Torn Slide Seals & Rusted Underbody Metal

cdnrver

Active Member
no longer a heartland owner//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?p=98766#post98766
 
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aatauses

Well-known member
Not sure about the seals, but the rust issue has been a big one for us. We took delivery in Feb 2009 and the amount of rust on all the bolts, screws, frame is beyond belief. I contacted HL, who directed me to Lippert, who directed me to my dealer, etc, etc. All I have heard is that it is not their responsibility. I have several bolts/screws that have already rusted through or the heads have rusted so bad you cannot remove them to replace.
al
 

John T Bettencourt

Well-known member
From past experience I think alot of this rust issue is weather. If you unit was shipped in a snow storm with road salt on the roads, then you will have a problem. I was so happy when I picked up my Landmark and there was no sign of it being towed over bad roads. But I had a Cedar Creek that rust was a problem from day one.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
That would be my thought also; If the unit was towed in the winter weather like we have in NW Pa. rust wouldn't supprise me at all. My dealer pressure washes the under side of anything delivered in the winter. Lucky you have the enclosed underbelly (not so much to wire brush and paint):D:D:D I keep mine touched up, not so much work. As for the rubber seals, were they ever lubed with silicone or CRC 303 :confused: :confused: :confused:
 

slmayor

Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
Sorry to hear of your problems. I can't think of what might have made the seals go. Maybe the colder weather? Doesn't seem right. Our BH is older than yours,(manf. date of Mar 07) and all our seals are fine. I have used 303 from the beginning tho and our weather isn't as cold. It does however reach 115 in the summer occasionally, and the rig is outside. Don't have a rust problem either, but do touch up the frame and underneath at least twice a year. These are just left-over habits from owning classic cars for us. :)
Good luck and hope you can get this fixed!
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
It has not been unusual for some owners to experience water in the underbelly which has come from traveling when raining. The water will come into the underbelly from the water on the road especially if they have been driving through standing water puddles on the road.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
Our 2009 Sundance 2900mk was delivered to us in Feb 2008 in BC Canada. After we got it we immediately put our unit into storage. We took it out of storage for a 5 day trial run later that summer (got a lot of warranty work done after that test run) then back into storage until our trip south for the winter (we left Nov 1st and are now in Texas for the winter).

This morning I was talking to the guy on the RV site next to us who was spraying his slide seals. After that chat I decided to check our seals and found that 3 seals are torn on our unit (1 on each of the main floor slides and 1 on the bedroom slides) When I pulled on 1 of them, the split traveled all the way up the rubber seal. Seeing this I decided to further check our unit and found a lot of rust on the metal underbody (propane lines, slide brackets etc).

We had a Jayco Designer legacy for 4 years before our Sundance and never had near as many issues as we've had with this unit.

My questions are:

Are rubber slides a standard part? In other words, can you buy replacement seals anywhere or do you have to order them from heartland?

Does anyone have any idea how much they cost?

As for the rust, I guess I'll have to crawl underneath and spend a few days doing some wire brushing and painting with tremclad.

Thanks

The new seals will also rip if you mis-use them, ice can formed and lock the seal to the slide. De-ice the seals before use and you should be fine.
 

biggziff

Active Member
The new seals will also rip if you mis-use them, ice can formed and lock the seal to the slide. De-ice the seals before use and you should be fine.

Where did you get the idea that he had ice on his slide seals? Holy cow...talk about a stretch! Most unhelpful post.:eek:
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Never replaced a seal on our Yellowstone in 9 years. Certainly going to watch this closely. Also, never put any Silicone on the seals but certainly will now.
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
The only time I ever needed to replace a Slide Room seal... was when I opened the slide room in our (SOB) Challenger Fifth Wheel. The weather conditions were below freezing temps... the slide room did not have slide toppers... the seal was frozen-stuck to the RV outside wall.

I guess two factors came to play... one I would guess was the lack of any treatment to the rubber seal. Now I spray silicone on all seal. I now spray silicone on every seal...

The other was the moisture collecting on the slide seal from the lack of a slide topper. We ordered our BigHorn with slide toppers.
 

biggziff

Active Member
Was this really necessary? No help from you either.

Yes it was. It's called accountability and I take it seriously. If I step over a line, tell me and I'll back off, but I'll also tell you when you've done the same. I apologize for posting it publicly as I should have PM'd the OP, but I stick to what I said.

:angel:
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Kenny, I've been reading on here about this 303 stuff...do you just spray it on or rub it in, too? How often? Home Depot, ACE, ?? I think I need to do something before I have any problems with my rubber! :) Thanks!
 
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