02-19-2017, 07:33 AM
On my coach (653), I have always had problems with leaks on the big (number 1) slide behind drivers seat. The leaks have caused constant bearing problems. Newell improved the bearing situation a lot by installing stainless steel bearings a couple of years ago. That fixed the bearing problem, but the leaks remained.
After an exhaustive inspection of the slide I can report a number of sources of leaks....and as a bonus one potential non-obvious fix.
Leak 0. I suspected that the lateral seams on the roof may have been leaking. Silicone and Eternabond tape is your friend. I have never proven that these seams leak, but it makes me feel better to have addressed any potential problem.
Leak 1. Creases in slide seal corners. On my vintage coach (2003) the corners of the slides are too sharp which means that the slide seal cannot "make the corner" and will cause a crease in the seal. Look at the corners of the seals...if you can see light under the crease, run a bead of silicone and form it into a elongated pyramid in the same spot as the crease. Be sure to do the same with slide in AND out.
Leak 2. Crack in skin attachment. The slide is built in the shape of a box with one side open (duh!). The outside skin is glued onto the box. The seam where the outside skin attaches to the box is a source of water intrusion. Get on a ladder and look (CLOSELY!) at the top seam. I looked several times but did not see the crack until I pushed hard against the skin. See other threads about repairing this problem, but the short version is to dig out the old sealant and replace with something like Sikaflex.
Leak 3. Wire penetration. I only found this one after the room was completely disassembled. The wire that feeds the awning penetrated the skin right behind the awning and was not properly sealed. It had probably been leaking since the coach was built. Best fix was to shoot silicone into the hole from the inside. To see if you have the problem without a lot of work you can remove the "phantom wall" from around the window and tap on the wall with the butt of a screwdriver. If it sounds "dull" it might be worth some additional investigation.
Leak 4. Slide sag. This is the bonus leak and fix and only affects large slides. On really long slides, the center of the slide sags slightly in the middle. This means that the slide seal is not snug against the slide and will allow water to penetrate on the top edge of slide. If you look behind the valance, you can see a long metal bar with a "hook" in the middle of the bar. The hook is pointed toward the outside and its purpose is to gently lift up the middle of the slide when the slide is extended. (it hits a frame member just as the slide hits full extension and forces the middle of the slide up maybe 1/4 - 3/8".
On my coach, and a few others that I heard of, the attachment of the bar can become loose and as a result the bar does not pull up with enough force to lift the middle of the slide. (The screws that hold the bar to the framing of the slide are probably undersized). Before the fix, you could easily move the bar a fraction of an inch.
FIX: Newell carefully re-drilled the bar an then placed some beefy anchors into the slide frame and then re-attached the bar to the frame using the new holes & anchors. After the fix, you cannot move the bar --- AT ALL. I have been through a water test and a rain storm and no more water.
So...do you have the problem? If you don't have a long slide...you don't have the problem. If you never had had water in the coach, then you probably don't have the problem. If you get water in the coach when it rains really hard, then you MAY have the problem. The only way to know for certain is to run the room out while watching the bar interface to the outside coach framing. If the bar engages, and slightly lifts the middle of the room then you don't have the problem. But if you see the bar move instead of the slide framing, then you probably will want to do something similar to what Newell did to my coach.
If this job is too big for you to do, check with Newell. They don't work for free, but you will get the satisfaction of knowing that these guys have been there - done that.
After an exhaustive inspection of the slide I can report a number of sources of leaks....and as a bonus one potential non-obvious fix.
Leak 0. I suspected that the lateral seams on the roof may have been leaking. Silicone and Eternabond tape is your friend. I have never proven that these seams leak, but it makes me feel better to have addressed any potential problem.
Leak 1. Creases in slide seal corners. On my vintage coach (2003) the corners of the slides are too sharp which means that the slide seal cannot "make the corner" and will cause a crease in the seal. Look at the corners of the seals...if you can see light under the crease, run a bead of silicone and form it into a elongated pyramid in the same spot as the crease. Be sure to do the same with slide in AND out.
Leak 2. Crack in skin attachment. The slide is built in the shape of a box with one side open (duh!). The outside skin is glued onto the box. The seam where the outside skin attaches to the box is a source of water intrusion. Get on a ladder and look (CLOSELY!) at the top seam. I looked several times but did not see the crack until I pushed hard against the skin. See other threads about repairing this problem, but the short version is to dig out the old sealant and replace with something like Sikaflex.
Leak 3. Wire penetration. I only found this one after the room was completely disassembled. The wire that feeds the awning penetrated the skin right behind the awning and was not properly sealed. It had probably been leaking since the coach was built. Best fix was to shoot silicone into the hole from the inside. To see if you have the problem without a lot of work you can remove the "phantom wall" from around the window and tap on the wall with the butt of a screwdriver. If it sounds "dull" it might be worth some additional investigation.
Leak 4. Slide sag. This is the bonus leak and fix and only affects large slides. On really long slides, the center of the slide sags slightly in the middle. This means that the slide seal is not snug against the slide and will allow water to penetrate on the top edge of slide. If you look behind the valance, you can see a long metal bar with a "hook" in the middle of the bar. The hook is pointed toward the outside and its purpose is to gently lift up the middle of the slide when the slide is extended. (it hits a frame member just as the slide hits full extension and forces the middle of the slide up maybe 1/4 - 3/8".
On my coach, and a few others that I heard of, the attachment of the bar can become loose and as a result the bar does not pull up with enough force to lift the middle of the slide. (The screws that hold the bar to the framing of the slide are probably undersized). Before the fix, you could easily move the bar a fraction of an inch.
FIX: Newell carefully re-drilled the bar an then placed some beefy anchors into the slide frame and then re-attached the bar to the frame using the new holes & anchors. After the fix, you cannot move the bar --- AT ALL. I have been through a water test and a rain storm and no more water.
So...do you have the problem? If you don't have a long slide...you don't have the problem. If you never had had water in the coach, then you probably don't have the problem. If you get water in the coach when it rains really hard, then you MAY have the problem. The only way to know for certain is to run the room out while watching the bar interface to the outside coach framing. If the bar engages, and slightly lifts the middle of the room then you don't have the problem. But if you see the bar move instead of the slide framing, then you probably will want to do something similar to what Newell did to my coach.
If this job is too big for you to do, check with Newell. They don't work for free, but you will get the satisfaction of knowing that these guys have been there - done that.
Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama
)