Installing polyethylene flat strips to bottom edges of slides

[RVFun4Us]

JohnDar - No hangups at the leading edge. Using the adhesive with the self-sticking tape on the side of the strips seemed to do the job. Just one area on the bedroom slide bubbled up in about a one inch strip about halfway back. Probably didn't get enough adhesive in that spot so added a little more. Will see tomorrow how it looks after running that slide in and out a few times. But the leading edge of the strips stayed put, at least for now.

porthole - I think the main problem was in models made earlier than 2010. Conversion to the corner angle pieces began in the 2009 models. So you are lucky. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[patrick1945]

I thought I understood the problem discussed on this thread AND in ASK THE FACTORY but now I do not know. The factory has not answered the question. Does it seem fair that the factory could post what we are to do along with a couple pictures?

 

[JohnDar]

Thanks, Bob. We've just returned home, but will be back to the BH next week. So, unless the factory comes out with a WARNING, WARNING, WILL ROBINSON message, I'll stick them on up to the rollers. My bedroom slide isn't bubbled, but it is slightly grooved from the rollers. If we moved about a lot and worked the slides frequently, it would probably be a lot worse.

 

[RVFun4Us]

patrick1945: I believe the factory should at least tell us how and where the strips are to be installed. If they recommend that the owner not do this but maybe an authorized dealer, then they should also state that. That would maybe relieve them from liability if an owner chose to install themselves and something bad happened.

JohnDar: My bedroom slide was also grooved a little before I put on the strips. Now I would also expect that the strips will show a wear pattern. I probably have moved the slides more in the past two weeks then I have since I purchased. Hopefully Kary from Heartland will still respond after a service technician answers him. I did not want to wait any longer with a trip coming up fast and many other things to do. So chose to do the install the way I did. Hopefully everything will stay put and I can work on other matters like getting ready for football season.

 

[patrick1945]

I sent several pictures of the delamination of the black plastic cover under the plywood slides to Heartland. Although at first glance I did not see water damage to speak of, I wasn't looking for the erosion of that plastic. There is much of this damage and It will be interesting to see what the factory says. In some cases the loss of that plastic extends 6"-8" from the edge of the plywood. A corner strip is not going to fix this. Correct me if I am wrong but I did not see an answer under ask the factory.

 

[patrick1945]

JohnDar-is it the Ducks or Beavers?

 

[RVFun4Us]

patrick1945: The black plastic material you speak of covering the bottom of the slide can be damaged by water leakage coming down the side of the slide and perforating the exposed plywood at the bottom. That causes the delamination at the edge.

The flaking of the black material or sometimes gouging inwards from the sides is caused by the slide rollers or nylon strips as the slides are extended or retracted. I also found that the screws that hold the heat registers in place inside can also gouge the slide. I used the adhesive that Heartland sent me with the polyethylene strips to patch the gouge, then let cure for 24 hours. I replaced the screws in the heat registers with ones that recess so the slide will not come in contact.

The factory reps did not respond under "Ask the Factory". I know Kary from Heartland was waiting for a service technician to provide recommendations for installation but have not heard through the forum or personal email.

As far as the Ducks and Beavers, they are Oregon teams so unless JohnDar has an interest in Oregon football (find that hard to believe since he is from Michigan), then I'm the guy. Beavers!

 

[patrick1945]

I was a Duck, 1 of my sons is also, the other 2 (1 boy and 1 girl) were Beavers..

patrick1945: The black plastic material you speak of covering the bottom of the slide can be damaged by water leakage coming down the side of the slide and perforating the exposed plywood at the bottom. That causes the delamination at the edge.

The flaking of the black material or sometimes gouging inwards from the sides is caused by the slide rollers or nylon strips as the slides are extended or retracted. I also found that the screws that hold the heat registers in place inside can also gouge the slide. I used the adhesive that Heartland sent me with the polyethylene strips to patch the gouge, then let cure for 24 hours. I replaced the screws in the heat registers with ones that recess so the slide will not come in contact.

The factory reps did not respond under "Ask the Factory". I know Kary from Heartland was waiting for a service technician to provide recommendations for installation but have not heard through the forum or personal email.

As far as the Ducks and Beavers, they are Oregon teams so unless JohnDar has an interest in Oregon football (find that hard to believe since he is from Michigan), then I'm the guy. Beavers!

 

[N9MB]

Interesting thread, I thought that I was the only one with exposed delaminating plywood on 3 of my 3600RE's 4 slides (the BR slide is factory sealed with angle aluminum). To that end I installed 1/16 X 1 1/2 angle on the 3 remaining slides (beveled the bottom front for the nylon rub strips) with liberal amounts of caulk and screws (on the side of the angle only, not the bottom for reasons apparent). Didn't realize that the factory was doing anything about the problem as my 2009 was already out of warranty when I noticed the delamination. That said, this is the only real quality issue I have experienced with the unit.

 

[patrick1945]

I got 2 kits and some aluminum flashing from Heartland ($150) today but I have come up with another question about the process of fixing this quality problem. I have gotten instuctions verbally that are:

1. remove the existing aluminum trim
2. smooth and fill the gauges/delamination voids with the black stuff
3. sand the repaired surface
4. install the black poly rolls and
5. install the new flashing over the black stuff and the floor edges utilizing a 45 degree cut on the metal where facing in.

But I was told that I would have to hyper-extend the slide to get to the inner-most screws on the existing aluminum strips off. I was told how to do the hyper-extention BUT it just made my head hurt. Heartland just cannot expect to remove the "facia" around the inside slide faces.

Did anyone do this and should I expect to have trouble getting those inner-most screws out?

I have 2 slides (4 edges) that need this work and I should be able to get to three of the four if I partially pull them in. But the entertainment slide FORWARD SIDE will not be accessible in that manner.

This is a major PITA!

 

[patrick1945]

Well I couldn't stall any longer so I took off the trim on the sides that I knew I could access from the inside and to my pleasure 3 sides did not have screws beyond my reach. 1 of the 4 had a screw but it pulled right out. I guess that sounds reasonable since it was screwed into the side of a piece of plywood. The ends of the plies do not have much holding power. I will be glad when this is over so I can stress about something else. I could not duplicate the grayish brown sealant/caulk that was behind the aluminum trim so I am using a poly caulk that is waterproof and stays pliable for years.

 

[RVFun4Us]

I did not hyperextend my slides when putting on the aluminum strips. I was able to remove all screws from the outside when the slide was fully extended. The strip came loose easily. I did not remove it, just slid the new piece under, then rescrewed the original piece back on. I then recaulked where needed. I have the 3055 model so don't know if it is different on your unit.

 

[JohnDar]

When I did mine, there was one piece of trim on the kitchen slide that had a screw that I could not access. Even if I had retracted the slide, I could not have gotten at it from the inside. So, I lifted the trim away from the wall enough to slide the aluminum trim piece up to the screw and called it good. It actually ended up inside the inner seal, anyways, so it's out of harm's way. I used a siliconized acrylic Window & Door caulk under both legs of the trim cap and reinstalled the original trim strip over it, using the same screws. The original trim covers the top edge of the cap. Most of the original caulk/seal was still there inside the trim, but I added a bead of the Window & Door caulk along the top edge of it, just to be sure.