Slides Leak Too

[Jerry Emert]

Typical Florida thunder storms today with driving rain.  All 3 slides are leaking.  Pulled in the curb side slide and bedroom slide and the leaks slowed to a trickle, probably just what was left.  Street side slide was slow leak in corner by drivers seat.  Seal problem?  Is this a do it your selfer?

[Gerald Farris]

Jerry,
I replaced the bedroom slide seal on my coach with no problems in about two hours, but I am a retired automobile mechanic, and I am used to replacing weather-strips. The biggest problem is removing the adhesive residue from the old seals. After that, it is just cutting, fitting the new seals, and sealing the gaps at the corners. If you have never replaced any automotive weather-stripping, it will probably be a pretty big learning curve for you, especially on the Monaco design slides.

Gerald  

[BJ Sprague]

There are no quick fixes to slide leaks.  We have three slides and they all have leaked at one time or another.  Faulty seals were contributory to some but not all of the leaks. (There are two good ways to avoid leaky slides - buy a coach with zero slides or stay away from rain

[Jerry Emert]

There are no quick fixes to slide leaks.  We have three slides and they all have leaked at one time or another.  Faulty seals were contributory to some but not all of the leaks. (There are two good ways to avoid leaky slides - buy a coach with zero slides or stay away from rain

I get it but...how to limit the damage?  In the kitchen slide the water was coming out of a hole in the underside of the kitchen cabinets, so I wonder what is the damage under there that I can't see?  Now that I look I can see where it's done it before but I just didn't recognize it.  No one to blame but me so we just keep moving forward.  As Gerald said It doesn't look like I can do it myself.  It's all leaks when the slides are extended and I can't even reach over the top enough to feel the seals.  Good thing I know a good tech.  Thanks for being patient with my venting.  Oh and I'm in Orlando so staying away from the rain wont be possible.
Jerry

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Jerry, I spend a lot of time trying to keep leaks from happening.  It is a full time job while camping.  After 5 years of ownership, I have gotten ahead of the so far.  It is amazing what causes them, from debris to wind to screws that have rusted.

My point is keep after them at some point you will get over that hill!

[Bill Schneider]

Jerry,
A common problem on the Monaco slides is the pooling of water on the topper awnings. All of the pooled water releases at once and comes down like a waterfall. The slide seals have a hard time dealing with that much water all at once. If your slides have dropped some in the opening, This problem just becomes worse as it can leave gaps in the wiper seals.
When you know a severe storm is coming, you may want to take some measures to see that water doesn't pool on your topper awnings. Also, depending on how old your topper awnings are, they may have shrunk some allowing this pooled water to fall directly on the slide roof.
If you find that your slides have settled, query the forum regarding this problem and you will find an excellent entry from Ed Buker along with pictures on how to fix it. However, this will probably be something you want a shop to do.
Given the age of your coach, you may want to have a reliable shop evaluate your slide adjustments anyway, but I would try the awning suggestion first to see if that doesn't solve your problem.
As others have said, slide leaks happen to all of us.
Good luck my fellow chief,
Bill (MCPO, Retired)

[Edward Buker]

I have become a believer in making sure that water does not pool in your topper awning over a slide. Basically it make no sense to fill a swimming pool over your slide and then at some point abruptly release it while your seals are in no mans land while traveling in. Beyond that it is a lot of weight pulling on the roof to sidewall fasteners which have a less than stellar history.

Tim Bentley and I passed back and forth the idea of making fabric gutters with an outlet in the center low spot of the topper awning and he actually made that happen and on a search you may come across that thread. Basically some kind of thin rip stop fabric was sewn into a U channel gutter that extends to the edge of the topper and rolls right up with the topper. Tim got to that project and he may want to comment on how they have been working. In Newport last summer I saw them and at that time he was quite happy. I have the older style Beaver slides with the sloped top that shed water quite well so for simplicity I burned row of holes with a soldering iron at the low center region of the topper that channels water away from the seal area. Basically the vast majority of water never comes near the slide seal in my design with my toppers and there is no pool to shed when closing the slides.

If I had a slide topper over a relatively flat slide top that leaked at the seals I would be looking at how could I mange the water to get it away from the seal and only replace the seal if they are truly defective or aged. The question.... is this a slide seal age/adjustment issue or is this a design water management issue. You will have to look for yourselves and see how the water flows and what the root cause is. The message is just having a seal replaced may not solve your particular problem.

I could envision a thin piece of plastic or tapered plastic maybe 1/8+ thick depending on the seal to slide clearances that sits a bit beyond the top seal or parks a bit under the seal. I would taper both edges to a 45 degree angle or less and adhere it with Lexol. This plastic piece would have to lift the seal while opening or closing the slide. This would be a physical water dam at the coach side of the slide taking much of the task away from the rubber to slide surface pressure fit as a seal. I know some postings have touched upon this before. This post is to comment on or derive some novel approaches to prevent water intrusion beyond the seals and post some new or past experience on this subject. Not always easy to stay dry....

Later Ed

[George H. Wall]

Ed, Were your slide toppers a factory install, or did you add them later? I have the sloped tops of the slides, but I have no slide toppers.  Henry

[Jerry Emert]

Master Chief, you weren't a DCCM I suppose?  Kidding.
Thank you both Ed and Bill for responses.  I've seen the posts about the topper issues in the past but for some reason didn't connect the two.  It was a very steep driven rain so I just supposed that the wind was pushing through the seals.  I've seen post about people putting large balls under the topper to drain off the water but I'm so new to the class A that I hadn't gotten around to getting a ladder yet.  Notice past tense, I bought one last night.  I will look at your suggestions and buy some balls for my toppers until I can figure something out.  
Funny thing is no leaks since I bought it except the funny one in front of the AC vent that I'm beginning to believe was condensation because it hasn't happened since I diverted the air away from it.  Last night on the way home, it was still raining and every time I put my foot on the break water dripped on my head and neck from the port side slide.  Then I noticed water start to streaming down from above the windshield in front of my wife.  I felt like I was on a sinking ship.  It's in a regularly scheduled trip to Orlando RV for them to finish up some warranty items for me.  They sealed the roof as part of our deal so they are fixing the one in the front.  Like you said we all get them.
Thanks again
Jerry (EWCS SW)

[Bill Schneider]

Jerry,
Be careful if you decide to use balls under your topper awning. Your awnings are probably acrylic. Acrylic will stretch under pressure and remain distorted. This could cause more problems for you than it solves. Another solution I have seen is to use PVC water pipe (1") and make a rafter that runs parallel with and in the middle of the slide. The water then drains away from the center much like a house roof. You don't need much lift. Raise it just enough to drain the water. You can make all the pieces so they just slip together for easy assembly and dis-assembly.
I go to FL for the winters so I know what these downpours are like. Sometimes it's so bad you just have to bring the slides in and wait it out. I have seen topper awning torn off from the winds of these storms.
Good luck,
Bill, (FTCM SS)

[Jerry Emert]

Jerry,
Be careful if you decide to use balls under your topper awning. Your awnings are probably acrylic. Acrylic will stretch under pressure and remain distorted. This could cause more problems for you than it solves. Another solution I have seen is to use PVC water pipe (1") and make a rafter that runs parallel with and in the middle of the slide. The water then drains away from the center much like a house roof. You don't need much lift. Raise it just enough to drain the water. You can make all the pieces so they just slip together for easy assembly and dis-assembly.
I go to FL for the winters so I know what these downpours are like. Sometimes it's so bad you just have to bring the slides in and wait it out. I have seen topper awning torn off from the winds of these storms.
Good luck,
Bill, (FTCM SS)

Bill I like that idea of building the PVC rafters!  It just occurred to me though that the curb side slide was leaking also and the awning was out.  I wonder how that happened?  Different thing that also may have been just caused by the sideways rain and wind.  I am learning so much!
Take care
Jerry

[Edward Buker]

George,

They were an option on a 2002 Marquis and the RV was ordered with them by the original owner. These were made by Carefree. Due to the design of the coach there is almost no slope so they belly easily with water, especially the main slide given how big the topper is. They do keep rain and debris off the top of the slide and work well enough with drain holes shedding the water right into the slide top depression. The ones I have use a Sunbrella like fabric. I have had to have some stiching replaced but they are original otherwise. If I did not have them I am not sure I would add them but I have never had an RV with slides and no toppers so I do not know how much I would lose or gain.

Later Ed

[Joel Weiss]

Ed, Were your slide toppers a factory install, or did you add them later? I have the sloped tops of the slides, but I have no slide toppers.  Henry

Henry:

I think you have the sloped-topped slides that were characteristic of the SMC Magnum chassis.  That's what we have on both of ours.  No toppers are needed because nothing pools on the slide top.  We do get some debris in the "groove" of the slide top, but if it' bad I just hose it off the day before we leave a location.

Joel

[Gary Wolfer]

I have a lot of expertise in the field of tarps. I owned a truck tarp shop for 13 years. Bottom line if you need a tarp eventually it will leak. No matter what kind of fabric you use it will stretch and shrink. The best material to replace your tarps would be PVC with a polyester scrim. No other material will hold water for long. PVC has a plasticizer in it that keeps it flexible. German made PVC is the best you can buy. 10 oz would be sufficient. I now own a 98 beaver with a super slide that is tapered that is the best senario if the seals are maintained. You do have to clean debris off the top before you bring the slides in Take my word for it Tarps are a bad idea period. All slides are a potential leak and a potential leak means rotten wood eventually and slide failure and rotten floors.

[Joel Ashley]

I'd be interested to know why they went from sloped-roof slideouts to toppers.  The material eventually stretches and sags and is not readily made taut again, the stitching rots out and the base material tears, the roller mechanism can jam, and the darned things annoyingly flap on windy nights without creative effort by the owner.  Been there, dealt with all those things since 2006.

I can see where they intercept most rain and help minimize needles and debris interfering with top seals upon slide-in, but is that worth their negative aspects?  All the things listed above have cost money, not to mention their initial cost, making their real value highly questionable.  Joel W.'s procedure seems simple enough.  Unless you were parked radically off side-to-side, I'd think an outward-sloped slide roof would keep water out fairly well.

Joel