Buy Cheap Slides, Buy Twice...

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.

Chambrelan Slides Extend Party Platform

We think you'll like this one.  Jon Chance is passionate about boats and boating, but after buying his Sealord 344 offshore cruiser, which he purchased to take him and his friends out for fishing trips down the south coast, he realised he didn't have enough to cast from the back of the boat.

The problem was how to extend the back of the boat into a party platform without incurring mooring costs, which are charged per metre.

That's when he called Chambrelan, the heavy duty slide specialists.  Selecting the right heavy duty slide from Chambrelan's range, with the right load capacity, wasn't going to be a problem.  Chambrelan are renowned for their huge range of telescopic slides, but Jon needed a specific type of high grade marine steel, which would not decompose or rust when subjected to prolonged salt sea conditions.

By working with Chambrelan's sales team Jon chose the ST508, a three beam stainless steel slide with over a metre extension and recirculating ball bearings that carries the heavy loads more smoothly and with less resistance than other slides on the market.

We caught up with Jon recently to find out what his experience was like and how the ST508's are doing.  "Chambrelan's customer service was fantastic," confirms Jon.  "They helped me identify the slides i needed and made sure we received them in good order."

Jon's expertise is in demand and although we don't have his contact details, i am sure he can be found by searching for his engineering expertise via search engines.

For more information on how Chambrelan can help with your heavy duty slide or linear rail enquiries, contact 01746 783 972