2011 Edge M23 Windows --- Bug-proofing

We have had our M23 Edge for almost a year now. The windows are the European tilt-our windows with the sliding screens and shades. This summer when we were in several locations that were quite warm, the tiny gnats and mosquitos seemed to come through our window screens if we had the window popped open. This was not just a few bugs but was HUNDREDS. We were forced to finally close the windows completely and turn on the A/C and our ceiling is discolored from swatting all the bugs that lit on the ceiling.

The window frames with the sliding screens and shades are not sealed tight to the walls but are only fastened at the corners.

Has anyone found a solution to this by sealing the windows in some way?

Thanks, any input would be helpful.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi randyollen,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I am sure some of our other members with an Edge will chime in soon with an idea for you.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

frano

Well-known member
We bought a 2012 M21 last Aug and used it about 5 times without this issue. However, bug season may have passed by the time we got the Edge. We previously had a 2008 T@da which had similiar, but not identical, windows and had no bug issues during the 2 years we used it. Your post interests me since the screen/shade setups are different between the Edge and T@da. When the weather gets better, I'm going to check mine and maybe add some silicone sealent between the window frames and the interior wall panel. I'll post my findings in a couple of months--25 degrees outside now!
 

OKCSAM

Member
We had the same challenge last summer. Thanks for the silcone sealent idea. Does anybody else have any other solutions?
 
The sealant seemed somewhat logical but we found that the gnats came in both through the edges and also around the coiled screen/shade. I took the Edge into for service attempting to get this resolved under warranty. The repair technician told me that Heartland had never heard of this issue so were not inclined to fix it. I'm still chasing that one. However, apparently these windows are much more predominant in Europe and there are posting for methods to resolve this accoding to our repair technician. I will get this info and post it here.
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
I just purchased a used 2011 Edge M21 and had seen several posts about bugs coming in thru the gaps where the screen frame does not make tight contact with the trailer wall. In my M21, the most of the gaps were not that wide, so I used clear acrylic caulk to close the gaps. It is almost invisible now that it has cured clear. I did have to drill a hole and add a short screw at the middle top of one of the side windows where the gap was fairly wide then caulked after the screw had closed the gap.

The gaps on the sides of the window in the slide out were huge, too wide to try and caulk without a terrible appearance issue, and no practical way to close the gap with a screw on the sides. So, I used colored Electrical Tape to seal those side gaps on the slide out window. I used white, it blended in pretty well. The screens themselves seem to be tight enough to keep out mosquitos and flies, guess time will tell if some gnats are tiny enough to get thru the screens, I hope not and don't think so.

One more thing - every so often the screen will come out of the track on my slide out window, and if it does then that's another gap that bugs can enter thru. If the screen comes out of the track open the screen again and close it slowly making sure the screen comes off the roll into the track.
 
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