With a growing number of slide manufacturers on the market, some of whom are from China and Eastern Europe, we're seeing a large increase in cheaper, but less well made slides enter the market.
As tempting as it is to buy a more cost effective slides over and above a more expensive product, there's a reason why it's cheaper and only when things start going wrong do buying cheap, becomes a major problem.
Not only do cheaper slides use softer material, which can cause brinnelling, but cutting corners in the construction process can also mean the slide falls apart under normal shock and vibration.
In this particular incident, the enclosed slide had only been fitted into the vehicle for two weeks and in that time the central 'I' beam had broken free and the inner runner had severe brinnelling. From a brigades point of view having a VOR (Vehicle of Road) is a worse case scenario and can cause life threatening delays.
What's surprising is that the slide in question is one of the leading brands of heavy duty slides on the market and the slide in question wasn't up for the job.
"Having cheaply made slides that break is one thing, but mis-selling heavy duty slides that simply cant do the job is entirely another," confirms one industry contact who wishes to remain nameless.
The moral of the message is, if you're looking at making savings, think about how you might pay in the long run. More often than not, buying cheap means buying twice.
