[bikestuff]

Gurus,

This morning I was awakened by a dripping noise in the front of the coach.  I investigated and found water virtually pouring from the top aft side of the number 1 slide.  (The one that has given me so much trouble).  I quickly tilted the coach to the drivers side and down in the back to get the water off of the seal.

It had been raining, but not storming, so I suspected the seal had deflated.   I looked at the top edge of the seal from inside the coach and could see that the seal was inflated but there was light coming through. 

When I investigated, the seal had air...but was softer than the rest.  I adjusted the seal air regulator to add some air.  This significantly reduced the light that I could see.  (There is a seal joint in the middle that still has light coming through).

I checked the rest of the seals and found different air pressures on each of them.  

So...what is the correct pressure that should be on a slide seal?  How much is too much?  and.....if you run higher than normal, will it blow the seal or reduce its life?  Finally, what is the life  expectancy of a slide seal?  Is it measured in inflate / deflate cycles?  Years?  

Thanks!
bill

edit: After it quit raining, I looked more closely and found that the gap between the top of the slide and the slide seal is significant. (Even with the additional air pressure). It looks like the bar that is supposed to lift the middle of the side is not working. (Newell adjusted the bar when they rebuilt the ceiling of the slide about 9 months ago). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[encantotom]

if that bar does not lift the slide up a little, i believe you will have a small gap that the seal probably cant overcome. forest had the same issue on his when we were traveling together in canada.

tom

[ccjohnson]

Almost sounds like a return to the mother ship for warranty work.

[folivier]

Did you pull off the valence at the inside of the slide? That allows you to see the hanger bar. It might be worth putting in larger sheet metal screws along the bar if Newell didn't do that already. They did on mine when they adjusted the bar.
I found that if I'm not pretty level when extending the front slide (even in travel mode) it would sometimes not grab the hanger bar. You can see the middle of the slide lift up slightly when it gets to the end of travel if it does engage it properly.

[bikestuff]

I agree that I will have to take it back....but the question remains about the correct air pressure for the seals. Mine are all over the place, and I suspect most coaches are the same way.

Also, maybe a smart guru has already figured out how to solve this problem. I am beginning to think that some sort of vertical pillar is needed to support the middle of the slide when extended.

[jimg]

I agree that I will have to take it back....but the question remains about the correct air pressure for the seals.  Mine are all over the place, and I suspect most coaches are the same way.  

Also, maybe a smart guru has already figured out how to solve this problem.  I am beginning to think that some sort of vertical pillar is needed to support the middle of the slide when extended.

20 PSI +/- 2 PSI

This time of year look for leaves, acorns, pine needles, and other debris between seal and top of the slide out.

[bikestuff]

Thanks Jim! No debris at all on mine. The slide is sagging in the middle to the point that I can see about 24" of light between the seal and the top of the slide. I had the bar at the top of slide adjusted and at first it pulled the middle of slide up but seems to have stopped doing that.

[jimg]

Thanks Jim!  No debris at all on mine.  The slide is sagging in the middle to the point that I can see about 24" of light between the seal and the top of the slide.  I had the bar at the top of slide adjusted and at first it pulled the middle of slide up but seems to have stopped doing that.

Bill, I would look over the valance to see if the metal tongue is going above or below the slot. I say that because if it’s going extremely below the slot it could damage the seal, retainer etc.   

[bikestuff]

Thanks, Jim!

You were right, the tongue is hitting below the hole. What now?

For those that are not familiar... On long slides there is a rigid metal bar mounted to the inside edge of the slide. It has a tongue perpendicular to the bar this is about a 30" angle up. On the coach is a slot on the wall right above the slide. When the slide extends, the idea is that the tongue will hit the slot and force the middle of the roof of the slide up a bit.

In my case the tongue is hitting the wall below the slot.

I am not sure what the fix is ...any thoughts would be appreciated.

Possible fixes....
1. Add a decorative column to the middle of the slide to keep it from sagging.
2. Extend the tongue by welding an "extension" on it. (This would involve removing the valance and unbolting about 1000 bolts).
3. Add a matching tongue on the coach wall side to "catch" and lift the tongue on the slide.

I know that Tom has worked on the angle of the tongue on one coach with mixed success.

Thanks!
bill

[Chester Stone]

Bill, if you get a chance, some photos of this issue would help some of understand what is involved.