Community Forums

broadrun · 09-10-2018, 10:46 AM

So, I've had a leak on the front edges of both of my drivers side slides. This leads me to believe that I'm not getting the MH level and in fact, the front of the RV is a little lower than the rear, leading to the rain water running forward on the tops of the slides and then down and into the slide seals and onto my floor. My seals actually look good but something must be wrong. Could this water penetration be solely the result of poor leveling on my part? Is it possible to have water penetrate even with good seals due to poor leveling. I'm assuming so because the seals aren't full proof obviously (even a residential shower curtain leaks with a good seal if you direct the shower head stream into the seam).

Maybe I've answered my own question but I'll leave that up to the forum. Knowing that I've had these two leaks, I've purposely leveled the RV so it leans (slightly) in the direction of the slides (drivers side) with the thinking that the water would run away from the slides towards the street and not into my coach. Am I wrong on this? Logically I figured that water can't run uphill on its own so didn't think it could still make it into the coach with this setup. Now I'm wondering if I'm increasing the runoff volume too much to the drivers side.

Bottom line is that I'm now tearing out the small section of wet and rotted subfloor and will replace with new but need to stop this leak or I'll be back here again soon.

Thanks.

walt2137 · 09-10-2018, 01:53 PM

Yes it makes sense to level with the driver side a little lower on a one slide coach but your leak could be caused by the sidewall seperation that is a common problem withthe older Monaco coaches, when you put the slide out the awning pulls on the sidewall pulling it away from the roof cap and breaking the seal that is the bad news. The good news is that itis a pretty easy repair it will just take time if that is your problem i have posted the repair procedure on the forum a few yrs ago or i can try to find it and post again.

broadrun · 09-10-2018, 02:11 PM

Thanks Walt. I'll look for the repair post that you mentioned but if I have that problem, is it easy to identify? Assuming a visual inspection would confirm the problem.

walt2137 · 09-10-2018, 03:36 PM

Yes the Dips and the Endeavors mostly used rivets that rusted into ( ‘you should be able to see where the sealant seperated ) and the Dyn i know has screws that also rusted into. I used SS screws when i did my sidewall.
Get on the roof and inspect the seam then have someone to put the slide out and check.

JRPA · 09-11-2018, 07:11 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlhHRoE0Aw

our 2007 Monaco Camelot started leaking and the drivers side front slide carpet would get wet everytime it rained. I found the bottom of the slide had seperated some from the side walls and with some research found out this is a common problem with Monaco Coaches. I installed the Guardian Plates on this slide and solved the problem. Great product and have heard nothing but good reviews from fellow rv'ers. Watch the video above and see it this could be your problem.

broadrun · 09-11-2018, 01:58 PM

That is a great video and definitely something I'm going to consider but my problem isn't my slide floors, it's the actual coach subfloor/OSB just in front of both drivers side slides (bedroom and kitchen) The slide floors actually seem ok.

I just noticed some soft/spongy wood on the interior walls directly above the floor rot, near the top of the slides which means that my leak has to be coming from the slide seals. We've had a ton of rain in the eastern US this year and I've had the slides out for
most of the time as I often use it as a man cave (I've got 4 daughters and need my fortress of solitude). I'm guessing that the rain that was often coming blowing sideways came in the the slide seals on top and along the front edges.

How expensive is it to have an RV shop replace slide seals? I'm pretty handy but have never done it before and don't want to screw it up, given the problems I've already had with a bad seal.

Jobert · 09-11-2018, 07:11 PM

Depending on the year of your coach, you might check this out. We had an 01 Ambassador and the front of all 3 slides would leak, also the rears, into the coach like yours, depending on how we leveled and which way the wind was blowing the rain. Behind the rubber seal, you will find an aluminum angle iron riveted to the side of the slide, from top to bottom. This joint is not sealed or sealed well. We had some of the same intrusion problems you are facing, and I sealed that angle to slide side top to bottom and that solved the problem. I also used some of the purchased glue-on drip edge from camping world and used it to help redirect any water coming down the slide side behind the rubber seal to the outside. They used this technique on many 04-06 or so Endeavors and Diplomats and other coaches to redirect the water to the outside. The thread currently on here called MONACO RAIN GUTTERS shows a picture of the glue-on gutter near the bottom of the slide, it starts in behind the rubber seal. We had to do all of this before seeing this on factory installs. Hope this may help, Happy Trails, Bert

broadrun · 09-12-2018, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jobert

Depending on the year of your coach, you might check this out. We had an 01 Ambassador and the front of all 3 slides would leak, also the rears, into the coach like yours, depending on how we leveled and which way the wind was blowing the rain. Behind the rubber seal, you will find an aluminum angle iron riveted to the side of the slide, from top to bottom. This joint is not sealed or sealed well. We had some of the same intrusion problems you are facing, and I sealed that angle to slide side top to bottom and that solved the problem. I also used some of the purchased glue-on drip edge from camping world and used it to help redirect any water coming down the slide side behind the rubber seal to the outside. They used this technique on many 04-06 or so Endeavors and Diplomats and other coaches to redirect the water to the outside. The thread currently on here called MONACO RAIN GUTTERS shows a picture of the glue-on gutter near the bottom of the slide, it starts in behind the rubber seal. We had to do all of this before seeing this on factory installs. Hope this may help, Happy Trails, Bert

Thanks for the reply. Do you have to remove the seals to get to the angle iron? I'm assuming I do.

Jobert · 09-13-2018, 08:03 AM

I did not have to remove the slide seals, the big box stores sell extensions for caulking tubes, and I used that. I was able to get down both sides of each slide using that extension and then reached in and smoothed it out with my finger. Easy, not so much but doable. Hope this may help. Happy trails, Bert