Community Forums

SStravels · 02-10-2019, 10:39 AM

I have a 2014 class A DP with a large full wall slide. The slide was out and we brought it in with a rug on the floor. It jumped the gears on the Lippert mechanism and took it to a local shop here (Raleigh NC) for repair. Their inspection revealed that the slide floor was water soaked to the point that the rollers were sinking into the floor plywood. After several hours with them, the Forest River dealer in Elkhart, and other repair shops, the slide needs removed, turned over and the floor replaced. That’s my comment too. Holly Crap.

A common comment was "We see that all the time”. Forest River said that moisture will seep in , usually on each end, and then it just gets worse from there. If they see it all the time, build them better somehow.

I bought it used so I don’t know the history such as maintenance. I felt pretty safe with a 2014 with 20k miles on it. Not so. Maintenance on the slide seals is the lesson here. Moisture and water seeping in ruins campers.

Snowbird cancelled for this year. I’m trying to get lined up to take it to the dealer for repair. The local shop and the dealer I bought it from said that’s the best place for such a big repair.

grindstone01 · 02-10-2019, 10:49 AM

I had a slide out floor rot in our fifth wheel. The cause turned out to be the outside corner caulk had separated over the decal/stripes allowing water to get in. I fixed it by recaulking the seam and adding gutter extensions and was able to replace the rotted floor from the inside w/o removing the slideout.

FatChance · 02-10-2019, 12:53 PM

It is too late now, but did you have an independent inspection performed on the coach before you bought it used? Sorry you have to go through this.

ThePowells · 02-11-2019, 06:28 PM

Who is going to do the repair?

keymastr · 02-11-2019, 06:49 PM

There is someone near me who leaves the slide halfway out all the time, rain or shine. I am betting his floors are rotting also since NONE of his seals are in contact at all. I would hate to think about the poor guy who purchases that unit. All the critters have a direct path too.

Sorry you are dealing with this. Yes they should build them better. They could use Marine grade plywood instead of particle board that swells and turns to mush. Or even better use Starboard which will never rot. At least for the floors.

It is a common enough repair that they even showed it being done on one of those RV TV shows. Of course they didn't discuss the cause or how much it cost.

egwilly · 02-12-2019, 08:49 AM

From what I've seen, this repair could go to $5-8 thousand dollars to repair, maybe more since it's a full side wall slide. $120 hour labor charge adds up fast.

Lots of grunt labor involved, shop would need a hoist crane and tooling to flip it over without further damage. Not to mention a large forklift(s) to remove it from the frame. They need workers that have done this before. I would feel better if Forest River could do the work. They are tooled up for it.

I would pay the extra money to have marine grade plywood installed if you plan on keeping the rig for a while.

Check with your insurance, they might be able to help with the cost. Not sure if they would blame owner for the leaks.

RAM 6.7 4x4 · 02-12-2019, 07:54 PM

Watched this youtube video today of a couple that had slider floor rot. They ended up taking their coach to Indiana Interstate RV Repair Center. Watch this video to get the information at timestamp 20:57

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b30sTfsUscM

OR -Do a youtube search for Watts On Wheels titled The Good, Bad & Ugly RV Repair Shops. This couple was very pleased with the work they received and it came in way under the original quote and only took 1.5 days. Might be worth a view for you. Hope this helps in some way.