Slide out rubber flap seal on top

[yepuhuh]

I tell ya, I have gone over this unit with a fine tooth comb now and will list the defects and/or improvements.
The wiper seal on top of the living room Driver side slide out was not caulked properly and had started to come out of the d-rail. I took it to the dealer and they installed a new wiper seal/d-rail and made a note on my repair they put screws every 12 inches where the factory did at 24 inches
.

This past weekend, I decided to get some rubber seal penetrant to wipe down the wiper seals underneath as well as on top. Got it from the dealership. In doing this I got to inspect each seal on top of the slides and it seems the seal on the bedroom slideout is the best. Any how, I got them all cleaned and applied the protectant on all the rubber around the slide outs.

Just today, I got out my drill and self tapping screws and attached a brace that was not attached underneath just behind the tires on the driver side. I was wondering why this was flapping so bad......

On the rear of the coach underneath I noticed a rather large opening in the end cap and saw that the screws in the moulding missed the cap material and just pushed it up. So with it like this water spray would go up in the end cap, but later would drain out....Not good enough for me, so i took down the plastic trim to exposed the screws and reattached them to where both parts were connected and the gap reduced to less than 1/8 inch then caulked it and sealed it . Both sides were like this. Now I don't have to worry about water getting up in there.
Next , I caulked around the fenders over the tires just so it looked good. And made sure all the screws were tight...Had to tighten quite a few of them so the caulk on the screws would surely help keep them from backing out now.

So I went around the entire unit looking for any little imperfection in the caulked joints and now I am happy. I think I got them all.

Would love to post a picture or two if I could figure out how to.....from my Andriod phone....

It seems to me the quality in these heartland units are somewhat missed a lot. Maybe they need to hear from us on this?

 

[Rrloren]

Re: Slide out rubber flap seal on taop

Funny you should mention this , I was looking underneath mine 2 days ago and found under the driver side living room slide that the rubber piece that prevents water splashing up under the slide was hanging about 15 " on the forward edge. I looked to see if the screw had pulled out but there was none and no hole in the metal so it must have been like that since I've owned the coach.
Easy enough fix with 2 screws and wireless drill tho. On the plus side I have had very few problems with my unit. The most serious being a large bubble in one of the tires while in Fl. last winter, had to buy 4 new ones to get comfortable.

 

[JohnDar]

Re: Slide out rubber flap seal on taop

I don't know about rubber penetrant, but at the rally seminar, the seal manufacturer warned against coating the seals with anything that makes them slicker. They need to have a tack to them to flip when opening/closing the slides. Even so, some of the seals still need some assistance when extending the slides. I use an awning rod to go around and coax the sections that don't flip out fully when extending the slides. Do the same for the tops, under the toppers, from a ladder. In three seasons, with some heavy rains, I've not had any water in the coach. And my slides remain extended for the entire summer, May - September.

While going around underneath yesterday, looking for additional mouse holes, I noticed that the space under the rear cap, on both sides, is just closed off by a piece of plastic. On the DS, the only thing back there is the wiring for the marker lamp. With some work, that may become a utility storage area. And there are no pentrations into the frame in there. On the ODS, the shore plug and stabilizer switch are mounted there. Since the large cable goes into the frame somewhere in there, I stuffed pipe foam strips into the gaps around the close-out panel.

 

[yepuhuh]

Re: Slide out rubber flap seal on taop

I don't know about rubber penetrant, but at the rally seminar, the seal manufacturer warned against coating the seals with anything that makes them slicker. They need to have a tack to them to flip when opening/closing the slides. Even so, some of the seals still need some assistance when extending the slides. I use an awning rod to go around and coax the sections that don't flip out fully when extending the slides. Do the same for the tops, under the toppers, from a ladder. In three seasons, with some heavy rains, I've not had any water in the coach. And my slides remain extended for the entire summer, May - September.

While going around underneath yesterday, looking for additional mouse holes, I noticed that the space under the rear cap, on both sides, is just closed off by a piece of plastic. On the DS, the only thing back there is the wiring for the marker lamp. With some work, that may become a utility storage area. And there are no pentrations into the frame in there. On the ODS, the shore plug and stabilizer switch are mounted there. Since the large cable goes into the frame somewhere in there, I stuffed pipe foam strips into the gaps around the close-out panel.

The protectant I used is specifically designed for the rubber to keep it soft and subtle and not slick. The dealer recommended it and it looks great when applied.

 

[JohnDar]

Re: Slide out rubber flap seal on taop

The protectant I used is specifically designed for the rubber to keep it soft and subtle and not slick. The dealer recommended it and it looks great when applied.

What is the name of the protectant? In the past, some folks were recommending silicone spray, which makes them slick.

 

[aatauses]

Re: Slide out rubber flap seal on taop

I use "303" on mine, usually about once/quarter.
al