Slide Floor Delaminating

We have a 2009 Big Horn 3600RL and our slideout floor is delaminating from water running down the side of the slide and cupping over, there is NO trim piece over the edge of the wood floor.

We have called Heartland to inquire about trim pieces to be installed like on all the new Heartland products and no one seemed to know what we were talking about! We spoke with both parts and warranty.

We would like to repair this before it advances in the rainy season here in Florida.

Looking for suggestions on what materials to utilize if we are unable to obtain the necessary pieces/parts from Heartland.

Susan

I have heard of some folks that used aluminum L material and repaired the damaged wood with epoxy and then placed the L along the edge and sealed it good. Also some have taken 4--6" flashing material and an a/c shop that makes their own ducts can put a 90* bend along the edge to so you could have both side and bottom coverage.

There was a lot of post on this forum 2 or 3 years ago about this problem and the fix. I think there is a lot of employee turnover in RV manufacturing and the people you talked to may not be familiar with the problem.

I have the same problem with my 2009 Cyclone and began searching for a replacement. I contacted Parkland Plastics to inquire about their Dura-Slide floors. On their web site they advertise these as 100% waterproof and they were ready to sell me new floors until I told them about my de lamination problem and asked for a sample which I offered to pay for. They said they would send a sample but never did and stopped talking to me after that. So after I did some more research and talking with Heartland I determined that I already had Dura-Slide floors in my unit, so much for being 100% waterproof. I ended up ordering 2 slide floors direct from Heartland shipped to my front door cheaper then what Parkland wanted for just one floor. The floors I got from Heartland are also sealed much better and look good. Heartland also sent plastic edge trim with the floors. This trim is L shaped 1/2" x 1". Soon as it warms up I'll pull the slides and install the new floors. Hope the pictures help with your project.


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The material used on my 2009 BC is junk. I worked at building supply store one Summer and we were sold 2 pallets of the same plywood. On inspection of the product I called the manager to come and observe.
We ended getting rid of the plywood at $5 per sheet with a warning attached to the sale.
I found out about this junk in a 5 minute inspection.

How can manufacturers use this product for years without noticing it. The floor on the slide is very important and involve hard long process to replace.

I was stund that the material was used on my unit and have protected it from day one. There still many units that are not protected and slides are going to be a major problem.
The product was advertised as waterproof product but I was able to rip it apart with my bare hands.

caissiel said:

The material used on my 2009 BC is junk. I worked at building supply store one Summer and we were sold 2 pallets of the same plywood. On inspection of the product I called the manager to come and observe.
We ended getting rid of the plywood at $5 per sheet with a warning attached to the sale.
I found out about this junk in a 5 minute inspection.

How can manufacturers use this product for years without noticing it. The floor on the slide is very important and involve hard long process to replace.

I was stund that the material was used on my unit and have protected it from day one. There still many units that are not protected and slides are going to be a major problem.
The product was advertised as waterproof product but I was able to rip it apart with my bare hands.

Click to expand...

I don't know who is supplying floors to Heartland now, maybe someone who knows will chime in on this discussion. But the floors I received from heartland don't look like the slide floors on my unit nor do they look like the Dura-Slide floors on Parkland Plastics web site. The floors from Heartland seem to be sealed pretty well along the edges, the Dura-Slide wasn't sealed at all along the edge. The surface material is different as well.


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Some of us read of the problems incurred by others and took pre-emptive action to prevent it. The amount of plywood edge exposed seemed to vary greatly from rig to rig. On mine, the maximum exposed was about 1/2", so I had L-angle pieces of painted aluminum coil stock bent with 1 1/4" on each leg at a nearby siding dealer and installed them myself. You need to remove the trim piece that runs along the bottom of the slide wall, apply a generous bead of caulk to the inside of both legs of the L-angle, and use the original trim piece over it to secure it. Then run another bead of caulk along the top length of that piece. Inspect the caulk when you inspect the rest of your rig.

Whole project took a couple of hours. I didn't have to do the bedroom slide since it already had a heavy angle trim on it.

JohnDar said:

Some of us read of the problems incurred by others and took pre-emptive action to prevent it. The amount of plywood edge exposed seemed to vary greatly from rig to rig. On mine, the maximum exposed was about 1/2", so I had L-angle pieces of painted aluminum coil stock bent with 1 1/4" on each leg at a nearby siding dealer and installed them myself. You need to remove the trim piece that runs along the bottom of the slide wall, apply a generous bead of caulk to the inside of both legs of the L-angle, and use the original trim piece over it to secure it. Then run another bead of caulk along the top length of that piece. Inspect the caulk when you inspect the rest of your rig.

Whole project took a couple of hours. I didn't have to do the bedroom slide since it already had a heavy angle trim on it.

Click to expand...

Nice job.


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whp4262 said:

I have the same problem with my 2009 Cyclone and began searching for a replacement. I contacted Parkland Plastics to inquire about their Dura-Slide floors. On their web site they advertise these as 100% waterproof and they were ready to sell me new floors until I told them about my de lamination problem and asked for a sample which I offered to pay for. They said they would send a sample but never did and stopped talking to me after that. So after I did some more research and talking with Heartland I determined that I already had Dura-Slide floors in my unit, so much for being 100% waterproof. I ended up ordering 2 slide floors direct from Heartland shipped to my front door cheaper then what Parkland wanted for just one floor. The floors I got from Heartland are also sealed much better and look good. Heartland also sent plastic edge trim with the floors. This trim is L shaped 1/2" x 1". Soon as it warms up I'll pull the slides and install the new floors. Hope the pictures help with your project.


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Click to expand...

What size was the slides that you replaced? Did you remove the slides? How much was the floors?

2psnapod2 said:

What size was the slides that you replaced? Did you remove the slides? How much was the floors?

Click to expand...

It was the dinette and kitchen slide. Kitchen 65 1/2 x 28 $149.97, dinette $199.62, tape 1/8" x 3/4" x 30' $17.73 and trim angle for the edges 1/2" x 1" x 96" $10.08. Shipping was about $194.77 to Azle, TX. for a total of $572.17. I haven't installed the floors yet but yes I will pull the slides out, replace the seals and do what ever else needs to be done. I have a forklift which makes pulling the slides much easier.


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whp4262 said:

It was the dinette and kitchen slide. Kitchen 65 1/2 x 28 $149.97, dinette $199.62, tape 1/8" x 3/4" x 30' $17.73 and trim angle for the edges 1/2" x 1" x 96" $10.08. Shipping was about $194.77 to Azle, TX. for a total of $572.17. I haven't installed the floors yet but yes I will pull the slides out, replace the seals and do what ever else needs to be done. I have a forklift which makes pulling the slides much easier.


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Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Mine is a 17 foot slide so I am sure it will be a lot more than those. But at least that gives me some numbers to work with.

JohnDar said:

Some of us read of the problems incurred by others and took pre-emptive action to prevent it. The amount of plywood edge exposed seemed to vary greatly from rig to rig. On mine, the maximum exposed was about 1/2", so I had L-angle pieces of painted aluminum coil stock bent with 1 1/4" on each leg at a nearby siding dealer and installed them myself. You need to remove the trim piece that runs along the bottom of the slide wall, apply a generous bead of caulk to the inside of both legs of the L-angle, and use the original trim piece over it to secure it. Then run another bead of caulk along the top length of that piece. Inspect the caulk when you inspect the rest of your rig.

Whole project took a couple of hours. I didn't have to do the bedroom slide since it already had a heavy angle trim on it.

Click to expand...

Nice job! This is exactly what we were looking for and it is something my partner can accomplish himself. All the new Heartland products now appear to have these trim pieces on the slides.

I was looking for updated information as I had read all the older threads regarding delamination. We really love our Big Horn and we prefer our own repairs if at all possible as good quality work is hard to find in today's society.

Thanks again to all who responded this is very refreshing and great information for us!

From what I have read on this forum on the subject, the slide floor delamination seems to happen on those slides exposed to water splash from the wheels going down the highway. You don't hear of it much on bedroom slides, or from those of us who live in dry climates. Besides doing the slide floor edges sealing, I wonder how much a simple set of wheel fenders would do to cut down on the road water spray into these slide areas?

wdk450 said:

From what I have read on this forum on the subject, the slide floor delamination seems to happen on those slides exposed to water splash from the wheels going down the highway. You don't hear of it much on bedroom slides, or from those of us who live in dry climates. Besides doing the slide floor edges sealing, I wonder how much a simple set of wheel fenders would do to cut down on the road water spray into these slide areas?

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My impression was that the exposed ends were absorbing water that ran down the sidewalls during rain. While in transit, those are mostly tucked inside the trailer.

I recall someone on another forum, with a different brand, that made fenders for his rig. It was interesting, but looking at the confines/layout of mine, it was not practical. They would interfere with closing the slides.

JohnDar said:

My impression was that the exposed ends were absorbing water that ran down the sidewalls during rain. While in transit, those are mostly tucked inside the trailer.

I recall someone on another forum, with a different brand, that made fenders for his rig. It was interesting, but looking at the confines/layout of mine, it was not practical. They would interfere with closing the slides.

Click to expand...

What about just adding some truck mud flaps?

After this current thread brought this issue up again, I decided to re-inspect my slide floor exposed edges. I distinctly remember inspecting these black, uncovered surfaces a couple of years ago. Well, guess what??? These edges now have the white plastic edging on them. All I can figure is that this was an added, unmentioned, repair by the Heartland Factory repair crew when my rig was in for pinbox frame flex repair in June 2012. Thank You, Heartland!!!

I just discovered that my Cyclone built in mid 2014 is having this problem. The slide in the living room (the one with the refrigerator in it!!) is apparently missing the L-shaped seals along the bottom on the sides and the layers of ply wood and whatever else is in there are curling/separating. It is definitely from water running down the side of the slide, not from the road, as we have only moved it once in the 6 months that we've owned it. In looking at the other two slides, I see that they are sealed, but it looks like someone fell asleep on the job while working on this slide. I'm very concerned about what it is going to take to replace the damaged flooring and then seal it up. I am going to assume that this will be covered by warranty, but we are traveling for the next few months and I don't know how long it is going to need to be in the shop and where we will live while that is happening. UGH!!

Someone here at the park told me that they saw someone else with the same problem and their slide actually bottomed out and their couch fell out onto the ground! They had to get several people to help them lift it up in order to even close the slide. I haven't called Heartland yet, as it is Sunday, but I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be quite a day, trying to figure out how this is all going to get fixed.

Erika, it might be a good idea to take photos of the damage with a good camera. Heartland may want them. If the damage hasn't progressed too far and the wood is dry, you might be able to "cap" them to prevent further damage until you get some kind of resolution.

I am interested to hear what Heartland has to say. As I have this issue and really wanting to know how to go about fixing it. At this time, I am thinking that a replacement of the whole slide floor is the best way to go. I am hoping that I can get HL to do the repair.

I haven't had a chance to call Heartland yet, but here are the photos I took this morning. You can see that the bedroom slide has some sort of protective cover/seal over the corner edge, but the living room slides do not. The oven side (opposite of the door) slide is holding up okay for now, but there isn't anything but some black sealant protecting the edge of the wood. On the refrigerator side (door side) slide, the wood has been compromised, with the most damage on the front side. I don't know how deep in the damage goes, whether mold could be growing in there, etc. There is a sheet of plastic screwed onto the bottom, so I can't poke to check for soft wood. All I know is that I see that nasty curling/splitting of at least one layer of the plywood.

I will write back when I talk to Heartland. There are several other warranty related repairs that have been accumulating, so I am hoping to get it all done at once. (Bathroom fan is whining, water leaks into bay compartment from bay door, screen door to ramp-deck is off track, etc)