Hi all,I noticed on my '14 Fleetwood that the drivers side and passengers side slides totally seat differently.The passenger side slide when all the way in compresses a small rubber gasket up against the side of the coach and there is no gap.The drivers side has a good sized gap on it and doesnt compress this gasket at all. Heck it doesnt even touch the gasket. Is this normal? Is the small outer gasket just there to prevent the slide from rubbing against the coach wall or is that the seal?Here is a pic of the slide in question. And my finger is there as a reference. It isnt pointing but actually in the gap.

slide needs to be adjusted. I don't know how and would not take a chance on getting it misaligned but someone on here might tell you how, Or better, have a dealership do it

Its under warranty as its less than 2 months old. Just a hassle to take it there but if it needs to be done it needs to be done.

I'd get it adjusted - you don't want water to get in there!

Dealers are funny (not) called to make an appt and described the issue. The adviser sounded so confused and said he's never heard of such a thing before. I said it probably just needs to be adjusted and he again said... I've never heard such a thing. Crazy. Too bad only dealer in my area that can service this. Almost tempted to pay and take to camping world.

Call the Fleetwood factory and explain the issue to them. Be nice. Ask if there is a qualified dealer in your area, to do warranty work. The selling dealer might get a phone call and suddenly learn how correct the problem.Richard

RV Slide Gap | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

OhhWell
Explorer
Apr 01, 2014
Bruce Brown wrote:
dougrainer wrote:
jeremywatco wrote:
Good Morning,

The picture above is the slide that doesnt close all the way. And there is about 1/8" from the coach to the gasket. Nothing touches.

Looks normal to me. Doug (RV Technician)

Really? I sure hope when you say "normal" you don't mean "it's OK". If so please let me know where you work so you're not working on my stuff.

I did a complete TT rebuild this summer and the slide on it now fits far better than that one. There is no way anyone can look at how that fits and think it's OK.

Yeah, that is not normal for a brand new coach. Fleetwood agrees. It is normal for slides to come out of alignment like that over time. I hope that is what Doug meant....

I guess all that is left is for the OP to tell us how they fix it if the slide indeed is "too big" as they initially said. I also would be a bit Leary of bringing it for repair to the dealer that told me it was fine but unless there is another authorized repair center close, it could be a pain not to.
timmac
Explorer
Apr 01, 2014
I have a 08 Bounder and my large slide on drivers side looks the same as the OPer, never any water leaks or any other issues, I don't see any future problems other than looks.
hikk
Explorer
Apr 01, 2014
We recently purchased a 2014 FW Storm. After reading this thread I wanted to reply that our passenger side slide has the same size gap between slide and exterior wall. Am going to contact FW tomorrow and inquire about this situation. Thanks to jeremywatco for bringing this to situation to light.
RVUSA
Explorer
Dec 31, 2013
jeremywatco wrote:
Spoke to fleetwood this morning and they confirmed this is not a cosmetic thing and that this issue needs to be resolved ASAP.

Now I get to play phone tag with Dealer and Fleetwood to make sure this gets resolved.

Hopefully this ends well.

since the dealer said it was merely cosmetic and Fleetwood thinks it's structural, Ask Fleetwood where to take the RV. The dealer obviously isnt qualified to know when it is fixed.
jeremywatco
Explorer
Dec 31, 2013
Sprig wrote:
jeremywatco wrote:
Spoke to fleetwood this morning and they confirmed this is not a cosmetic thing and that this issue needs to be resolved ASAP...

If you EVER drive in wet weather, there is no telling the damage that will be done.

It seems to me that Fleetwood would prefer to fix the issue before you take a road trip in the rain; even more potential under warranty damage.

Just curious, did you purchase the RV with the slides "out"? ... and NOT compare how the rig was inside and outside with the slides "in"?

Thanks for the info,

I had them put the slides in before I bought but didnt do a walkaround with them in, just wanted to be sure I could use what I needed with the slides in and underway.

I did make one trip in the rain, drove about 15min through a rainstorm once.
Sprig
Explorer
Dec 31, 2013
jeremywatco wrote:
Spoke to fleetwood this morning and they confirmed this is not a cosmetic thing and that this issue needs to be resolved ASAP...

If you EVER drive in wet weather, there is no telling the damage that will be done.

It seems to me that Fleetwood would prefer to fix the issue before you take a road trip in the rain; even more potential under warranty damage.

Just curious, did you purchase the RV with the slides "out"? ... and NOT compare how the rig was inside and outside with the slides "in"?

Thanks for the info,
jeremywatco
Explorer
Dec 30, 2013
Spoke to fleetwood this morning and they confirmed this is not a cosmetic thing and that this issue needs to be resolved ASAP.

Now I get to play phone tag with Dealer and Fleetwood to make sure this gets resolved.

Hopefully this ends well.
Clay_L
Explorer
Dec 30, 2013
jeremywatco wrote:
I'm still un-clear as to what the specific issue is. I'm going down to the dealer in a few days as I need the rig back for a trip but them will drop back off again.

They told me all their storms on the lot are this way.

He said the sweeper seals are in tack and sealing (not sure what that means) and he said the seals on this flange are to prevent wind noise and potentially a little bit or extra water protection however he says the slide is sealed... He's telling me its purely cosmentic....

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I just don't know how if all their storms look like this why I'd be the first one to bring it up.

In most cases the sweepers do very little to seal. They are there to wipe debris and water off the slide as it is retracted.
The bulb gasket does the sealing.
I would want it fixed if it was mine.
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Dec 30, 2013
dougrainer wrote:
jeremywatco wrote:
Good Morning,

The picture above is the slide that doesnt close all the way. And there is about 1/8" from the coach to the gasket. Nothing touches.

Looks normal to me. Doug (RV Technician)

Really? I sure hope when you say "normal" you don't mean "it's OK". If so please let me know where you work so you're not working on my stuff.

I did a complete TT rebuild this summer and the slide on it now fits far better than that one. There is no way anyone can look at how that fits and think it's OK.
jeremywatco
Explorer
Dec 28, 2013
RVUSA wrote:
jeremywatco wrote:
Now I understand. The slide is leaning slightly out at the top... maybe and 1/8" more than the bottom.

That may be just an adjustment and not a "hole is too small" thing.

When it's extended you should be able to see the adjusters on the bottom of the slide at the end of the rails. They need to be adjusted to raise the slide up higher. That way it will begin to lean in after about half of the travel distance when you bring it in.

If you can get a 4x4 and a floor jack to hold the weight of the slide out you can adjust them yourself. Just do 1/4" in height at a time and do both adjusters by the same amount so it doesnt get crooked. Put some cardboard or something on the floor before you slide it in case that last 1/4" makes it tilt in at the top too much and drag on the floor.

Pulled it out of the shop for a trip this weekend, looking with the slide out there is no adjustment at the end of the rail. The rail is simply just bolted to the slide at the end.