Rottening slideout floor 2018 cyclone

[elisadoucet]

I need to express my disappointment about the design failure of my 2018 cyclone. My slideout floors should not be having water damage. One simple, low cost preventive measure could have been add at the factory that would have eliminated this issue for Heartland owners. A simple slideout floor or waterdrip edging installed on the bottom edge of all the slideouts could have prevented the floor damage. Sad to say, I will be spending my time repairing rotten floors, instead of enjoying my RV. I was so excited to buy my Cyclone, as I thought it was top of the line quality. My mistake. Costumers should matter. Disappointed.

 

[danemayer]

Hi elisadoucet,

Sorry to hear about your problem. Heartland has been putting protective material on slide floors for a number of years to prevent this. If your Cyclone is missing this and just has bare wood on the edges, you should call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Perhaps Heartland will grant a goodwill accommodation to correct the problem for you.

 

[elisadoucet]

Hi elisadoucet,

Sorry to hear about your problem. Heartland has been putting protective material on slide floors for a number of years to prevent this. If your Cyclone is missing this and just has bare wood on the edges, you should call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Perhaps Heartland will grant a goodwill accommodation to correct the problem for you.

Danemayer, it has protective material on it but has failed.

 

[JohnDar]

That plastic sheeting they put on probably isn’t water repellent as much as they think it is. Those of us with older rigs learned to cover the exposed edges of slide floors (regardless of what HL did) with aluminum cap and a generous application of caulk before attaching. Then cover that with Eternabond tape.

On some slides, it looked like Bubba colored the edges of the wood with a Magic Marker.


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[mwc]

My 2018 is doing the same thing. Disapointing to say the least. Mine now have tons of silicone and patches. Put sheet metal on the bottom of one to limp it along, just waiting on the fridge to fall out. Idiotic design.

 

[elisadoucet]

That plastic sheeting they put on probably isn’t water repellent as much as they think it is. Those of us with older rigs learned to cover the exposed edges of slide floors (regardless of what HL did) with aluminum cap and a generous application of caulk before attaching. Then cover that with Eternabond tape.

On some slides, it looked like Bubba colored the edges of the wood with a Magic Marker.


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Bubba sure designed my slideouts

- - - Updated - - -

My 2018 is doing the same thing. Disapointing to say the least. Mine now have tons of silicone and patches. Put sheet metal on the bottom of one to limp it along, just waiting on the fridge to fall out. Idiotic design.

Seem like they should do something about it. We shouldn't have to pay tens of thousands for a product that doesn't last 2 years. I'm soooo disappointed in my Cyclone

 

[crwdavis]

I feel your frustration, curious if you have any pictures? I would really love to nip this in the but before we experience winter here in Fernie BC. We do receive around 35 feet of snow on average, I can foresee this being a contentious issue.

 

[maldds1981]

I had the same issue with my 2018 Bighorn Traveler this past spring. Contacted Heartland and after a lengthy discussion they replaced two slideout floors under the three year structural warranty. I would contact them and not take no for an answer. Go up their chain of command as high as you can.
I agree that these RV's are not built as well as they should be for the money we pay for them.

 

[ParkIt]

Sorry to hear you are having to deal with this so soon, there are definite signs of Bubba 'the new guy' on mine as well. My 2011 had a front cap issue when it was less than a year old, found a great RV repair shop that pulled it off, resealed everything though the biggest thing was the cap itself wasn't aligned properly from the factory allowing moisture in (not a lot but just enough). Heartland did pay for it though it took awhile sitting on the repair lot to get that sorted out.
I was one of the lucky ones since it had only gotten into the insulation and ridge on the top of the cap which were replaced.

 

[zolman]

Have you figured out how the water got in.

Faulty rubber seals? Slideout not completely closing? Slideout not closing evenly? Window or door seals? Or?

I am also curious. Do you have a slideout awning topper?

I would like to think that the slideout awning, even when the slideout is in, would prevent water from leaking around the slideout seals????

 

[sengli]

That aluminum extrusion material on the bottom of the outside of the slide sides is designed to be like a drip edge. I was told to make sure and RTV those to make sure they are sealed on the top edge. Even the techs at Affinity RV repair.. complimented me on the fact I had done this, as they see this type of floor rot issue on all RV's otherwise.

 

[zolman]

That aluminum extrusion material on the bottom of the outside of the slide sides is designed to be like a drip edge. I was told to make sure and RTV those to make sure they are sealed on the top edge. Even the techs at Affinity RV repair.. complimented me on the fact I had done this, as they see this type of floor rot issue on all RV's otherwise.

IMO the aluminum extrusion material at the bottom of the slide would be the least likely place you would get a water leak.

My point is that if you do not a good seal at the top or side of the slideout, water could leak in through the those seals, go down the wall and run onto the floor. To me that would be the more likely reason for the slideout floor to get moisture.

I took my 2020 Cyclone in twice to have my slideout seals adjusted plus I have slide toppers. On my kitchen slide particularily the seal was not fitting properly to the wall.

 

[sengli]

That extrusion, is a drip edge that gets the water off the slide side, so it doesnt run down and wrap around the bottom of the slide..... and end up on the floor edges. Where it soaks into the grain of the plywood flooring, like a sponge.

 

[zolman]

Sorry but we seem to be missing each other's point. I'd like to understand your issue so I can avoid the problem you have. Where do you think the water coming from that is rotting your floor? What do you mean by the term "extrusion" Is it the rubber seal or the metal slideout edge trim? I've seen the RV term "extrusion" to mean either one?

The drip edge you mention is a completely different piece. It's placed at the top of sidewall of the RV, just above the slideout. A drip edge would not be attached to the slideout wall. Some manufactures do place a drip edge about each slideout even though a topper is not attached. That same drip edge can also be used to secure a slideout topper.

 

[JohnDar]

While the bottom edge of a slide wall may have an extruded aluminum molding of sorts, if the edge of the plywood floor is visible below it, the cap is doing nothing to protect it.

To protect the exposed edges of my floors, I had aluminum flat stock bent to form a right angle with 1 1/4” legs. Removed the decorative trim, caulked the inside faces of the angle and used the OEM trim to screw it to the wall. Then Eternabond tape over top of it.


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[zolman]

OK thank you, now I understand. My slideout is apparently constructed differently???? The plywood flooring is not exposed. The Azdel composite covering of the slideout vertical wall covers the plywood on the front. On the sides of the slideout the vertical wall is made of aluminum and also covers the plywood flooring. My trim strip is on the outside of that.

 

[JohnDar]

This may give an idea of what I did to protect my slide floors. Fortunately, I read about the problem before experiencing it and took action. The distance between the bottom of the OEM trim and the bottom of the new trim is how much of the plywood edge was exposed. I added the Eternabond tape (no photo) some time later when I noticed the caulking bead at the top of the trim was starting to look a little dried out.

 

[ParkIt]

This may give an idea of what I did to protect my slide floors. Fortunately, I read about the problem before experiencing it and took action. The distance between the bottom of the OEM trim and the bottom of the new trim is how much of the plywood edge was exposed. I added the Eternabond tape (no photo) some time later when I noticed the caulking bead at the top of the trim was starting to look a little dried out.

Screen shot - done. Having issues with 2 corners on the largest slide, was trying to figure what would fit when it slid in.
Kinda interesting I didn't know this before buying, when "tip out's" first came along they were named appropriately because you could watch them 'tip out' while cruising down the highway.
Took it for granted the slide out's had the moisture bug fixed when I bought my BC, apparently not.

 

[JohnDar]

If the spot is behind the wheel trim on the slide, remove that trim and you’ll probably see exposed wood (and a raggedly cut sheet metal panel. Use overlapping strips of tape to cover the edge of the wood. Water from road spray gets flung up there from the tires.


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[Remastoy]

My 2018 Cyclone 4200 also had a rotting slide along with poor slide roller placement. My rotting slide was the bedroom slide, the reason for the rotting was due to the slide placement to close to the roof line. You are not able to install a slide cover. When it rains the water just rolls down the sides and water moves under the slide. putting the slide in lets the water just soak into the wood at the joints. Yes the bottom was/is coated with a black sealant but wont totally seal the joints.

My repair was minor compared to some I have seen. With my rollers out to the edge along with dampness caused the wood to start breaking down. The shop I took it to in Clearwater Florida installed 3 stainless steel plates (the whole length of the slide) on the outside floor along with large amount of Silicone sealant has saved the floor and made the slide roll in and out so much easier.

Now the living room slide was a different story there was no rotting wood (because of slide awning) but the slide was always shifting side to side when going out or in. The same mechanic told me it was from the main beam that ties the slide to the slide arms. The factory (Lippert) uses a 3/4 channel steel beam welded to the actuator frame, so with the weight of the residential fridge, dining table and chairs and the recliner sofa on that slide. When the slide starts to move one actuator can move a little before the other causing the beam to bend. Mechanic stated Lippert change from 3/4 channel to full square beam years ago because of that problem, he also stated he did not know why or when they went back to the 3/4 channel. He removed the bent 3/4 beam and welded on a full square beam and that cured my problem.

Extended warranty would not cover the charges because it was not repaired like the factory manufactured. It was repaired to be better, those 2 repairs were done to the tune of $2000.00.