Serrano Slide Out Molding

[Penguy]

I purchased a 2011 Serrano 31Z last August. I have just finished re-installing the bottom exterior molding on the slide out. This molding includes the rubber gasket that seals against the motor home when the slide is in. This molding, on my coach, flexes inward at the top when the slide is closed tight enough to let the rubber seal contact the side of the coach and outward again when the slide is open. Apparently, all this flexing let the caulk come loose and water flowed in behind the molding. As soon as this started the screws that hold the molding on began to rust. So with less than a year after taking delivery of the coach I had a molding ready to fall off the slide.

The screws used at the factory were #8 pan head screws with no coating to resist rusting. There were about 8 to 12 screws in total holding this molding on. Only one could be extracted during the repair. The rest were rusted through. My repair was done with #10 stainless steel screws and I added additional screws in between the original locations. Point is, for a coach of this expected quality, I would expect better attention to detail. I really shouldn't need to be re-installing items like this, this early.

Because this molding will continue to flex whenever the slide is opened and closed I am a bit concerned about keeping the top edge of the molding caulked and then having this same problem again. Anyone else had this problem? Any good suggestions on how to seal the top of this molding? I have used GE silicon caulk at this location for right now.

Thanks for any ideas you may suggest.

[anotherone]

for a permanent repair you can use a caulk called 3m 5200 which is primarily used in the marine world. Be forewarned on the tube it tells you it is permanent and they aint kiddin!!!!
I have been looking at the serrano and like the drive train. Its interesting watching the teething process on a relatively new model.

[billyb]

i had the same problem with my unit after the first year. the screws they use are junk. all the manufacturerers use the same junk screws. i replaced all the screws around both slides with stainless, and had to drill out 25% of them. so its not just the serranos.

[Penguy]

Thanks BillyB:

I had the same solution except that I doubled up on the screws as well. It looks good now. I few extra pennies to use stainless instead of the screws they use seems like very little to ask of someone building a quality coach.

[COTuscany]

Make sure that the stop on the slide is positioned correctly. We had one that was not and the slide was pulling in too far. A little flex, yes, but ours was pulling in so far the molding was pulling away from the slide.

[mlongval]

Ok (first post ever!)

I have a 2010 Serrano 31v. (2 facing slides). Just bought it a month ago. I am interested in preventing the same problems you had with the rusting screws. Is it an relatively easy fix for a noob like me. Anybody have pictures of the problem areas?

[Penguy]

Sorry to take so long on this reply Miongval, and congrats on your recent purchase of a Serrano. I like mine alot.

I have some pictures of the trim molding that I replaced the screws on, but I am in NC and away from my computer. I have my iPad but I cannot figure out how to attach the photos. Anyway, what I did to the molding can surly be done by just about anyone. If the caulk on this molding is still in good shape it will be as simple as taking out the # 8 galvanized pan head screws and replacing them with # 8 stainless pan head screws. Then make sure that you keep the caulk at the top of the molding in good shape. Then you should not have any problem with the molding.

In my case, the caulk was in bad shape when my unit came from the dealer and I didn't take care of it right away. The problem became worse when the screws rusted through and I did a little more to fix the problem.

I will also mention that I had another problem with the International Diesel in the unit. If the dealer did not go through a thorough description of the exhaust particulate filter and how and when to regenerate this filter, please ask him to do so. Or better yet, go to your local International Dealer and have the service manager explain the in and outs of this system. If you have driven diesel engine trucks before this regeneration business will be second nature. However, if you are like me, I had no idea what this was all about except for the warning decal on the wall next to the drivers seat. I reacted to the warning lights on the dash incorrectly and it cost me a tow, a delayed trip, and a pretty good bill at the International Dealer. The whole story is a little long and may be a subject of a future post. It could be that I am one of a few people who was not aware that diesels had exhaust filters that need to be regenerated some times.

I hope this answers your question and enjoy your Serrano, I sure like mine.

[mlongval]

Thanks Penguy. I will check the moulding and replace the screws as suggested. As for the exhaust filter how often on average should a truck diesel engine exhausf filter be regenerated?

thanks for the info. BTW how do you like the iPad?

[Penguy]

Mlongval, I am really not an expert on the regen thing. From the people that I have talked to it is a hit or miss thing depending on usage. If you do mostly highway driving the regen is supposed to happen automatically and the operator may not even notice it is happening. A delivery truck that idles slot will need to regen more often. Also, you cannot start a regen by yourself. You have to wait for the dash light to come on before you can begin a regen. There is a switch under the dash by the steering column that is labeled regen. It toggles both ways, one way to start regen and one way to cancel. Once the dash light comes on you can either drive the coach at 35 mph or higher until the light goes out or you can park and start the manual regen process.

Once again, I am not an expert in this. I encourage you to discuss this with a service manager from International Diesel. If you get some good info regarding this I will be interested in what you find out. My filter got totally full and I needed to have it cleaned at the dealer because I didn't know about the regen process.

I like the iPad,but I am still getting used to it. We got it to follow our finances and other matters while being away from home on extended trips. So far it works good for that. Most of that was due to hard work by my wife who set it all up. Oh, the iPad has some great games and can be used as a kendel. We also use it to watch Netflix on the coach TV. Still discovering new uses each day.