Community Forums

6ofus · 07-22-2020, 07:49 AM

Hello all

The slide seals were replaced on both of our slides prior to us purchasing it. (Yes, we have the invoice for this work and spoke to the company who performed the work). I have 3 questions about our slides:

1. We have 2 slides. On both slides, the bottom does not look completely sealed. I can see light shining through each corner. Please see photos. Photos are both during the day and at dusk. Is this normal?

2. Our rear bedroom slide started making a loud popping sound upon opening. This past weekend, the upper corner was stuck and we had to give it a push from inside to get it to slide out. I believe this is where the "popping" sound was coming from. Any input?

3. Should we be spraying the rubber on our slides with some kind of "slide spray"? I've seen people post some type of lubricant or spay on Facebook.

Thank you!!

TJHUB · 07-23-2020, 07:38 AM

I'm by far no expert having only owned by motorhome for 3 years and 9 years of travel trailer ownership. I'm about to replace my slide seals, so I have been looking into some of the issues you are asking about.

1. I noticed right away that I could see a small amount of light in the lower corners of my large slide, but never on the small bedroom slide. On the bedroom slide, the seals go around the entire opening, so it is sealed differently than the large lounge slide. My lounge slide has seals on the top and sides only due to the fact the slide design is completely different. Both slides have inner and outer seals, but again, the lounge slide is designed different.

In looking closely at my slides in preparation of changing the outer seals, I noticed that the lounge slide was not all the way out on the bottom, so it wasn't sealing against the inside of the wall. I was able to adjust the out going hard stop by about 3/4", and now the slide seals against the outer wall and no light can be seen anywhere.

I can also tell you that the simple design of these seals leaves imperfections especially in the corners where the seals are typically cut and overlapped. It's not hard to understand why a tiny bit of light might be seen. As long as water can't get in, I don't see any real issue. However, maybe the seals on yours aren't installed the best, or maybe your slides need a slight adjust like mine? You'd have to look into it further, or maybe have someone look at it for you.

This brings up why I do all of my own work. Over the years, I've had far too many service people on ANYTHING do poor work because all they usually do is complete the work as quickly as they can. It's not their house, car, boat, motorhome, etc. so they just don't care if it's done properly or with care as to not damage surrounding surfaces or parts. It wouldn't surprise me that the seal replacement done prior to your purchase might not be done properly.

2. When I was working on my bedroom slide, I had 2 major issues. First, the slide squealed terribly when moving in or out. Second, the slide sat about 1/4" lower than when new shown by the misaligned striping on the outside. I found that the slide road on plastic blocks and an actuator. When I first spaced up those plastic blocks, I used 1/4" spacers on both sides. This slightly tilted the slide to one side, and the upper left hand side started to pinch where the outer lip of the slide was tight to the opening. It went in fine, but when I moved it out, it made a pop sound. I lowered the spacer on one side, and now everything is perfectly centered. Everything works perfectly and is silent other than the motor sound. Maybe look for that issue on yours? Make certain the slide is centered in all directions and not pinching anywhere.

3. There are a few slide seal treatment and maintenance threads here. You should search for them. I don't have my new seals on yet, so I'm not sure what to do with them, but I can tell you what's wrong with my old ones.

My current seals are old and cracking, but the worst part is that they are slightly sticky on the sides of the slide walls. This causes the seals to be pulled in and out inconstantly so that sometimes the seals are rolled in instead of out and can allow water to get into the coach. For example, yesterday, the seals on the sides were rolled in, and the bottom was rolled out on the bedroom slide. This means water running down the sides would be directed into the coach when the water reached the lower seal like a scoop. Last year, one of the side seals was in at the top, and was out at the bottom. At the transition point where the seal was rolled from in to out allowed water to get into the coach on the main slide. I wasn't happy. Now I have to carefully pull all the seals out on the sides, and sometimes push the lower one in, but I don't know if that's correct.

Last week I walked around a campground I was at and looked at the seals on every camper and motorhome I could find. All of the seals were consistently out, so I'm planning to make sure that my new seals are always out by making certain they don't get sticky to the side walls of the slides. I'm planing to clean and wax the side walls, and use something on the new rubber seals to keep them slippery so they don't roll in. One company recommends talc. I'm not sure yet.

Sorry such a long post. I hope it helps some.

mattyrj · 07-23-2020, 06:02 PM

The seals might have come loose from the side wall and allowing them to move more than they should. Slide them in a few inches and see if the seal is moving more than it should.

The popping noise, I had the same issue on my bedroom slide, where the top would catch but then go, but the slide would "bounce" a lot. I spent 4 solid weekends in a row putting it in and out trying to find out what was happening. I finally found the culprit, which was something I never thought to look at, but found it accidentally. There is a slide topper on the bedroom slide (the living as well, but that slide is a deep super slide with a lot of weight so it wouldn't be affected like the bed slide) and the topper was catching on itself, causing the top of the slide to hang up until enough pressure was put on it for it to release. I adjusted the topper slight, and now I have no more issue with that one. Something worth checking into it.