AU2012202294A1

AU2012202294A1 - A slide out and a vehicle including a slide out

Info

Publication number: AU2012202294A1
Application number: AU2012202294A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Colin Maclean
Original assignee: Paradise Motor Homes Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Pmh Manufacturing Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-12-16
Filing date: 2012-04-19
Publication date: 2012-05-10
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-01
Also published as: AU2012202294B2; AU2005202366A1; AU2012202294C1; AU2005202366B2

Abstract

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Description

A SLIDE OUT AND A VEHICLE INCLUDING A SLIDE OUT FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to a vehicle having a slide out in which the slide out includes at least one service fitting. The present invention also relates to a slide out having a service fitting. 10 This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a slide out for a recreational vehicle and 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 15 further the invention is capable of even broader application and could be applied to any type of vehicle. Examples of such vehicles include vehicles used for on site accommodation and offices on construction sites and the like. 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 25 motor home is formed by taking a light commercial vehicle that is a cab chassis or 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. 1 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 towed by a towing vehicle from one location to another. 5 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 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 10 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 the case. 15 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is known to provide vehicles with living accommodation and these types of 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 20 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. A caravan is towed by a towing vehicle such as a family car to a destination where 25 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 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 30 ubiquitous feature of Australian society. Further it offers a living accommodation 2 with fairly comfortable amenities that is considerably cheaper than hotel or unit accommodation. A development on the caravan has been the motor home. This comprises a 5 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 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 10 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. Motor homes are often preferred by couples because they are more compact than 15 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 user's want to pack up and move to another 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 20 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 would be very tightly regulated. 25 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 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 30 is particularly so as more affluent and discerning customer's start using motor homes. 3 One approach that is well known in the motorhome and caravan industry is to provide one or more slide outs that are moveable between an expanded position for recreation and a retracted position for travel. Slide-outs are used to expand the living and bedroom areas laterally, without increasing the overall travel width of 5 the vehicle (which is obviously limited to a maximum width for road travel). Motorhomes and caravans also have a number of service fixtures such as sinks, basins, toilets, stoves, ovens and electrical power outlets. These service fixtures are serviced by service connectors such as water pipes, waste pipes, gas pipes 10 and electrical cables that convey water/electricity/gas from a supply to the service fitting. It is accepted in the industry that service fixtures cannot be located in slide outs due to the limitations of having to provide the service connectors. This has resulted in a significant limitation not only on slide -out design but internal design of the entire motorhome lay-out. 15 Accordingly it would be advantageous if contrivances could be devised for enhancing the living amenities provided within recreational vehicles generally. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 20 According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided a vehicle having a slide out including: a vehicle body defining a slide out opening; a slide out that is moveable between an expanded position during 25 recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; wherein the slide out includes at least one service fixture and a flexible service connector connecting the service fixture to a service supply element or a service receiving element on the body to the vehicle body through which a service 4 can be conveyed and which accommodates movement of the slide out between the retracted and expanded positions. The vehicle includes means for connecting services from the vehicle body to the 5 associated service fittings in the vehicle slide out. The services connecting means may comprise one or more flexible conduits, each conduit carrying a service which is located in a 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. 10 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. 15 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 20 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 25 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. 30 5 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 5 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 10 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 15 or transverse to the side wall of the slide out member. Further the partition 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. The vehicle may be a motor home. Instead the vehicle may be a caravan. 20 The vehicle may include more than one slide out, e.g. two or three slide outs. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a slide out for a vehicle, the slide out comprising: 25 a slide out that in use is interchangeable an 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 comprising a slide out body member for covering a slide out opening in a side of the vehicle, and a support means for supporting the slide out body member on the body of the vehicle in a way that 6 permits the slide out body member to slide relative to the body of the vehicle when the slide out moves between the expanded and retracted positions; and at least one flexible service connector through which a service can be directed for extending from the slide out body to the vehicle body through which a 5 service can be conveyed for transferring the service between the slide out body and the vehicle body and which accommodates movement of the slide out between the retracted and expanded positions. Also described in the present specification is a vehicle having a slide out, the 10 vehicle comprising: a vehicle body having a wall including two side wall sections and defining a 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 15 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 a primary wall portion for covering at least a portion of the side wall section of the 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 20 so that the space defined by the slide out member opens into and forms part of the vehicle interior; 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 25 a drive means for driving the body member between said expanded and retracted positions on said support means. 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. 30 7 The support means may comprise at least two sets of complementary guide rail formations on each of the slide out body member and the vehicle body, e.g. longitudinally spaced from each other. 5 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 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. 10 The female member/s may be mounted on the vehicle body and the male member/s may be mounted on the slide out member. 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 15 female members may be coated with a friction reducing coating to assist sliding movement of the male member relative to the female member. 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 1 mm. 20 In one particular embodiment there are more than two said engaging male and female members along the length of the slide out member, e.g. four to six said engaging male and female members. 25 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 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 30 element effects translational displacement of the passive actuator element in an 8 axial direction along the shaft and thereby lateral displacement of the slide out body member relative to the vehicle body. Thus the slide out member can be moved laterally outwardly to the expanded 5 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 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. 10 The support means supports the slide out member on the vehicle body for 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. 15 The shaft or lead screw of the linear actuator may be mounted on the vehicle body and the passive actuator element or lead nut may have the slide out member mounted thereto. 20 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 wall. 25 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 space. Thus the services compartment is located beneath the floor and is immediately above the bottom wall of the slide out. 30 9 The male and female members of the sliding arrangement described above may be located in the services compartment. Further any other structural members extending between the vehicle body and the slide out body member may be located in the services compartment. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 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 10 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 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 15 nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding statements. In the drawings: Fig. 1 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; 20 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 outs of Fig. 1 with the slide outs shown in the expanded position, section through Ill-Ill; 25 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 through V-V; 10 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 5 members shown in Fig. 6, section through VII-VII; 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 10 position of 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; 15 Fig. 1Ob 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 1 Ca showing the arrangement of the service conduit in the retracted position; 20 Fig. 12 is a sectional end view of the motor home in Figure 1 Ob showing the arrangement of the service conduit in the expanded position of the slide out member and the vehicle body of Fig 11; Fig. 13 is an upper perspective view of a motor home in accordance with another embodiment of the invention having a slide out in a retracted position 25 showing three service connectors extending between the slide out and the body of the vehicle; Fig. 14 is a lower perspective of the motor home in Fig.13 with the slide out in the retracted position; Fig.15 is an upper perspective view of the motor home in Fig. 13 with the 30 slide out in the retracted position; and 11 Fig.16 is an lower perspective view of the motor home in Fig. 13 showing the slide out in the retracted position. The drawings above are very schematic and are provided purely for the purposes 5 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. 10 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 1 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 15 that can be driven on a car licence. 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 20 seat where a driver and passenger sit, and a living area indicated generally by 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 25 so that it is fit for legal use of a public road. 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 30 shown) providing access to a rear storage compartment. The vehicle 1 also 12 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 5 left and right side wall sections of the vehicle body 2. Each slide out 11, 12 also 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, 10 12 between the expanded and retracted positions. The support means and the 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 15 described in more detail. 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 20 walls 17 and 18 and the bottom wall 19 and roof 20 fit into a slide out opening 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 25 portion 15 thereof is broadly aligned with an adjacent side wall section 6 or 7 of the vehicle body 2 as shown in Fig. 1 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. 30 13 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 5 clearly shown in Figure 4. 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 10 contact surfaces and an engaged female member 32 defining an internal 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 15 13, 14 in particular on the vehicle body 2. Figure 5 shows a motorhome having a floor plan in which the slide-out 13 includes a kitchen area and is a slide-out of the present invention. Further details of this slide-out will be discussed with reference to Figures 13 to 16. The slide-out 14 20 includes a portion of the bedroom area with bed 100 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 therein with an open end and a male member 30 in the form of a rod or tube on 25 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. The contact surfaces of the male member 30 are coated with a coating 31 to 30 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 14 a nylon or polyurethane coating although clearly many other low friction coatings 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 5 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 and a tight fit and this reduces any lateral movement which causes rattling. Conveniently the male and female guide members 30, 32 are made out of aluminium which is a strong but lightweight material. 10 In the illustrated embodiment the male member 30 and the passage defines in the 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 15 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 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. 20 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 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 25 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. 30 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 15 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. Each linear actuator 40 includes a shaft or lead screw 42 that rotates to effect 5 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 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 10 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 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 15 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 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 20 energy to the starter motor and the lights. Further each linear actuator 40 includes limit switches (not shown) at each end of its range of travel; for stopping rotation of the lead screws and thereby advancement of the linear actuators when the slide out body member is located or 25 seated in each of the retracted and expanded positions. A combination of two linear actuators 40 spaced apart from each other in the 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 30 movements are very precise. Further each linear actuator 40 is positioned in proximity to a said sliding arrangement 31 as shown in the drawings. 16 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 5 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 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 10 1 because space is at a premium. 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 15 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 generally by the reference numeral 60 and the chassis frame 60 is received within the vehicle body services compartment 59. 20 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 the slide out 11, 12 into a slide out living space above the floor and a slide out 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. 25 The linear actuators 40 are conveniently located in the services compartment 52 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 30 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 arrangements 21 are located beneath the floor 50 of the slide out 11, 12 and 17 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 1 CA to 12, the services compartment 52 within each slide out 5 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. 10 The type of services that are transferred through the service connectors 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. In this case each 15 service connector supply extends from one end at a service supply arrangement on the body of the vehicle to an opposed end at a service receiving element such as a bathroom fitting or fixture on the slide out. Each said supply or drainage service is directed into the slide out or drained from 20 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. 25 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 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 30 of the grey water. 18 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 5 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. 10 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 15 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. 20 Figure 13 shows a schematic open top perspective view of a preferred slide out 102 in the retracted position within a vehicle body 103. The slide out has a primary wall 104, opposed end walls 105, 106 and a free end that communicates with the interior space of the vehicle. 25 The slide out 102 includes a kitchen cabinet 124 with a kitchen sink 126 with a mixer tap 128 and waste water drain 130. On either side of the kitchen cabinet 124 are floor spaces 132, 134 that in use may support furniture items that do not have a service fixture such as chairs, sofas, cupboards or the like. 30 The vehicle has a base frame 136 that supports a floor (not shown). Beneath the floor is a bottom of the vehicle is a service compartment 138 located 19 therebetween. Service conduits for water 140, 142, wastewater 144 and electricity cables 146 run through the service compartment 128 and connect to the respective mixer tap 128, plug hole 132 and electric power point (not shown).. 5 A conduit organizer or partition member 148 extends into the service compartment 138 from the primary wall 104 and parallel to the end walls. That part of the service conduits that are located in the slide-out are flexible and service conduits is flexible so that it can fold around the partition member in an organized U shaped manner as shown. 10 Figure 14 shows a perspective view of the slide out from below. In this view, the electricity cables 146 lead to a junction box 148. The waste water conduit 144 leads to a grey water storage tank 150. 15 Figure 15 is a top view of the slide out 102 in the expanded position. In this position the service conduits are no longer folded around the partition member 148. Figure 16 is a bottom view of the slide out 102 in the expanded position. 20 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 25 outwardly proud of the side wall sections of the vehicle body 2 to any significant extent. In particular the primary wall portion 15 is substantially aligned with the side wall section 6, 7 of the body 2 and the end walls 17, 18 are received behind the side wall section 6, 7. 20 In this condition the motor home 1 can be driven on the road in the normal way 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 1 is particularly well 5 suited to two occupants. 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 10 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 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 15 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 of retraction effected by the linear actuators of the slide outs 13, 14, precisely when the slide outs locate their expanded and retracted positions. 20 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 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 25 out in greater comfort than otherwise would be the case. 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 if a wider living area could be created when the motor home was used in 30 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 21 systems which used up a significant amount of space within the motor home body 2. An advantage of the slide out described above with reference to the drawings is 5 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 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 10 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 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. 15 Another advantage of the support means provided by the sliding arrangements 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 20 a car licence. Another disadvantage of a roller mechanism is that it occupies more space than the sliding arrangement comprising engaging male and female 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 25 strong. This helps to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. 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 30 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 22 battery. This is very space efficient because it uses an existing battery and the 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 5 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 which would also occupy more space. Another limitation of a hydraulic system is that its movements would not be as precise. 10 Very often a kitchen area is located in a slide out 11, 12, 102 because the additional space, and particularly the additional width provided in the slide out, by moving the 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. 15 The service connector in the form of a flexible conduit described above with 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 20 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 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 25 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 the slide outs 11, 12, 102. Accordingly the ability to provide services such as water, gas and electricity on the 30 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 23 designing the layout of the motor home. The motor home designer than has 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. 5 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 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 10 motor homes. 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 15 the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is herein set forth. 24

Claims

1. A vehicle having a slide out including: 5 a vehicle body defining a slide out opening; a slide out that is moveable between an expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads; wherein the slide out includes at least one service fixture and at least 10 one flexible service connector connecting the service fixture to a service supply element or a service receiving element on the body to the vehicle body through which a service can be conveyed and which accommodates movement of the slide out between the retracted and expanded positions. 15

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the service is selected from at least one of hot water, cold water, waste water, electricity and gas.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the slide-out includes a kitchen area having a kitchen sink and the service connector for suppling water to 20 the sink and a further service connector receives waste water from the sink.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the slide-out includes a bathroom area having a shower recess and/or a wash basin, and at least one service connector supplies water to the shower recess and/or basin and a further 25 service connector receives waste water from the basin.

5. The vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the slide out has a bottom and a roof, a floor intermediate the bottom and the roof, a living space 25 between the floor and the roof and a service compartment between the floor and the bottom.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the at least one service connector is located 5 in the services compartment beneath the floor.

7. The vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the wherein each flexible conduit has sufficient length to allow for movement of the slide out from the retracted to the expanded positions without a tensile stretching force being 10 applied thereto.

8. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the removal of waste material from the slide out includes the removal of waste water. 15

9. The vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the slide-out further includes a conduit organiser mounted on the slide out body member for interacting with an associated flexible conduit whereby to direct folding and unfolding of the conduit in an organised fashion when the slide out is moved between the retracted and expanded positions. 20

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the slide out comprises a primary wall portion for extending across a slide out opening in the vehicle body, end walls at each end of the primary wall portion, a bottom wall and a top wall at the bottom and top of the primary wall portion respectively. 25

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the conduit organiser comprises a partition member that extends from the primary wall portion into the services compartment and has a free end spaced from said primary wall portion, the flexible conduit being directed to travel around the free end whereby to 26 organise the conduit when the slide out is moved between the retracted and expanded positions.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the partition member extends parallel to 5 the end walls of the slide out body member and transverse to the primary wall portion of the slide out body member.

13. The vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the slide out is expandable form one side of the vehicle body and the vehicle includes a 10 second slide-out expandable from the other side of the vehicle.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the second slide out includes a bedroom region.

15 15. The vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 14, which is a motorhome.

16. A slide-out for a vehicle, the slide-out being moveable between an expanded position during recreational use of the vehicle and a retracted position during use of the vehicle for travel on the roads: 20 wherein the slide out includes at least one service fixture and at least one flexible service connector connecting the service fixture to a service supply element or a service receiving element on the body to the vehicle body through which a service can be conveyed and which accommodates movement of the slide out between the retracted and expanded positions. 25 27