Water Leak?

[gator67]

I know the slide toppers are not intended to keep water off the top of the slide. In fact, after a rain, before I bring in the livingroom slide, I often have to squeegee to top of the livingroom slide before bringing it in to keep water from getting in the coach. I know the rubber seal squeegees it off when it comes in, but, there is nowhere for the water to go as it gets compressed against the coach.

To set the scene, on the inside of the coach on the slide, there is the wooden frame that runs along the side and along the top. Behind the front board is another board that does not come up quite as high as the board in front. In fact, when you look at the underside of the top part of the frame, you can see where the two pieces of wood come together. They are even at the bottom, but behind, the board does not come up as high.

We put the slide in the other night when we were expecting high winds and heavy rains, but I believe there was water on the slide from a previous rain. When I put the slide back out, some water dripped between the two boards onto the carpet. It was only a few drops. When I brought the slide in to look at the area behind the front frame, I noticed that there is a rise on top of the slide before it gets to the frame. I suspect that water on the top of the slide was compresseed against the coach and it had no place to go except between the two boards.

If you've never experienced this you probably cannot tell from my description what transpired. However, if this sounds familiar, I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has had this experience. I don't think it's a real leak, but rather water being compressed into the opening between the two boards.

[Old Rv'er]

I know we have the same problem, WRV did not seal correctly a metal strip on the slide in addition to the wipe seal not wiping the top of the slide off. Mine has a distinct dip in the middle so the wipe seal misses that water completely. If you can take the wood trim off, it's easier then to get to the metal which was not sealed correctly. Search this forum for Slide Seal Leaking and someone has posted some pictures which show what can be done. Some people have sealed it from the outside through the wipe seal, with a caulking gun. Some folks have used that tape which is tough and lasts forever on it with good results. I want to remove the wood trim so I can get up to that metal piece and caulk it up real good and see what i'm doing, and as yet I have not figured out how to remove the trim without breaking it, so have done nothing.

[OldForester]

We have not had the water leaks on top the slide, but we had to replace our slide topper awnings last week. We noticed they were deteriorating - perhaps too much sun/wind in Palm Springs over the last 6 years. Interesting job to do that, but it might be worth looking at to make sure your fabric is solid and not tearing or deteriorating.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldForester We have not had the water leaks on top the slide, but we had to replace our slide topper awnings last week. We noticed they were deteriorating - perhaps too much sun/wind in Palm Springs over the last 6 years. Interesting job to do that, but it might be worth looking at to make sure your fabric is solid and not tearing or deteriorating.

I just ordered new fabric for our slide covers after 9½ years. I guess it's time.

[megehrs]

Who did youget your fabrics from? Mine are both due...

Mark in Palmer, Alaska
2002 Winniebago Adventurer
2005 Saturn Vue Toad

[gator67]

My toppers are seven years old, and I see lots of spots of sunlight when I look from below... might be time to replace soon. You guys make it sound like a do-it-yourself project... doesn't seem like that to me!

Any idea the cost of replacing the slide topper fabric?

[bcbowers]

I've had good results with "Tough Tops" awning replacement fabrics. Here is the link: RV Slide Out Awnings, Replacement Fabric The material appears to be slightly thicker & stronger than the original material.

So far I've replaced the slide topper awnings on both rear slides. As their web site declares "It can be a one person job but better done with 2 - people". I will be tackling the large DS living room slide topper once the weather turns warmer here in Colorado.

You should measure the material width as it is currently installed but observe the distance of the material from the inside edge of the end cap. You should find that the distance at both ends is close to 3/4" or less. I used 5/8" as a preferred distance which worked out great. Use a 2nd person and measure twice (just to be safe)!

The directions are pretty good on the web site but I found that using 2 - medium sized screwdrivers worked well for unwinding & holding the tube. You open the slide and remove the anit-bellowing device (don't worry about its position because it most likely will need to be re-installed using new holes). There are 2 - holes in the tube end cap that look more like slots. I used one screwdriver at a time to rotate the tube and then switch to the other screwdriver and the other hole to rest a screwdriver against the mounting bracket which holds the tube in place. Their instructions talk about using an ice pick or similar tool to go through one of those 2 - holes and into another small hole inside the cap. I found my "screwdriver" routine to be easier. I would imagine it's possible to damage the holes in the cap with the screwdrivers but I haven't experienced any problems. Don't get in a hurry!

The awning material slides in & out of slots. The tube has a slot that is open once the anti-bellowing device is removed. The other slot is in the metal articulated shield that wraps around the tube when the slide is closed. The ends of that slot are crimped. You have to open both ends with a screwdriver &/or pliers to allow the old material to slide out and the new material to slide in. The trick is to open the end sufficiently to make sure the material doesn't snag! Use plenty of dry silicone spray in the slot as recommended by the vendor. One person pulls the material across the top of the slide while another person guides the material into the slots.

The anti-bellowing device must be re-attached so that the "arm" points to the 11 O'clock or 1 O'clock position depending upon which side of the coach you're on. Typically, the DS position is 11 O'clock while the PS position is 1 O'clock. You will most likely have to drill new holes unless you get REAL lucky. I was able to reuse 1 - hole.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.

[Refuse1]

I can also recommend "Tough Tops". I bought and installed them last spring and the quality is great and they are fairly easy to install. The instructions are straight forward and well explained.

[OldForester]

Gator,

I used a mobile RV tech to help me install them, and I'm glad I did. He took the part and model numbers from our large living room slide and our wardrobe slide and order the material directly from Dometic, who made our slide toppers. Took about a week to get it from Elkhart, Indiana to Palm Springs, CA. Actually quite a bit of fabric, and it cost me $425 for the fabric, plus a couple hundred for his help with the installation.

For me it was a minimum two person job. First you have to take the over off the awning, which has two screws on each end holding it on. Then you have to put cotter pins or a small screwdriver in the spring end of the awning to keep it from unwinding on you when you drill out the rivets WRV used in the awning attachments to the coach, and slide the awning back or forward to a place where the beaded material will come out of the channel it's attached ot on the coach. There's usually a spot where the channel is widened for it to slide out.

Then, when you and the helper get the awning off the coach, you have to slide/pull the material out of its channel on the awning winder. There's another beaded piece of material that holds it in the winder. To be able to slide our fabric out of the slot in the winder we had to take the end off that had the spring mechanism in it. That involved drilling out three more rivets, removing the cotter pin/screwdriver that kept it from unwinding and counting the number of revolutions it took to unwind the end cap, so we could wind it back up to the same spot after we put the material in the winder.

After putting the material in the winder we reinstalled it on the coach and put stainless screws in place of the rivets where it was attached to the coach.

Dometic supplied instructions when we order the material. I would tackle this job myself with a helper, now that I have seen it done, but I wasn't ready to do it until I saw it, hence the helper who knew how to do it.

That's my 2 cents worth -- love the new awnings but lifting positioning, and handling the awnings is a 2-person job in my opinion.

When we got the material in the winder, and re-pop-rivetied again, and wound it back up the number of revolutions we used to remove it, we pinned it again so it wouldn't unwind, then reinstalled it.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by megehrs Who did youget your fabrics from? Mine are both due... Mark in Palmer, Alaska 2002 Winniebago Adventurer 2005 Saturn Vue Toad

I ordered the fabric from Tough Tops, better material than original and comes in four colors at no extra cost. We got the sand since our maiun color is gold. Cost me less than $300 for both, incl shipping. About a 5 day wait plus shipping time.