Forum Discussion

Mr__Black's avatar
Mr__Black
Explorer
May 28, 2013

I have become the slide seal police!

We bought a new Heartland Sundance last fall. It has three slides in it. None of these three slides have seals that seem to want to do what they should do.

We have had 2 other 5th wheels in the last 10 years with slides that never experienced this problem.

It is my understanding that all the slide seals should "flip" when changing directions no?

Backstory, the first few months we had this unit it had a massive water leak in it due to bad bedroom slide seals. They became bad by sitting on a dealer lot all summer long all twisted up.

Well the new slide seals plus several of the others on the other slides seem to have a mind of their own.

Are there any tips or tricks to getting these slide seals to flip on their own? It gets kind of tedious climbing up on the roof everywhere we go to set the slide seals straight.

As to the slide seal police thread title, I made that as I am now looking at lots of trailers in the campgrounds with twisted up slide seals with the owners seeming none the wiser to it.

Am I worrying about this too much or is it a valid concern? I certainly don't want any water damage and our climate is very wet here.
Seeking Advice

6 Replies

  • Mr__Black's avatar
    Mr__Black
    Explorer
    May 29, 2013
    Just to add some information. The slide in question that originally leaked so bad you could splash your hand in the water at the bottom of the closet is a cable actuated BAL Accuslide.

    It only leaked in the OPEN position. It has flap type seals inside and outside best as I can tell. The outer seals often don't flip all the way and same with the inners.
  • powderman426's avatar
    powderman426
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    I have noticed on many of the newer units that the roof of the slideout appears level. On my old Prowler the roof has a slight drop which allows water to roll away from the seal. It sure seems to me that a little slope would be desirable.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    May 28, 2013
    hmknightnc wrote:
    wcjeep wrote:
    On my truck camper the outer seal is not to keep water out. The dealer called it a wipe slide. It's for removing any debris that might be sticking to the actual slide. It doesn't matter which way it's flipped. No water intrusion.


    x2, if you are talking about the big rubber "flaps". They are not the seals but they do direct water to reduce the amount of water that actually get to the seals. No way those flappers were the major cause of your original leak, and now you are worrying about it to much


    X3
    Our slides press against bulb seals that are on side of rig.
    The flappers just wipe the top and sides.

    If you really want them to flip direction each time slides move get a 2" strip of 'tread grip' and install on slide (top/sides).
    It's just rough enough to get the wipers something to grip & flip but not rough enough to cause harm to wipers.
  • hmknightnc's avatar
    hmknightnc
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    wcjeep wrote:
    On my truck camper the outer seal is not to keep water out. The dealer called it a wipe slide. It's for removing any debris that might be sticking to the actual slide. It doesn't matter which way it's flipped. No water intrusion.


    x2, if you are talking about the big rubber "flaps". They are not the seals but they do direct water to reduce the amount of water that actually get to the seals. No way those flappers were the major cause of your original leak, and now you are worrying about it to much
  • wcjeep's avatar
    wcjeep
    Explorer
    May 28, 2013
    On my truck camper the outer seal is not to keep water out. The dealer called it a wipe slide. It's for removing any debris that might be sticking to the actual slide. It doesn't matter which way it's flipped. No water intrusion.
  • lanerd's avatar
    lanerd
    Explorer II
    May 28, 2013
    I had the same problem on one of my slide outs. Here on the forum it was suggested that I put a little baby powder on the seal (inside and out) and lo and behold it worked like a charm

    . I just took a dry wash cloth and saturated it with baby powder and then wrapped the cloth around the seal flap and ran it from top to bottom getting the powder on both sides of the flap. I also ran the cloth down the attached seals on the slide (outside) and the seal on the wall inside.

    A spray slide-out lube is available also.

    Ron

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