Replace slide seals myself?

We have a 30ft. fiver which was plagued with galley slide leaks. Due to leaks, I had to replace carpet/pad and install laminate flooring. Fortunately, the subfloor was ok.

3 shops worked on the leaks. I spent over $1K between them and still had the problem. Fiver was only 5 yr. old. Shops indicated they were perplexed on the slide leaks claiming it must be operator problem.

By chance, we stopped by an rv shop in Quartzite, AZ coming from Ca a few months ago. They recommended we try some new gaskets. So, what ta heck....I bought two type of gaskets (which I had been researching on line) drove home to Casa Grande, AZ. Both wife and I pulled off old perimeter gasket and replaced it. What we discovered is that, the metal stop bar on the inside of the trailer which supports the exterior gasket was bare....nothing on it. Therefore I put a "D" gasket on that along with a garage door gasket. Adjusted the position of the slide (which isn't rocket science...anyone could do it).

Guess what....now that we're in Oregon where it's raining nearly every other day....no leaks. Have been through a couple windy/rainy storms without a drip inside.

Gasket installation only took a few hours. Don't be afraid to tackle some of these projects. Do lots of research and talk with a few techs.

Best of luck!!!

Listen to Doug. He's a master rv tech.

1. NONE of the previous 4 shops determined it was a defective slide seal causing your problem?
2. You have NO experience, but have determined you need the slide seal replaced?
3. I would hesitate to trust a Mobile Tech to fix your problem if 4 other shops have not determined the problem.
4. Is the Slide cover in good repair and the slide cover "mount" track secured and sealed to the sidewall/roll wrap? If the slide cover leaks on Monaco produsts that contributes to a slide leak. Monaco's require the slide cover to be in good repair to prevent excess water from flowing thru onto the slide room roof.
5. If you have a slide cover, then it must be removed to do the seal replacement. IF the slide fabric is in bad condition, then have the slide fabric replaced at the same time to minimize the labor costs.
6. DO NOT remove anything, Let the Tech do that so he has an idea of what the problem might be. If you came to me and stated you wanted the slide seal replaced and it was there or you removed, I would replace it and THEN, if you still had a leak, YOU would still be on the hook labor and part for what the real problem is.
7. You should be able to look on top the top under the slide cover or inside to see if the seal has come loose from the long top mount. Have someone operate the room while watching and you will see if the seal rolls loose somewhere along that mount. Doug

I've messed with these a bit, when part of my seal came out of it's retaining track. I spent several hours trying to fix it.

Dealers quoted me a massive price to replace them, claiming they had to completely remove the slideout to replace the seals.
A mobile tech came out, spent an hour or so fiddling with it, then got it resecured in another 15 minutes.

Lesson learned: a good mobile tech is used to solving these problems even if he isn't familiar with your specifics. Cash well spent!