Community Forums

twosmac · 05-13-2013, 09:05 AM

I'm a Newbie and was looking at RV's this weekend. We were at Byerly RV outside of St. Louis.

I asked the salesman what happens to rain water that accumulates on the slide when you pull the slides back into the coach.
He said a built-in rubber flap squeegees it all off as the slide goes back in and it's never a problem.
Is that a true and accurate statement ?

jlfbatonrg · 05-13-2013, 09:13 AM

What he said was tue about the rubber"squeegees", but not true about the water. When water accumulates on the slide itself, and you bring the slide in, there will be a gap along the edges that doesn't seal until the slide is completely in. some water settles on the slide which then falls into the coach when the coach is moved. A simple fix is to tilt the coach slightly forward or aft before the slides are retracted. That tends to let the water run off before the slides are retracted.

GaryKD · 05-13-2013, 09:29 AM

Hi twosmac,
Different manufacturers handle water differently. Some have covers (toppers) that extend and retract with the slide). Some have a considerable slope to the outside of the slide roof.

Consider RVs that have toppers on the slides. The reasons are:
1. keeps the sun from heating the slide roof (and anything inside)
2. when retracting, debris (from trees, etc.) should roll off the topper. Without a topper one may need to climb up on the roof to clean off the slide before retracting.

tedgard01 · 05-13-2013, 09:40 AM

I did not know this. It is just coincidental that I went camping this last weekend and had this situation. I saw that water was on the awning over the slide, so I brought the slide in just a bit, let it drain, and continued this way until it was fully inside. Regardless, when I lifted the jacks and the back of the coach was lower than the front of the coach, there was still enough water either in the awing, or that had accumulated on the top of the slide itself that poured into the coach. After mopping it up, we added this to our "check list" to leave the slide out and raise the jacks so that the water drains throughly off the awning and the slide before bringing the slid in....

Our "check list" gets longer each trip we take....

Ted

rvgrandma · 05-19-2013, 08:21 PM

I always check the slide once in - if need be put towels up there to keep the driver from getting a shower (which has happened more than once)!

AFChap · 05-19-2013, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvgrandma

I always check the slide once in - if need be put towels up there to keep the driver from getting a shower (which has happened more than once)!

X2 ...it is quite a shock to get a flood of cold water down the back of the neck the first time you hit the brakes !!!

We do have toppers, but they do not prevent all water from getting on the top of the slide when the wind is blowing just right when it is raining...

rvgrandma · 05-19-2013, 09:31 PM

WE do have toppers but as you said, the wind will blow rain in. We seem to have a indentation in the middle and that is where the water collects

flaggship1 · 05-19-2013, 09:53 PM

The OP has decided to buy a boat instead of an RV.

twosmac · 05-20-2013, 08:59 AM

X2 ...it is quite a shock to get a flood of cold water down the back of the neck the first time you hit the brakes !!!

Had no idea that could happen

Well, we decided to try out a boat this summer.

If the boat doesn't work out, we will try the " flood of cold water down the back of the neck the first time you hit the brakes !!!"

We still have not ruled out an RV in the near future.

Thanks again.

Barbara S. · 05-20-2013, 09:20 AM

Although I have been RVing for 35 years I only recently purchased my first RV with slides. I am learning a lot of new things. I have found that when it rains I need to put the living room slide in to drain off the water. I have not yet experienced the "water down the back of the neck", but never say never. My bedroom slide is smaller and doesn't seem to have a problem collecting water.
QUESTION: I thought the motorhome had to be completely level for the slides to be out. Wouldn't tilting the MH cause a problem with the slides?

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2013, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flaggship1

The OP has decided to buy a boat instead of an RV.

A house boat? LOL

Good info...never thought about the slug of water that could still be on top after retraction.

RanCarr · 05-20-2013, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twosmac

I asked the salesman what happens to rain water that accumulates on the slide when you pull the slides back into the coach.
He said a built-in rubber flap squeegees it all off as the slide goes back in and it's never a problem.
Is that a true and accurate statement ?

Make sure your sweep off all the nuts and twigs and other debris that collects on the slide before bringing it in.

JohnFreyja · 05-20-2013, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RanCarr

Make sure your sweep off all the nuts and twigs and other debris that collects on the slide before bringing it in.

Yes, if you are near trees and it has been windy get up there and clean them off. Same with snow.

Sometimes as the slide toppers get older and stretch a little you can get significant puddles that won't completely flush by tipping or leaning the motorhome but if you don't want to climb up to sweep them, then at least bring them in by using short duration retraction (just a few inches at a time) so that the water isn't forced in past the seals and gets a chance to run off.

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2013, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara S.

...QUESTION: I thought the motorhome had to be completely level for the slides to be out. Wouldn't tilting the MH cause a problem with the slides?

I was thinking through the same question. I think there are a couple things to consider when raising and lower jacks with slides out. I would be most concerned about binding the frame a bit. I think this could happen if only 1 set of jacks was retracted but they were not on the same level plain. So, say you want to lower the front but the front jacks are not extended the same amount. I would then suggest that when lowering the front that you only lower it until you see the high side jack almost fully retract then stop leaving the low side jack in full contact. If that doesn't work then raise the rear if you can. When done, then retract slides before storing jacks.

WARNING...this is my working theory and not based on anything but what I THINK might make mechanical sense.

In the end, I think I will invest in a folding ladder and squeegee.