new m18 edge owner

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi trussell,

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

Load the Edge up and go camping and make lots of great memories. You can also join our Heartland Owners Club and meet lots of great folks and eat lots of great food at a rally.

If you need help with anything, just ask here on the forum and I'm sure some of our members will jump in to help out with advice or the "how to".

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 
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evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Enjoy! Some quick thoughts:

- check your window screws - they may already be rusting. The sooner you replace the OEM window screws with stainless steel ones the better.
- remove the wheel well trim and caulk the wheel wells, otherwise you will get water into your RV when it rains. Heartland seemed to not caulk the wheel wells at the factory.

Take some time and read all the threads in the Edge section of this forum - you will find lots of other easy fixes that will increase your enjoyment.
 

trussell

Member
Thanks for the heads up on the wheel wells we did find a puddle of water on the floor after a rain so I will check the wheel wells first. Also one of the screens by the bed won't retract all the way is this repairable or will that screen have to be replaced and if so where can I buy one? Thanks
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
The plastic wheel wells have a low spot in between the front and back wheels - chances are that is full of water under your jack knife sofa and under your sink. The standing water in there will give some musty odor, so soak all that water up with a towel or two. Once you take the wheel trim off and caulk the edge of the wheel well where it meets the side of the Edge you should not see the water come back again.

If you compare the screen that does not roll up all the way with another you will likely see where its not folded over right at one of the ends is not in the end tracks right. I have that happen occasionally and have always been able to get back right again with plastic butter knife.

One more thing about the windows - you may notice that the plastic frames the shade ands screen ride up and down in have gaps between the frame and wall along the side or bottom, close up those gaps or bugs will get in thru those gaps when you have your windows open. I used tape that matched the window frame color to fill the big gaps around the side of the big window, and clear caulk on the windows by the bed that had small gaps.
 

trussell

Member
Thanks I just checked the wheel wells and the one under the sink did have water in it. Is it ok to use regular outside caulk on the rv?
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
DAP ALEX PLUS Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone outside is what I used on the wall to wheel well joints and other places on the sides, back, front to refresh caulk joints as needed. I caulked then immediately put the wheel well trim back on. The back side of the trim is pretty close to the wheel well in a few places and some caulk will ooze out so be ready with some rags or paper towels to wipe that off before it sets.

Unless you were assured it was just done the joints between the roof and the front cap and rear top trim need to be maintained at least yearly to keep them water tight, so you may need to make sure yours were maintaned this spring before you bought the Edge. You can't use regular caulk for this joint this needs to be a product made specially for trailers with membrane roofs called Dicor Self-Leveling Lap Sealant, the kind you need for an Edge with Rubber Roof is a light green tube with the part # 501LSW. If its good you will see it tight against the membrane and the cap / rear trim and no gaps that water can enter. There is also a special seam tape compatible with the roof membrane that can be used to seal these front and rear lap joints that is more expensive then just using the Dicor lap sealant. It costs more to do it that way but it may last longer so that you are not buying another tube of Dicor every year.

One final thing - it is very thin and relatively soft material that the trim screws are screwing in to on the Edge - you are best not using any power tools to run the screw back in - even doing it by hand you can't apply too much force or the trim screws will strip.
 

trussell

Member
Thank you so much where can i buy those products can I order them on line? Do I need to remove the old seal on the roof? and is there a technique for removing old sealer? I checked the screen as you suggested and it was in the tracts but I will check again it just seems like the spring inside the screen doesn't have enough strength to pull it up. thanks for all the help!
trussell
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Any hardware / home center will have latex caulk plus silicone. The Dicor lap sealant is available many places online including Amazon.com. Any RV sales/service center will have the Dicor lap sealant. I would not remove the old lap sealant I would just clean and apply more as needed. The roof is only water proof due to a thin membrane that is easily punctured or torn so visually inspect for damage while you are up there and make sure you don't have anything on your shoes that can damage it. The Edge roof will carry 1 person's weight but be sure not to concentrate all your weight in one small spot. And if any water ever gets under the membrane soft spots can form that won't carry much weight anymore.
 

trussell

Member
Thank you you have been very helpful is ok to use just soap and water to clean the roof? Should I remove the caulk around the sides when I re caulk the sides? thanks
trussell
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
If there is existing caulk and the seam is sealed then leave it alone. If the seam is separated then remove the old caulk before recaulking. Use dawn or other brand dish or hand car wash soap on the rubber membrane roof, never use any product that is petroleum based those may damage the synthetic membrane. The membrane is pretty thin don't scrub on it much or it may tear.

Also while you are caulking look at the seam between your tub and the surround walls. Chances are that caulk is separating and you will want to freshen that up too.
 

dplantz

Member
Thanks for the heads up on the wheel wells we did find a puddle of water on the floor after a rain so I will check the wheel wells first. Also one of the screens by the bed won't retract all the way is this repairable or will that screen have to be replaced and if so where can I buy one? Thanks

I am an edge M21 owner. My wife discovered by her corner of the bed ( to the left when you are facing the bed) and by the same corner of the couch the floor is squishy. And the linoleum is discolored at the corner of the couch there ( to the right as you face the couch) Could this be from the same thing? The wheel wells? One other thing I noticed to pass along........We went camping last week and it was hot here in Texas, so I ran the AC constantly. When we were packing up to leave I ran in the slide out. When I did I went back inside and noticed a puddle of water on the fllor right at the corner of the couch. So, I am wondering if that has been my culprit. The slide out leaking in. Anyone else see this?
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
The roof top AC drain is on the side facing the slide out. You should see that water or any water hitting the roof for that matter flowing into a plastic rain gutter on the wall above the slide. If its not flowing out one end or the other of the rain gutter get up on a ladder and see if there is something obstructing it. You should also look at your black slide seals make sure the top seal ends are over the side seal ends. Make sure the bottom seal is inside the side seal ends, so that water does not get directed into the trailer. If its not right you will see light around the slide seals at the corners. If its right very little or no light.
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
One other thing - the pump is under the bed in the corner of the bed by the slide. Make sure the connection on the water pump are both good and hand tight. The left (output) side of the pump is another possible source given where you said you had the water puddle and soft floor.
 

Zeman

Active Member
Keep messin' with it-----latch screen open and retract a couple of times. It will usually fix itself.
 

trussell

Member
Thanks for all the great help. I will keep messing with the screen and as soon as it stops raining here I will re caulk the roof and side of the camper and the wheel wells. I am lucky I have a shed to park the camper in this is the most rain i have ever seen here in August.
t russell
 

trussell

Member
Success! I found a plastic bur on the upper right mount for the screen causing it to bind filed it off and it works great. Now I am working on the latch on the refrigerator the plastic part on the catch is broken can this part be ordered? I did not get any paperwork with the camper so I don't know where to order parts.
Thanks for all the help
t russell
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Look in the cabinet next to your microwave, there should be a sticker with contact phone #s. For something like the refrigerator you are better off calling Dometic directly. There is a sticker inside the fridge, write down the model # and serial # to have ready when you get talk to Dometic.
 

dplantz

Member
The plastic wheel wells have a low spot in between the front and back wheels - chances are that is full of water under your jack knife sofa and under your sink. The standing water in there will give some musty odor, so soak all that water up with a towel or two. Once you take the wheel trim off and caulk the edge of the wheel well where it meets the side of the Edge you should not see the water come back again.

I read this and checked my M21 I had ZERO caulking in mine. Thanks for the tip, they are caulked now!
 
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