. The grey water needs to be transferred from the slide out to the main body where a grey water disposal facility such as a holding tank is contained for holding and then facilitating disposal of the grey water. 5 Each flexible conduit 54 comprises a flexible pipe or flexible tube having sufficient length to accommodate movement of the slide out 11 or 12 between the retracted and expanded positions without being subjected to tension. Thus the flexible nature of the conduits 54 and their sufficient length enables services to be 10 provided in the slide out 11, 12 notwithstanding that it undergoes a fair amount of movement in a lateral direction. The conduits 54 are not visible to a person in the living area 9 of the motor home 1 because they are located in the services compartments 52 and 59. 15 Thus this feature enables fixtures or fittings such as wash basins, kitchen sinks and cooking facilities to be housed in the slide outs 11, 12 and for the associated services to be connected to the fixtures or fittings in the slide outs 11, 12. Further the slide out has a partition or conduit organiser 57 that helps to organise 20 the flexible conduit 56 of each service connector 53 and direct the manner in which it folds up when the slide out is moved from the expanded to the retracted positions and also to guide the manner in which the conduit 56 unfolds and extends out the slide out moves from the retracted to the expanded positions. 25 In use the slide out members 13, 14 need to be positioned in the retracted position when the vehicle 1 is in a travelling mode for travel on a road. Accordingly if the slide outs are in the expanded position they first need to be moved to the retracted position. In the retracted position the slide out body members 13, 14 do not project outwardly proud of the side wall sections of the vehicle body 2 to any significant 30 extent. In particular the primary wall portion 15 is substantially aligned with the 23 side wall section 6, 7 of the body 2 and the end walls 17, 18 are received behind the side wall section 6, 7. In this condition the motor home 1 can be driven on the road in the normal way 5 and used as a normal vehicle. Generally when the motor home 1 is travelling the occupants will be seated on the front seats in the front seat area 8 and do not occupy the rear living area 9 of the interior. The motor home I is particularly well suited to two occupants. 10 When the motor home 1 is to be used for camping and/or recreation (herein referred to as recreational mode) it is parked at a suitable site in a stationary position. The linear actuators 40 are then used to move the slide outs 11 and 12 on each side wall section into their expanded position. The slide outs 13, 14 are moved out to their expanded position by the linear actuators 40 on demand by 15 operation of a hand control. The linear actuators 40 are very precise and this reproducibly moves the slide outs 13, 14 into the expanded or retracted position each time with a great deal of precision. Further the linear actuators move the slide outs between the retracted and expanded positions within a short space of time. The limit switches associated with the linear actuators stop the advancement 20 of retraction effected by the linear actuators of the slide outs 13, 14, precisely when the slide outs locate their expanded and retracted positions. Once in the expanded position the slide out members 13, 14 considerably enlarge the living area 9 within the motor home 1 particularly in the lateral direction or 25 direction of width. The slide outs 11, 12 give increased lateral width which is the key dimension to increase in order to make the living space as utile as possible. This enables routine activities such as cooking, washing and eating to be carried out in greater comfort than otherwise would be the case. 30 Applicant has recognised that a particularly limited dimension in a motor home is the lateral width of the living space and that it would be particularly advantageous 24 if a wider living area could be created when the motor home was used in recreational or camping mode. The applicant realised that this needed to be done in a way that provided reliable operation and did not require additional drive systems which used up a significant amount of space within the motor home body 5 2. An advantage of the slide out described above with reference to the drawings is that the male member is received within the female member with a snug but sliding fit to guide movement of the slide out between the retracted and expanded 10 positions. This close tolerance resists lateral movement of the male and female members relative to each other which in turn inhibits rattling. This is advantageous because the motor home travels on roads in use, including rough roads and the sliding arrangements would be susceptible to rattling if they were loose. For example if a usual roller mechanism was used of the type which are 15 found on drawers or the like there will be a substantially looser fit and this will cause rattling and will also shorten the life of the mechanism. In addition it would be difficult to stop the rattling because the rollers are not readily accessible. Another advantage of the support means provided by the sliding arrangements 20 comprising engaging male and female members is that they are of very compact construction and occupy minimal space bearing in mind that space is at a premium in motor homes, particularly in compact motor homes that are driven on a car licence. Another disadvantage of a roller mechanism is that it occupies more space than the sliding arrangement comprising engaging male and female 25 members described in this application and shown in the drawings. A yet further advantage of the sliding arrangement described above comprising engaged male and female members is that they are made of aluminium and as such are light and strong. This helps to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. 30 One advantage of the pair of linear actuators described above that are used to move the slide outs in and out is that they are capable of very precise movement. This enables the slide out to be very accurately moved to the same position each 25 time it is displaced into the expanded position, which is a requirement of a drive means that is used to drive a slide out. A yet further advantage is that the shaft of the linear actuator is rotated by an electric motor which is driven off the vehicle battery. This is very space efficient because it uses an existing battery and the 5 electrical wiring from the battery to the motor does not take up a significant amount of space. By contrast if a hydraulic system was used it would require hydraulic pipes from the hydraulic drive to the slide outs and a hydraulic drive piston and cylinder to actually drive the hydraulic movement which would occupy more space. Further a hydraulic pump would be required for the hydraulic circuit 10 which would also occupy more space. Another limitation of a hydraulic system is that its movements would not be as precise. Very often a kitchen area is located in a slide out 11, 12 because the additional space, and particularly the additional width provided in the slide out, by moving the 15 slide outs laterally outwardly, is well suited to receiving the fittings and fixtures associated with a kitchen and it would be advantageous if it could be used as a kitchen area. The service connector in the form of a flexible conduit described above with 20 reference to the drawings enables fixtures or fittings such as sinks, wash basins and cooking facilities to be housed in the slide outs and be operatively coupled to the associated service or drainage facilities on the body. For example a sink with taps may be mounted to the movable slide out, as well as a gas fired cook top and electrical appliances and electrical power points. The service connector described 25 above with reference to the drawings is able to operate very reliably. The additional width provided by the slide out also makes it a convenient location to position a bedroom. The service connector feature enables fixtures or fittings such as wash basins shower drainage facilities and flush toilets to be housed in 30 the slide outs 11, 12. 26 Accordingly the ability to provide services such as water, gas and electricity on the slide out body member instead of them being limited to being located on the fixed vehicle body is most advantageous. It opens up many more possibilities when designing the layout of the motor home. The motor home designer than has 5 considerable freedom on how they wish to arrange the fittings and fixtures within the motor home to achieve the most comfortable design and amenity for the user. With the change in lifestyles that is occurring and with baby boomers starting to retire the uptake and usage of motor homes has increased markedly and this 10 increase is predicted to continue. The advances made by the applicant that have been described in this application have made a significant contribution to the art and will undoubtedly help to satisfy the desires and needs of discerning users of motor homes. 15 It will of course be realised that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is herein set forth. 20 27

Claims

1. A sliding arrangement for supporting a slide out body member of a slide out 5 on a vehicle body in a way that permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the vehicle body between an expanded and a retracted position, which sliding arrangement includes: at least one female member for mounting on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, the female member having an internal surface 10 defining a passage open at one end, the passage extending in the direction in which the slide out body member is to slide relative to the vehicle body; and a male member having a longitudinal axis for mounting on the other one of the slide out member and the vehicle body, the male member being slidably received within the open end and passage of the female member, the male 15 member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member has a friction reducing coating for assisting sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is 20 selected to achieve a snug fit of the male member within the passage of the female member, the friction reducing coating inhibiting transverse movement of the male member within the female member and rattling of the male and female members. 25

2. A sliding arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the friction reducing coating is applied to the contact surfaces of the male member, and the friction reducing coating slides over the internal surface of the female member.

3. A sliding arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the friction 30 reducing coating is a polymer coating that is applied to each said contact surface. 28

4. A sliding arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the polymer is made of nylon or polyurethane and has a thickness of about 1 mm.

5 5. A sliding arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the female member comprises a tube of unitary construction, and the male member comprises a rod or tube of unitary construction having a rod of complementary cross sectional configuration that is received within the female member. 10

6. A vehicle having a slide out, the vehicle comprising: vehicle body having a vehicle wall including two side wall sections and defining a vehicle interior, at least one side wall section defining a slide out opening therein; at least one slide out mounted on the vehicle body that is capable of 15 movement between a laterally expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; the slide out including: a slide out body member extending across a said slide out opening in a side wall section of the vehicle body; and 20 a support means for supporting the slide out body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the body of the vehicle between the expanded and retracted positions, the support means comprising at least one pair of engaging male and female members, the female member in the 25 pair having an internal surface defining a passage open at one end, on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, and the male member in the pair having a longitudinal axis on the other one of the slide out member and the vehicle body that is slidably received within the open end and passage of the female member, 30 the male member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the 29 contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member are each coated with a friction reducing coating for assisting sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is selected to achieve a 5 snug fit of the male member within the passage of the female member, whereby to inhibit transverse movement of the male member within the female member and rattling of the male and female members. 10

7. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 6, wherein the friction reducing coating is applied to the contact surfaces of the male member, and the friction reducing coating slides over the internal surface of the female member.

8. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the 15 friction reducing coating is a polymer coating.

9. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the female member comprises a tube of unitary construction, and the male member comprises a rod or tube of unitary construction having a complementary 20 cross sectional shape that is received with the female member.

10. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the female member of each pair of male and female members is mounted on the vehicle body and the male member of each sliding arrangement is mounted on the 25 slide out member.

11. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 10, having two or more said pairs of male and female members that are spaced apart along the length of the slide out body member that mount the slide out body member on 30 the vehicle body. 30

12. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 11, wherein there are four to six pairs of male and female members that are spaced apart from each other along the length of the slide out member, and one pair of male and female 5 engaging members may be located at or proximate to each end of the slide out member.

13. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 12, further including a drive means for driving the body member between said expanded and 10 retracted positions on said support means.

14. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 13, wherein the drive means includes at least one linear actuator comprising a lead screw mounted on one of the vehicle body or the slide out body member, and a lead nut through which the 15 lead screw is passed mounted onto the other of the vehicle body or the slide out body member.

15. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 14, wherein the lead screw of the linear actuator is mounted on the vehicle body and the lead nut is mounted 20 on the slide out body member where it is held against rotation by the slide out body member.

16. A vehicle having a slide out according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein each linear actuator includes an electric motor for rotating the lead screw and wherein 25 the electric motor is energised by a vehicle battery, and wherein each linear actuator includes limit switches for limiting travel of the lead nut along the lead screw when the linear actuator reaches each of the retracted and expanded positions. 31

17. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the drive means includes at least two linear actuators on the slide out body member spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the slide out body member for displacing the slide out body member between the retracted 5 and expanded positions.

18. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 17, wherein the vehicle body includes two side wall sections and a vehicle interior comprising a front seat area including the driver's seat and a living area behind the front seat. 10

19. A vehicle having a slide out according to any one of claims 6 to 18, wherein the slide out body member comprises a primary wall portion for extending across the slide out opening defined in the side wall section and end walls at each end of the primary wall portion, and a bottom wall and a top wall, all of which extend 15 transverse to the primary wall portion.

20. A slide out for mounting to a vehicle body, the slide out comprising: a slide out body member for covering a slide out opening in a side of the vehicle, the slide out body member being capable of movement between a 20 laterally expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; a support means for supporting the slide out body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the body of the vehicle between the expanded and retracted positions, the support 25 means comprising at least one pair of engaging male and female members, the female member of the pair having an internal surface fining a passage open at one end, on one of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, and the male member of the pair having a longitudinal axis on the other one of the slide out member and the vehicle body that is slidably received within the open end and 30 passage of the female member, the male member having contact surfaces along the length thereof that face outwardly transverse to the longitudinal axis, 32 wherein the contact surfaces of the male member or the internal surface of the female member is coated with a friction reducing coating for assisting sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member having a thickness that is selected to achieve a snug fit of the male member within the passage of the 5 female member whereby to inhibit transverse movement of the male member within the female member and rattling of the male and female members.

21. A sliding arrangement for supporting a slide out body member of a slide out on a vehicle body substantially in accordance with the sliding arrangement 10 described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to Figures 5 to 1OB.

22. A motor home having a slide out substantially in accordance with the sliding arrangement described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments 15 with reference to Figures 5 to 10B. 33