question for long arm owners
 

My long arm has 2 clamps on the sides that are spaced so they twist the quilt a bit. I have been looking online and found grip lite long arm mid arm side clamps and EZ grip side camps and some diy clamps. I tried the red snappers and they won't grip the fabric just slid right off. Do you or anyone know how the other clamps I mentioned work?

Do you mean Red Snappers or Red E Edge side clamps? The snappers are used to load a quilt, not to hold the sides. I use both of them all the time, and have had no problems with them. Perhaps contact Renae Haddadin at Quilts on the Corner and ask for her advice. (She's the one who came up with those products.)

Make sure you are not tightening the straps for the clamps too much that you are distorting the quilt. And I usually baste the edges of the quilt each time as I advance to keep the edges straight. I don't quilt that densely so I just pin baste the edges. Some people chose to stitch down the edges. You could also just get a couple more sets of the clamps so they are spaced closer together.

I use the side clamp snappers and have never had an issue, love them! The red snappers however are not for me, and I gave mine away with my longarm when I sold it.

I have used Leader Grips for many years and am very happy with them. They are similar to Renae Haddidin's side clamps.

I use Red Snappers for the edges, and they do slip off if you don't also snap the batting. If the backing is a bit wider I cut a strip of batting and insert it in the snappers. I do not like them on the top roller, but they do come in handy for the front rollers.

I didn't find leader grips in my search but just checked them out. They look like they might do the job. Is there a video or tutorial to show how they work? Thank you!

You might take a look at this video by "Michael Quilts": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLa19XhTGuM
In particular, check out his side leaders.

The original instructions for making the side leaders are included in the middle of the video.

I hated the ones that came with my Innova. I found them very hard to open, close, and adjust. Replaced them with potato chip clips. Saw a seasoned, experienced quilter's longarm setup while shop-hopping my way from Kansas City to Missouri Star, she had dowels placed underneath her elastic which brings the sides of the quilt sandwich level.

You're right about the ones that came with our Innovas. They were the only things I didn't like about the machine. Luckily they were easily replaced with other solutions.