Raining pretty good here just east of Memphis TN. Our bedroom slide is a standup desk with a window - bed is north south.
Slide bladder is good, holding air, replaced 1.5 years ago.
Floor is very wet on the side of the bed by the bedroom slide- wetter at back than front. Much of the water is under the carpet and under the sound deadening underlayment under the carpet. The sound deadening underlayment is foam at bottom, rubber at top - so it traps the water under the rubber top layer.
I have pulled back the carpet and underlayment as far as possible, sopped up water, and running 2 fans blowing to help dry it.
Still raining, rain will stop around 9AM tomorrow, and then we will drive 235 miles to just west of Little Rock AR. I can't inspect slide until arrival at Little Rock. Too much slippery ground and unstable ground to use a ladder in this location - plus the rain.
Based on another active thread, with the slide out, will I see the pin lock hole at top easily even with the slide topper? One, or two? Middle or outer edges? I'll start with that, look for drain holes under, and blow it out if I find it/them. Wouldn't the "mess" blow outside the coach versus inside?
Any other tips of what to look for? Slide topper is in fair condition and I resealed the seam recently.
Tim Fiedler
Gen-Pro.biz
630 240-9139
Dan, your rig is the same year as ours and I have never seen what your describing as pin lock holes on either one of our slides. I discovered after driving ours in the rain that the bedroom slide leaked and after removing the slide trim I was able to lay on the floor with a flashlight and look for the leak while my son sprayed the outside with a water hose. While I was looking I realized that the floor was getting real wet with no sign of water running down the inside of the wall between the slide bottom and the floor. What I found was the water was going through the wall from top to bottom because the raw edge of the slide opening wasn't sealed. I fixed that by sealing the edge of the entire opening with black polyurethane sealer. First I taped around the entire opening with painter's tape then that night using a flashlight to see inside the opening I applied the urethane with a caulking gun and smoothed it with a putty knife moistened in mineral spirits. Finally I removed the tape and removed any excess caulk from the paint with a paper towel and more mineral spirits. Then I spent one month replacing the rigid foam insulation between the framing members, the wood floor itself and finally the pad and carpet. It hasn't leaked again in three years
You're living my worst nightmare, having a leak in the rain with no way to fix it before it stops raining. I carry some 3M tape to seal up the slide opening but I don't think it will stick to a wet surface. Your situation has renewed my interest in finding some tape that will do that..........just in case.
If you can remove the trim around the slide you will be able to see the entire bladder, and it could be as simple as something caught between the slide and bladder, like a wire from inside, a small twig or something similar. It doesn't take much to keep the bladder from sealing and allowing water intrusion.
Good luck with it.
Dan, has it stopped raining? What's happening with your leak? Hope everything's good.
Same was happening to me as T-Man.. Caulked all the gap around the slide.. thought the bladder needed more pressure but after thinking about it and really looking it over I had a 1/16" to 1/8" gap so now its filled and rained today.. will check it tomorrow to see if I figured it out.
I pulled the inside slide surround yesterday. Looking from inside outwards, with slide retracted I can only see the top, left side, and 1/2 of right side (bed is in the way to see the rest). The seal looks good with the slide in. No air gaps. No wires or debris.
With the slide extended, I see a tiny amount of light at top of slide between bladder and the fiberglass of the slide, around 6 to 8 inches in length. Very minor amount of light showing through. I think I either need more air pressure, or to build up the slide fiberglass in this area (less than 1/16th"). Or perhaps shim upwards a tiny bit.
The two sides look good. At bottom, there is a small air gap on either side of the slide "slot". I see no way to remedy this. The slot plastic protector causes a air gap at that point.
The only way I will know for sure about the water intrusion will be at some point in the future, when we are in one location for a while. When major rain is coming I will have to pull the slide surround and watch for intrusion.
We are now in a corps of engineers park south east of Tulsa OK, with severe thunderstorm warnings. We need to leave here tomorrow morning, so we plan to pull the slide in for the duration. We will probably pull in both slides as the storms are due from 10 PM until early morning.
Dan, be careful of putting too much air pressure to the slide bladders!. I believe 15 lbs is the correct amount.
Too much air will do one of two things or possibly both..
1) crush the fiberglass around the slide
2) pop the bladder
You can remove the plastic protector, bevel the edges to get rid of the air gaps
and reinstall.
Tilt coach slightly so top of offending slide will drain positively away from coach. If that is source might slow the leak.
I had debris get caught on top between bladder and slide which caused just enough of a bridged gap to let I water.
Hope you figure it ouT
Also, check upper corner clearance lights, they can leak into the coach when the sealant breaks down
Tim Fiedler
Gen-Pro.biz
630 240-9139
Will coach let me re-level slightly with slides out? Or do it before extending slides? No debris on top of slide - looked both inside with surround removed and from outside.
I'll check all clearance lights. Already inspected all roof penetrations. I plan a little resealing of screws holding awning to roof as well.
Time for a update. We have been traveling a good bit, and had some bad weather so it took me a while to get back to this.
I believe I have solved water intrusion to the bedroom floor next to the slide, and I tested with a water hose today.
I retracted the slide in, then from outside the coach checked the bottom and lower curve of the slide - on the fiber glass wall itself below the inflatable bladder. What I found was a bit of separation in several spots of the outer layer of fiberglass from the underlying wall core.
My theory is rain water was flowing down the wall around the slide, and going in that outer layer, and working through the wall layers to the bedroom floor. I sealed it with a bead of clear silicone - to seal that outer layer to the rest of the wall core. (I used blue painter tape while sealing to ensure no silicone hit the full body paint)
This is NOT serious delamination, but does appear to be minor delam in that one lower slide bottom (several spots) and lower curve. (both sides). Water was only intruding at the back (rear) of the slide, but I sealed the entire bottom and both lower curves. This is not visible unless you get up close and look directly at this area with the slide retracted in.
Water hose test successful - no water on floor. Waiting for a sustained rain to see if this is the end solution.
I plan to replace the sweep blade at top of slide, because it looks heavily degraded. I need to call FOT and order it - for both living room and bedroom.
I also intend to retract the living room slide and carefully inspect the same lower end and curves of that slide as well. We are in SD and had a snow storm the past 2 days, so I have delayed checking the living room slide for now. No water intrusion around living room slide, but needs to be checked.
One more thing. I had mentioned that I removed the inside entire surround, and inspected the gasket seal with daylight outside and dark in the bedroom (lights off blinds closed). The inflatable seal was good with slide in, but a minor (1/16 or so) air gap at top center of the slide with it deployed out.
By pushing up on the ceiling of the slide with it deployed, I could push upward 1/16 to 1/8 right in the center and the air gap (bladder seal) sealed up entirely. So the center of the bedroom slide ceiling was sagging a tiny bit with the slide deployed out. We have no upper cabinets in this area, and our slide has a desk in it.
When I reinstalled the top header of the surround, I secured the two ends first, then pushed upward on the middle slide ceiling as I installed the screws from header to slide itself in the middle. This in theory has solved the minor air gap at top center of bedroom slide. (I cannot visually inspect with header in place, and slide topper outside prevents viewing it looking from outside). The header wood should now be holding the middle of the slide ceiling (roof) up taking the very minor sag out.
T-Man and David were correct about causation, but I had a hard time visualizing what I was looking for. I kept looking inside the coach around the bladder, instead of examining the outside wall around the slide opening.
I had to put a second set of grabbers. They are stainless metal plates in the middle of my slides when I had my coach. The enter of the slide saved a bit an these,were made at hwh and installed there. Stopped the issue of water intrusion. It is why your slide goes up after it extends.
Is this what you were talking about? I inspected ours today because of this post. This is a picture of the bottom curve around our living room slide. The black is the bladder and as you can see the wall will let water in. I am not sure if this is what you were talking about but even if it is not thanks for posting I don't think I would have ever thought to look for a crack there if not for this post.
Yep, that's it. I ran the bead of seal from the black part of the bladder (edge, not inflatable part) to the outer fiberglass layer. Top center of your photo shows the type of outer layer separation that lets water in.
It rained and snowed since I sealed it, no more water leak.
I have sealed both living room slide and bedroom slide outer fiberglass layer, top to bottom. If the slide bladders are replaced in the future, this will have to be sealed again.
As part of any bladder replacement this area should be sealed.
I have the top of slide squeegees/scrapers due in on Tuesday and will replace them. I also ordered the 303 fabric guard, and will treat both slide toppers mid week next week. Amazon.com: 303 30604CSR (30604) Fabric Guard Trigger Sprayer, 32 Fl. oz.:... (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000221H08/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I already seam sealed the threads and seams at top of the slide toppers fabric. Amazon.com: Gear Aid Seam Grip WP Waterproof Sealant and Adhesive for Tents... (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016HS8XC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) This will change the color of your slide topper along the seams, but if you do only the top you won't see it anyway. For two slide coaches, I recommend a double order (4 tubes total) if you decide to do it.
This comes with a very nice one use brush that screws directly onto the tube. Two tubes, two applicator screw on brushes, two small independent brushes in each two pack.
I have been busy the last few weeks... Did the mirrors today (led turn signal..) but I fixed my crack where your is for the last time(I hope).. did this approx 6 times but it keeps cracking.. Ill do a updated fix on it also.. found the problem (I think)..
fiberglass is not attached to the body at all in that area.. added 4 or 5 self tap screws in that area to the tube behind it.. glassed over it hopefully for the last time..cant find my phone cord.. will post a pic later
What are y'all using for sealant?
I have a similar problem with wet floor toward the front of the slide in front of the couch. There are two possible places for intrusion: 1- the slide window needs some clear caulking along the bottom and 2- I have a small delamination problem on the outside next to the front of the slide. I'm not sure how to do with the fiberglass separation other than to fill the space with sealant; I'm reluctant to do this, since I concerned that the sealant will be in the way of the "proper" fix later. Since it is covered and I've been occupied with the RV garage, I've been putting this off until later, but I'm following this with a lot of interest.
I think you made the better choice with "black polyurethane sealer". Due to time, location, and weather I did the easy way out with clear silicone seal. I may regret silicone in the future if I seek a permanent fix with Extreme in Nacogdoches. (I did make sure to keep the silicone off the exterior paint).
It does appear to me that with any type seal, every time the slide bladder is replaced this will need to be redone again.
Try 3M 4200 UV fast cure. White or harder to find black
3M Marine Adhesive/Sealant Fast Cure 4200, 06560, White, 1/10 Gallon:... (https://www.amazon.com/3M-Marine-Adhesive-Sealant/dp/B01CDWJLHU)
3M Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 4200 Black 10oz. for sale online | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/p/3M-Marine-Adhesive-Sealant-Fast-Cure-4200-Black-10oz/1500402351?iid=333188279553)
Thanks for the suggestion. Just out of curiousity why 4200 semi permanent instead of 5200 permanent?
3M 4200 fast cure will stick and seal very well, is UV resistant, is tough but when it comes time to remove it it can be removed. Not easily but with some work it comes off. The 3M 5000 is much tougher and nearly impossible to get off. It cures slower. The 5000 is used as an adhesive to bond internal bulkheads to the hull in boats, even where they are in water. I used it to glue my deck boards to the joists on my deck 18 years ago. Very few have come loose, only where not enough was used. No nails or screws.
There are other products out there that folks will recommend like SikaFlex and M1. I don't have as much experience with those. The white M1 looks dirtier after some time than the 3M 4200 where I have used it. Where this application is inthe slide opening I would likely use black. Tape around the opening carefully to minimize cleanup.
My concern would be to not use some solution (seal) that hardens so much that it creates a whole new issue when slide bladders need to be replaced in the future.
Heating and cooling, and slide coming in and out seems to call for some flexibility in the sealant used as well?
The solution as of now is to use a very small bead of sealant between the outer edge of the bladder (non inflatable edge) and outer layer of fiberglass. If that is a super hard seal, what happens when a bad bladder is removed, and a new bladder installed? Will there now be a bad seal of the edge (again), or will it interfere with removal of old and placement of new?
The "best" solution is likely to add 2 or 3 days to bladder replacements, and do a permanent fiberglass fix of the entire wall surround around (the entire cutout) in the slide cutout. Major expense and time versus simply pealing back the bladder edge sealant when removing a bad bladder, placing the new bladder in, then resealing bladder edge to outer layer of fiberglass.
I went with silicon I know has flexibility, and can be pealed back during slide bladder replacement.
I assume there has to be a perfect permanent fix - and my bet is it involves removing the entire slide, and then new fiberglass applied, healing time, and then finally installing a new bladder.
For a self fix, I even thought of flowing Elmer's wood glue down into the worst portion of the separated outer layer (bottom of side cutout only), let that heal, then top with flexible sealant. And I personally decided to seal top to bottom on the verticle, as well as the bottom horizontal edge of the slide cut out. Due to water flow, the bottom of the cutout, and the curve of the bottom, is where most water will penetrate.
Slide bladder replacement isn't a continual maintenance issue, so i wouldn't be overly concerned about removal of caulking. I used polyurethane that is UV resistant and feel certain that when the time comes it can be removed with a knife blade.
I periodically check the the entire slide opening edge to make sure that it is still sealed using a flashlight at night. For me with cataracts it's almost impossible to accomplish that in daylight due to the white sidewall reflecting sunlight while trying to peer into the black slot.................way too much contrast.
I also got better results doing the caulking at night with a flashlight. YRMV
It looks like the bond between the outer skin and the frame is failing. If there is any gap it should get filled with a new adhesive and some clamping pressure applied. Then a thin layer can be applied to the frame surface between the bladder and the outer skin.
I haven't done this myself. It probably seems easier than it is.
I added 35yr exterior caulk in black.. Clean and working find. Worked through the last rains ^.^d .. Its a slight separation and nothing to be concerned with to much but left undone will cause Havoc on the interior..Thought it was the bladder leaking first go around (really second and third). Finally dawned on me that the water was running down the sides and into the little gap... causing water protrusion.
All Fixed now
FWIW, the products if choice in the Seattle and Alaska boating community are "Sikaflex" over 4200. Not sure if the company makes a competitor to 3M 5200.
Don't see very much 3M being used in the boatyards and in aircraft floats. But every marine store has copious amounts of various Sikaflex on hand.
That all being said a selection of 3M products is stocked at all Home Droot and West Marine stores. Doesn't have great shelf live, try to buy either brand where is sells with some regularity.
I used 5200 thinned down on a recently completed aircraft float project, per some info found on user group on web. Was advised later by float manufacturer (Pee Kay) they don't use 3M, they advised Sikaflex now.
Not an expert, just my experience.
Thanks Roger I thought that might be the case but you know what they say about assuming.
Sikaflex will probably work. It is less expensive that the 3M stuff. I have a tube to try out but haven't yet. I did try both black and white M1. The black was good where I used it. I have a couple tubes of the 3M 5000 left over from my deck project from 18 years ago. All that have not been opened have been fine when I finally did open them. Once open if not well sealed they will cure up in the tube. I usually have one of the small 3 oz tubes with us for what comes up on the road and leave the bigger tubes for projects where it will get used up.
This is one of those projects for which where there are several good choices. Choose and do.
Black, sticky, not fast drying and highly UV resistant is what's needed.
I have the 3M 4200 on order will give it a try when it gets here. Hopefully I can do it without making a mess.
Mask off anywhere you don't want 4200. When done peel off tape before it sets up
Tim Fiedler
Gen-Pro.biz
630 240-9139
Thanks for the advice I used the 4200 black. The sealant was a dream to work with. I have a hard time doing this type of stuff neatly but I taped it all off first and to be honest you really can't tell I did a thing if you didn't know to look for it.