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Topic: Living room slide bladder DIY (Read 11100 times) previous topic - next topic

Living room slide bladder DIY


I'm finally talking about changing  my living room slide bladder. It has been sealed closed since purchase. I know most have already traveled down this road. I'll be doing myself and currently just figuring out parts.
I'm sure I will need the improved vacuum manifold also. I was planning on purchasing parts from HWH, but was wondering what would be the preferred seal or do you just purchase what they currently sell?
Ref
Slide room air seal "bladder" replacement news from HWH
Bladder Repair with Delamination Prevention
I also will be addressing  delamination issues.  Will be a separated post during work.
I do have capabilities to remove the slide as required for my year.  Will also be a separate post.
Proposed needed items
1 New improved Bladder
2 New improved vacuum manifold
3 Thick plastic to seal off coach with slide removed
4 Aluminum tape to seal plastic
5 Plastic scrapers for old seal adhesive  removal
I'm sure there will be a ton of other needed stuff. Pre planning  for this fall. Any insight would be appreciated.
This is the last repair item on my endless list since purchase. Really looking forward to its completion. Doesn't shorten the want list though
Thanks Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #1 –
One suggestion to look at is rather than a new vacuum manifold is to add a vacuum pump.  A lot of the Newell guys have done that since Newell didn't have any way to evacuate the air from the bladder other than the air bleeding out.  Not sure of the cost of each but might be worth a look at.  If you're interested I could point you to a post on newellgurus.com.

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #2 –
Quote from: folivier –
One suggestion to look at is rather than a new vacuum manifold is to add a vacuum pump.  A lot of the Newell guys have done that since Newell didn't have any way to evacuate the air from the bladder other than the air bleeding out.  Not sure of the cost of each but might be worth a look at.  If you're interested I could point you to a post on newellgurus.com.
[/quote

Rudy had mentioned the same prior also. Yes I am very much interested in it. A dedicated 12v vacuum pump would be quite and efficient. Yes please. I'm not ordering parts this month, but in a month I would like to know what I need and were to purchase. Thank you
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #3 –
Scott this post should explain everything, at least from a Newell's perspective.  I think you're right so I'd contact Rudy, he might have a bit more info pertaining to his FT.
hwh slide seal vacuum pump installation

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #4 –
Very helpful. Thanks
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #5 –
Quote from: dsd –
I'm finally talking about changing  my living room slide bladder.

I do have capabilities to remove the slide as required for my year. 

Wow!  This is going to be an impressive write-up to see when you're done  ^.^d

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #6 –
When you talk to HWH be sure to ask them how and where to take the measurements foe the new bladder. When I ordered mine they were very specific on what they wanted.

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #7 –
Quote from: rbark –
When you talk to HWH be sure to ask them how and where to take the measurements foe the new bladder. When I ordered mine they were very specific on what they wanted.
Yes I was aware of that prior. Don't want to get the wrong size. I'm actually interested in any improved seals they have also. Would like a lifetime warranty, mine not the seal. Don't want to repeat the process when I could do it better the first time. I live in the desert and although its only in direct sunlight when in use it's still 110+ in the summer time and real dry. Hoping to be able to flee the summer and head way north. Thinking of the coach of course
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #8 –
The single bestest thing about the new, improved HWH bladder seal is that mine does not need air pressure to stay inflated and seal perfectly.  That and it should outlive all of us.  My aux air compressor stays off when parked except to re-level the coach every few weeks!!!  But it does need beaucoup vacuum to retract it away from the slide completely.  So the addition of a 12v vacuum pump to the existing vacuum generator may suffice instead of the beefier HWH vacuum generator...which cost me 3/4 of a $CB.

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #9 –
Quote from: dsd –
Yes I was aware of that prior. Don't want to get the wrong size. I'm actually interested in any improved seals they have also. Would like a lifetime warranty, mine not the seal. Don't want to repeat the process when I could do it better the first time. I live in the desert and although its only in direct sunlight when in use it's still 110+ in the summer time and real dry. Hoping to be able to flee the summer and head way north. Thinking of the coach of course
Scott

Give them your coach #, They ship out each order by number. They have all the part numbers they sent out the first time.

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #10 –
Quote from: turbojack –
Give them your coach #, They ship out each order by number. They have all the part numbers they sent out the first time.

I was unaware of that. Yes I will have coach number. Just plotting on vacuum manifold conversation to vacuum pump. Been distracted with camera install
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #11 –
@dsd

Are you planning to fully remove the slide?  I suspect that is required to access the bladder?  What is your plan for support/removal of slide to access the bladder?  I need to do mine on my 2000 U320 40' unit.  My bladder is fine, it holds air without issue, but something has happened and water leaks between the bladder and the track/rail it is attached to.  I suspect that the slide drug on the bladder and broke the bladder/adhesive bond.  Looking forward to see how you attack this task!

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #12 –
does yours leak on the top of the slide?

On mine, the slide room roof had sagged in the middle (maybe from having the slide out 80% of the time for 20 years, and the bladder pushing down on it?

MOT did a LOT of work to get the sag out of the room - We all thought it was the bladder, but that is NOT what it turned out to be.

on a 2000 you will need to bring the room all the way out of the coach to work on the bladder- Most shops use a forklift or two or an adjustable staging system on wheels

Not for the faint of heart....

Tim Fiedler

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Tim Fiedler –
does yours leak on the top of the slide?

On mine, the slide room roof had sagged in the middle (maybe from having the slide out 80% of the time for 20 years, and the bladder pushing down on it?

MOT did a LOT of work to get the sag out of the room - We all thought it was the bladder, but that is NOT what it turned out to be.

on a 2000 you will need to bring the room all the way out of the coach to work on the bladder- Most shops use a forklift or two or an adjustable staging system on wheels

Not for the faint of heart....

Tim Fiedler

Sure Start Soft Start - home of SureStart soft starters TCER Direct - Installation wire for generators, car chargers and pools - home of Generac Approved Aluminum and Copper TCER Composite cable Home | generator-gas-prod - home of X-Riser Gas Risers for PE installation Call me at 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro

No, it's not leaking from the top.  There is a silver aluminum rail that the bladder is installed inside of around the entire perimeter of the slide opening in the wall.  This aluminum rail is not continuous along the bottom of the slide opening.  There is a joint about 1/3 of the length from the rear of the coach and water leaks under the bladder inside of the rail and out of that joint.  I have other delamination issues at the openings underneath the slide for the slide arms that also cause leakage into the interior of coach, but I have confirmed the leak at the aluminum rail watching the water drip in at this point.  My slide is going to require a ton of work to get everything sealed back up unfortunately.  Fortunately I live in CA and it only leaks when extended. 

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #14 –
Quote from: turbojack –
Give them your coach #, They ship out each order by number. They have all the part numbers they sent out the first time.

So I did contact them (HWH)and the build number was nothing they wanted for my coach. They required the height and length of the slide, not the size of the opening. Part not available but ordered and they will build when they get to my order. Sounded like 60+ days or longer, part number RAP93788 $1840.00  will give me time to build and install the vacuum motor system.
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #15 –
Scott,
This is going to be a nice thread on your adventures with the slide bladder.

I still have not fixed my leaking bedroom slide bladder. To survive the winter, I pushed Air Conditioning type of insulation into the gap to keep water and bugs out. I was planning to travel to FOT in the spring to have it fixed. Will HWH in Iowa replace the bladder in a FT? Iowa is 15 hours away from me. FOT is 3 days away.

What's the story on the new and improved bladder for the slides? I'm hopeful that once I get mine replaced I won't have to go through that again.

Vacuum pump vs. manifold. What is the story with that?

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #16 –
Quote from: cucotx –
Scott,
This is going to be a nice thread on your adventures with the slide bladder.

I still have not fixed my leaking bedroom slide bladder. To survive the winter, I pushed Air Conditioning type of insulation into the gap to keep water and bugs out. I was planning to travel to FOT in the spring to have it fixed. Will HWH in Iowa replace the bladder in a FT? Iowa is 15 hours away from me. FOT is 3 days away.

What's the story on the new and improved bladder for the slides? I'm hopeful that once I get mine replaced I won't have to go through that again.

Vacuum pump vs. manifold. What is the story with that?
I understand that HWH will work on there products but nothing else. I certainly would give them a call or email. Big dog Jerry stated that they were much more robust and should last our life time and that they will stay in contact when deflated. And that they require more vacuum to retract fully. They initially told me I would need to replace my vacuum control with there new and improved. I had previously spoke to Rudy and others that have installed electric vacuum pumps. They wanted like $850 for there HWH pump setup. I told them I had already installed a electric vacuum pump system and wouldn't need theirs. I'll post more on that as I build it. Your side is much easier to replace than mine. You are able to disconnect and push your slide inward to expose bladder. My 2001 requires removal of the slide and during its removal I'll be addressing delamination repairs.
Scott

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #17 –
Quote from: cucotx –
>>>>>>>Will HWH in Iowa replace the bladder in a FT? Iowa is 15 hours away from me. FOT is 3 days away<<<<<

Yes, HWH will replace your bladder. Their labor rate is also much lower than FOT.

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #18 –
FYI, the reason they needed the size of the slide, is because the early slide rooms where made too big for the hole. We replaced seals regularly on new coaches at first. I personally did 5, on less then one year old coaches. That and the HWH hose end repair, then upgrade hoses when the repair didn't work. kept us busy on new coaches.

The early slides  had to come out, we had a custom table. I believe RnR still has the table they bought from FT. Some of this was revised via a smaller seal among other things.They built new molds for rooms I believe. Thus, the varying room sizes.Thus the question.

I did a Prevost bus for the owner of Amway at FT, it took 2 forklifts, what a job.That coach was the prototype for HWH and Prevost. They never planned to ever change a seal.


Chris

Re: Living room slide bladder DIY

Reply #19 –
Would not hesitate to visit HWH.  In 2018 after the Maritime Motorcade we had 2 or 3 coaches parade into Moscow for bladder replacement.  I would book an appointment early so they had the parts you need.  Probably take until Spring to get an appointment.  We stayed in Moline, IL just across the river at The Element Hotel.  Very nice and reasonable.  It's down the street from the Deere visitor's center or a 5 min. walk.  Try and schedule a tour of the Deere Factory.  Remarkable!  If it's baseball season the KC Royals high A affiliate: The River Bandits are right across the bridge.  They are in Davenport, IA.  I think we were in and out in 2 days.  Great folks at HWH and they'll bring it all back to spec.  It was cheaper than getting it done elsewhere as mentioned, but based on what I'm reading here the prices are up 50% plus since my visit.    Prices are really getting worrisome.