Community Forums

KentM · 03-15-2009, 06:37 AM

The motor home is a 2005 Dolphin LX 6355. This problem is with the lounge slide out. When the slide is fully extended, it appears to drop down too far and it has torn the seal away from the area where it is mounted on the main body of the coach. Then when the slide is retracted, about 18" of the seal will fall free unless I hold it in place while the slide is being retracted (stowed). (A touchy proposition at best). What I am trying to figure out, is what determines how far that slide drops down when it extends. From what I can see, there is a roller mounted to the floor of the coach that contacts the slide during the last portion of the travel when being extended. The forward area of the slide does not appear to drop down as far and therefore there is no tearing of the seal. Of course, it is very difficult to see just where that occurs. The visibility under the floor is extremely limited and I can't tell if there is any adjustment to that roller or not. The roller is right under the rear seat of the dinette area. Of course, this area is surrounded by carpeting which makes it just that much harder to see. I have not decided how much of a role the positioning of the outer mount plays in this operation. I am afraid that if the slide were shimmed up where it attaches to the big rack, it would effect the retracted position detrimentally. I seem to get a good seal when fully retracted and don't want to mess with that.
My purpose in posting this is to solicit ideas from the forum of users who may have "been there ,done that"....It seems that most good ideas to these problems come from this forum.

jayson · 03-21-2009, 04:59 PM

I"m having my seal replaced as we speak, became towen away from the coach on my last trip. Not allowing my dinnet slide to seal all the way up to the coach. I was told that the seal was also to act like a wipper like your side ones do and mine was just wore out. When I would put it in half way I could see my rollers from the outside, he said theres not subpost to be gap under there, the rubber wipes the bottom of the slide. I don't know if he's wright or not, guess I'll find out when I move that slide in and out a dozen time before I pay him..

KentM · 03-22-2009, 04:49 AM

It sounds as if the two slides do not work the same. Since mine was new, I have always been able to see the rollers when the slide was in motion. The bottom seal on mine does not "wipe" the bottom of the slide out. It only makes contact with the bottom at the very last couple of inches of outward travel. And during that last several inches is when it drops down onto the seal. In my case, it appears to drop down too far and is pushing the seal out of place.
For all I know, maybe the lower seal on mine was installed wrong at the factory and maybe it was supposed to "wipe" the bottom of the slide. Maybe someone else with a 2005 model can shed some light on that subject.

KentM · 03-22-2009, 04:28 PM

I have started a new thread regarding this problem because after reading the response from "jayson" to my earlier post, I am really beginning to believe that the lower slide out seal on my 2005 Dolphin LX was installed wrong at the factory. I would really appreciate it if someone with a 2005 model would take a look at a couple of photos and tell me how the slide seal is installed in their coach.
Photo one is a picture of the the material itself. It is approx. 1.75 inches wide and the double "D" section is about .75 inches high.
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11159&ca

Photo two shows a view under the slide that shows this material glued flat on the horizontal part of the steel frame that supports the slide when extended. The double "D" pieces are toward the outside and extend upward. The red arrow points to that surface. The response from "jayson" suggests to me that the double "D" material should be glued to the vertical surface shown by the blue arrow which would allow the long wide section of the seal to wipe along the bottom of the slide out.
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11160&cat

I realize that "jayson" says his coach is a 2007 and there may have been some major changes.

As usual, thanks for your time in comparing my photos to your slide out.

Rr · 03-24-2009, 03:52 PM

I have a 2005 Dolphin 5335 which has exactly the same problem I'll be interested to hear what others say.

KentM · 03-24-2009, 06:36 PM

Did you see my other post (revisited). Take a look at those photos and tell me if yours is rigged the same.
I'm a little disappointed that I have not heard from other 2005 owners regarding my request for comparisons or photos. But I just know there are others out there with similar problems. Now all we need to do is fix them...
Thanks for looking and let me know what your looks like.
Kent

Rr · 03-25-2009, 03:53 AM

Yeah I looked at your photos I'm sure mine is the same. I will be back in America next week as we're about to spend 3 months over there. We will be doing a 10000 mile tour, I will try and take a photo of mine and post on here if I can.
Good Luck

KentM · 03-25-2009, 05:46 AM

Great. thanks again for your time.
Kent

bdpreece · 03-25-2009, 11:56 AM

My 2004 Tropi-Cal seal is installed exactly the same way yours is except around where the rails enter the coach. There the seal is attached where the blue arrow shows and even has screws with washers to hold the rubber in place. When the slide is completely open it has dropped down so far the seal is completely mashed down. Also when fully extended the seal is up aginst what looks to be a metalic type tape attached to the bottom of the slide.

KentM · 03-25-2009, 01:03 PM

Yep, that sounds like mine. The area over the two racks is exactly as you describe. After reading a response in my first post, my concern is that the long seal should have been mounted with the wide flap pointing up against the bottom of the slide. My next effort is going to be to see what could be done to keep the slide from dropping as far as it does when fully extended. I hate to think that I might have to go somewhere and have that slide pulled out..

bdpreece · 03-25-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KentM

SNIP
My next effort is going to be to see what could be done to keep the slide from dropping as far as it does when fully extended. I hate to think that I might have to go somewhere and have that slide pulled out..

If yours is like mine if you remove the two covers on the outside of the slide rails you will find a large bolt. I was able to break mine loose using a breaker bar with a piece of pipe on the end. If you do this you can the place a jack under either the slide or the rail and position it where you want. However if you raise the slide too far on the rail it will bind on the inside going in so don't get carried away. Also I marked the original position before loosening the bold for reference.

KentM · 03-25-2009, 03:42 PM

Brian, I considered that approach but I was afraid of what you stated. It seems to me that repositioning the slide on the end of the rack would greatly affect the retracted position of the slide. In my opinion, the open position height is controlled by the roller contact on the bottom of the slide. I have no idea whether or not those rollers are adjustable or even accessible unless the slide is removed.
Maybe some more folks will respond with photos to give us a little more to go on. When it comes to repair centers, I don't know of one in the DFW area that I would trust or believe. I think I am going to make a road trip around the DFW area looking for the RV dealers and see if some of the larger ones might have a Dolphin in the lot that I could look at.

bdpreece · 03-25-2009, 05:35 PM

I suspect you have a Power Gear system. I found this on the Power Gear web site but have not tried to locate the adjustment points yet. http://www.powergearus.com/Admin/Tip...ile.asp?ID=335

KentM · 03-25-2009, 07:01 PM

Brian,
I can't quite make that drawing look like my system but I am going to take the drawing out to the MH tomorrow and see if I can match it to mine. I don't know if there is any place in the system that might have their name on it. If I can prove it is PG unit, it would worth a call to them and discuss the whole situation with them.
Thanks again for your help
Kent