Water on slide when closing
 

Never had a slide before so this may be the dumbest question posted this week (if so I will take the prize in cash). Is the "wiper" supposed to remove water from the top when bringing the slide in or do you have to blow, tilt, sweep or otherwise remove the standing water first? :confused:

Brought the slide in after a day of rain and heard the horrible sound of water trickling INSIDE the coach. Small amount on carpet behind driver's seat and a larger amount under the sink (rear end of slide) and down into storage bay. Dangit! Time to replace gaskets? :banghead:

2001 Exec

Friend had a RV with no cover over the slide, it rained and he brought the slide in. First time he hit the brakes he got a cold water shower.
On out DSDP we have covers over two out of the three slides (the uncovered one is under the main awing). Have never gotten very much if any water inside as it dumps off the cover as the slide comes in.

If I understand you correctly, "some" water is not unusual? I know the toppers are in good shape, but a blowing rain is for sure going to get under the topper and settle on the top of the slide. I thought that maybe I was supposed to s-l-o-w-l-y bring the slide in to allow the water to drain off or tilt the coach slightly and re-level. Then I thought "Oh No" $$$$ gaskets! Mayhem, oblivion, etc etc. :o

Now I am wondering about that cold shower! :-)

Our unit has three slides with toppers. After sitting through many driving rain storms, and longer term parking during extended rainy periods we never have any water from the slides when they are brought in. Accumulated water on the slide awnings flows off (sometimes a lot) and whatever is on top of the slide is wiped as they come in. I would not be a happy camper if I had to remove the water before moving the slides.

We have three slides with toppers also. The large slide does not have a topper as the awning interferes with installation of a topper. I just extend the awning about 12 inches if I think it is going to rain a lot. Not much risk from strong wind at that setting and no problems with water entry.

Very common occurrence unfortunately! Water forms on the slide awning pooling and also blows under the awning lying on top of the slide. We retract the awnings slowly allowing the water to funnel off the top of the awning. Usually takes several start and stops to remove the water. There are wipers that are designed to scrape the water off the slide topper. Most don't work completely. There is a product that inflates under the awning called "air wedge". Looks promising,. We would only use these wedges if our stay was for an extended period. So for short term solutions we stand on the driver and passenger chairs drying off as much moisture as possible. Then roll a terry cloth towel up to absorb the rest because you will get a cold shower down the back when braking. :facepalm: Every time I forget this practice I pay for it. :banghead:

If your exec is like my Windsor the slideout seal wiper needs to reverse (flip) as the slide goes in and out in order to wipe properly. If your seals do not reverse you can add non skid tape (not sandpaper type) to the slide a few inches from the inside. This will assist in the reversal of the wiper. If the seal is old and stiff replacement material can be usually found at Uni-Grip Incorporated: Slide Out Seals 1

Thanks for the comments and advise. I am not looking forward to my first cold shower. Guess I can just pretend I am Nick Saban at the end of the championship game with ND. :cool:

I had/Have the same problem. Had now seals installed by Monaco in Colburg, OR last Feb, next rain still had water come in on top of the slide. Clayobx has the answer from my view.

There is a Coberg in OR but no Colburg.

Ron.....If you know there is a bunch of water up there after a large storm, bring all the slides in half way and then start over and bring them in the rest of the way. If there is a large puddle, you can sometimes overwhelm the covers.

My buddy on his trade winds just pulls a step ladder from basement and cleans them with a window washer with extended handle before pulling slides in rain or shine ,no chances of problems then ,no mess inside ,dust ,dirt or water the rigs are to expensive could be he's just a little picky also but has a nice rig just a thought for ya.

Didn't get any on my Bounder (with topper) and none on my FW with no toppers. Check out the gaskets on the top of the slideout opening to see if they should be replaced. Sight across the top of the slide (fore and aft) to see if it is bowed downwards. Perhaps it's retaining some water that only moves after the rig is moved. If so, you should be able to see standing water after a rainstorm and if you bring the slide partway in.

If water standing on slide out toppers, turns to ice and you bring in the slide, you could do damage to the toppers.

Had a frog-strangler in TX rv park last night. Took slides in with no water intrusion. I think the key is having the awnings pulled out (ZipDee type).

I took the carpet out to install Wood Laminate Flooring and found dry rot along the outside wall from the front of the slide up along side the drivers seat. This did not happen over night, and I am assuming the slide has been leaking for some time.

I made an appointment to go into an RV Repair shop to have the dry rot sub-flooring replaced and the Laminate installed, so the day before I dumped tanks and went through a Truck Wash, discovered that I leaked going through the truck wash with the slide in tight, so I am back to square one on the slide gasket leaking and not from the top.

If you Coach is more then three years old and you have experienced slide leakage, there may have been some you did not notice and you should check the area for dry rot next to the outside wall. On my La Palma it appears the sub-flooring actually supports the shell of the Motor Home and if like mine it has dry rot, the side could start to sag from a lack of support and cause many other problems.

You can check fro Dry Rot with an awl or ice pick. Poke a few places out in the center area and then over near the walls or where you have found it wet from slide leakage and if it is soft and the awl or ice pick goes in deeper the it did in the center, then have it checked by a professional before big problems develop.

Until you find a true "fix it" solution, one option is to use your rig's jacks to force the water off. Somethings like this: Rear jacks fully extended; Front jack(s) fully retracted. On my rig, this gives me a 5 (maybe 7) -degree "down-by-the-bow" condition .... and the standing water on the slides flows off nicely. Reverse this concept if your campsite has a slope to the rear.