Water leak bedroom slide

tmcran

Well-known member
Well, we have had our Sundance for about a month. Not spent one night in it or taken on one trip. Been at dealer for almost two weeks where they have worked hard to stop leak in shower around the caulking,fresh water tank not filling and leak in basement.(water leak in basement fixed & water fill problem fixed) I finally got tired of it setting there and put up shower curtain with velcro strips and solved the problem.

Got all ready to go on first trip yesterday and thought I would check for leaks.( have not had rain in Texas in so long I was sure it had not been rain on) Sprayed water from hose all over RV with slides in --no leaks found. (Spray was not forceful - only like rain) Well, I was feelling good. So I let the slides out and sprayed like it was raining. Rear bedroom no leaks,livingroom slide no leaks,bedroom slide--water everywhere on the floor at head of bed between the right side of bed and between lavatory.
Water felt underneath slide. Didn't spray any water under the slide. Any ideas? So back to the dealer. I only picked it up yesterday for the shower problem.

After all the fit and finish things I have fixed on my own I'm begining to wonder about my choice of product. It's embarrassing when the friends we were supposed to go with the last two weeks joke that our RV has been to the dealer more in the month we have owned it than theirs has been in 2 years.
Sorry for the long post just frustration setting in.It's like whats next.
 

Rmcgrath53

Well-known member
Sorry about your water problems. Water ,when camping ,is the worst.
Hopefully its a seal easily fixed.I know we had alot of things that werent right with our unit. My wife was realy upset with the many things that were wrong. We were saying, that we should have bought a used one ,that someone else fixed all the warranty problems. We are glad we toughed it out tho, for now it is near perfect. We joke that we were working for Heartland Quality control without a paycheck. Hope it gets done fast for ya
Ron
 

caddojay

Tired and Retired member
We're not Sundance owners, but I'd bet the leak we had in the bedroom slide is similar. We spent 4 trips to the dealer to find the correct fix. Have the Tech check "under" the weatherstripping on the bottom of the slide. There should be a hard silicone piece in the corner, under the weatherstripping to help channel water away from the bottom. The tech also "re-cut" the weatherstrippng to make sure that the bottom piece overlaps the side pieces when the slide opens. Ours did not and the piece on the top of the slide was curled under itself in 2 areas. The weatherstripping was not "unfolding" like it is supposed to do. Since we're also in texas, our dealer said that the heat makes the weatherstriping very pliable and when the slide closes, it might actually fold under. Good luck. If your dealer has any questions, have them contact the factory or Explore USA in Mesquite and ask for Joe Slade. he's the Tech that figured out the Silicone pieces were missing.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I had a similar problem with my bedroom slide. The little 'dam' that redirects water to the outside was missing. Camperland in Conroe found the problem and corrected it. If you do not have that dam there it will allow water to enter the bedroom. Also you have to make sure to look to be sure the rubber weather stripping is out and not tucked under as stated in the last post...
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Thanks folks for the feedback very helpful. I'll talk to the tech on Monday and give him the info. I certainly understand the quality control statement.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Follow up. RV has been at the dealer for 3 days. The tech sent a picture to Heartland yesterday and was told the way the picture looked it seemed the metal trim ??? was not tall enough to devert the water and needed to be replaced. He said something else needed to be done . They have found a small leak on the top of the slide and are having to repair that also. This sounds about like what you guys were talkng about. The person from
Heartland said the weep holes may be blocked or they may need to be made larger. The dealer is going to pull the RV around some and then check for leaks again. Boy if it is still leaking or somehing else happpens I have about had it. This will be close to 3 weeks at the dealer trying to repair things.Since I bought the Sundance over a month ago
I have had it about 5 days.
 

gsbainter

Member
Hang in there! I feel your pain! I have owned four RV's in the last 10 years and 2 out of 4 have had problems of some kind or another. It is just the state of the industry. From my experience though, so far Heartland has the other manufacturers beat when it comes to responsiveness in getting things fixed. Once you get it all done, then you will really enjoy it and have years of fun. I still love the overall quality of my Sundance compared to others, and the bang for buck is great!
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Thanks, I'm hanging in for now. I talked with the dealer today and they think they have all the leaks repaired. What we need is about 2 inches of rain to really check it out. The dealer has been very good in working on the problems very quickly and have been very upset also about the delay in getting our RV where it can be used. I'm sure glad I bougth locally and not several hundred miles away. I'm going to be out of town for a few days so it will be a while before I can get it and check it all out.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Got RV back last Friday after replacement of the dams on the front slide. The tech assured me that they had water tested it and no leakes. Well I was washing off some of the Texas dust we have been having and guess what? It is still leaking on the side next to the lavatory. It looks as if the bottom rubber seal is pointed up on the end and is a perfect place to catch the water. Looks as if it would be better to cut the rubber seal off about an inch and let it lay flat on the bottom of the slide and let the side seal hang down below the bottom seal. :confused: At least no leak on the other side. So back to dealer in the AM.
 

shanise25

Member
Tm...I have the same friggen problem all of last year, leaking in the living room, bedroom, when i'm hauling it. I understand it is very upsetting, I've tried to bring it back, however, i would have to gone to civil court for it. So, I just kept on returning it back to the dealership, and here is the thing, the nearest dealership is about 200miles away. At the end, i do believe the problem was fixed, this year is another year. I will never buy a sundance, no offence to anyone. I have had just a bad experience with our RV.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Tm...I have the same friggen problem all of last year, leaking in the living room, bedroom, when i'm hauling it. I understand it is very upsetting, I've tried to bring it back, however, i would have to gone to civil court for it. So, I just kept on returning it back to the dealership, and here is the thing, the nearest dealership is about 200miles away. At the end, i do believe the problem was fixed, this year is another year. I will never buy a sundance, no offence to anyone. I have had just a bad experience with our RV.

Yep, I have checked several other brands and the front bottom slides have very different setups and look much better and cleaner. Two folks I know have Sunny Brooks. 2 and 3 yrs old no leaks anywhere and very well detailed. Wish I had spent the extra money and gone that route. The design of the the dams seem to be an after thought of trying to cure a design fault in the first place. It is not just the Sundance line but the BH, BC and others of the Hartland line from what I have been told. I can feel for ya being 200 miles away. I'm only about 15 minutes and the dealer and techs have been very helpful. The tech rebuilt the dams and made them taller and the leak is better but still in a heavy extended rain the bedroom would be flooded. This will be a deal breaker with me if it is not repaired to my satisfaction. I have checked the LR and back BR and have not seen any leaks yet. Since it has been at the dealers so much I have not had it more than 35 miles since we bought it in 2-7-09. So don't know if it leaks while driving in the rain. Not sure where you are from but Texas has an RV lemon law and it seems to work from some limited contact I've had. Does take time and must meet the conditions. Hope you do not have any problems this year.
 
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