Author Topic: SLIDEOUT LEAK  (Read 7100 times)

charlie drake

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SLIDEOUT LEAK
« on: July 25, 2012, 02:14:51 PM »
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GOOD MORNING BAC MEMBERS -- HAVING AN ISSUE WITH A WATER LEAK IN DS FRONT SLIDEOUT. HAVE TRIED TO CORRECT IT BY APPLYING SILICONE TO ALL SEAMS, BUT HAS NOT HELPED.  MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU--HAVE YOU HAD ANY SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND OR SUCCESS WITH CORRECTING IT??? AND WHO DO YOU BRING THE COACH TO FOR FIXING IT??? WE LIVE IN FLORIDA, AND UNFORTUNATELY THE RAINY SEASON IS UPON US.  THANKS FOR THE HELP. CHARLIE DRAKE

Gerald Farris

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Re: SLIDEOUT LEAK
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2012, 04:54:48 PM »
Charlie,
It is impossible to tell where the leak is from your description. The hardest thing about fixing a water leak is normally finding where the origination point is located. However, Alliance Coach (formally Camp Monaco) in Wildwood Florida should be able to correct your problem.

Gerald

Bill Sprague

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Re: SLIDEOUT LEAK
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2012, 06:14:02 PM »
I second the recommendation for Alliance.

Perhaps I can add a little from my experience since I was blessed with a Beaver that leaked a lot.

Slide leaks seem to be from four different issues:

First, the slide itself is made with a sheet metal skin.  There are seams and rivets that can leak and need to be resealed occasionally.

Second, there are two sets of primary seals on each slide.  One set is for when it is extended and the other for when it is retracted.  They are held in place by the glue that was on them at assembly.  The seal can peal off, slip out of place or get hard with age.  They typically are very difficult to replace.

Third, the alignment of the slide may be off or have slipped with time.  That can cause the seals to not mate properly and allow gaps for water to get through.  

Fourth, the water flow in a heavy rain may be more than the sealing system can handle.  Our roofs are flat.  Depending on the levelness, wind and rain rate a substantial amount of water can find its way to one spot.  In my case that spot seems to be at the front of the bedroom slide that  has never been perfectly leak free.   I ended up using some non-standard methods to direct rain water away from the seals that I could not get to be leak free.  Specifically, I added a glue on gutter above the slide and some strips of thin aluminium to the side walls.  Between them, very little water gets to the marginally performing seals.  

Larry Fisk

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Re: SLIDEOUT LEAK
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2012, 12:46:15 AM »
Not sure if this helps any but one of our slides still leaked even though we had just replaced all the seals. A company named Elite RV Repair in Eugene, OR found the problem. It was basically a gutter system at the bottom of the slide that had gotten bent flat on one side and was allowing the water to come into the coach instead of directing it outside. The way they explained it to me is that the slides were not designed to seal perfectly, so these gutters were engineered to direct the water outside of the coach. Bottom line is the slide no longer leaks at all. They had to correct the bent over section of the gutter and the then seal it. I know this is a poor explanation, I'm sure Alliance Would know what I'm talking about. These drain systems were located at the ends of each slide.
Larry Fisk
2005 Patriot Thunder 40 ft.
525 (C-13) CAT Engine

Mike Humble

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Re: SLIDEOUT LEAK
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2012, 02:49:25 PM »
Elite also worked on the front DS slide on our 2008 Contessa.  There is some angle aluminum (1/2"x1/2") that goes around the inside edge of the slide.  This was installed at the factory in pieces and where the pieces met and at the corners they were not sealed.  We went through a big storm after the fix and it didn't leak.
Mike
2008 Marquis 45' Cat C-15 600hp

Robert Mathis

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Re: SLIDEOUT LEAK
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2012, 01:20:27 PM »
Both of my bedroom slides were leaking earlier this year. I applied eterna bond tape over that seams on the inner edges across the top of e slides and it corrected the problem. I just brought the slide in, go on a step stool, cleaned the area with acetone and put the tape on and ran it down with a plastic squeegee.