Cannot find source of water leak on slide

JBarca wrote:

Wes Tausend wrote:
...

Snip....

This turned out to be a likely key to the leak. I noticed that sighting down the rain gutter reveals that very moderate jack pressure immediately "swoops" the shallow rain gutter (actually the whole camper roof).

snip...
Anyway, when the slide is in, and the jacks are barely down, rain then gathers towards the center of the roof, spills over the side, overpowers the useless token rain gutter, and runs directly across the joint and seal that is supposed to seal the slide roof when closed (if that makes sense). I'm not sure how the rain is ultimately getting in, but there is plenty of it available in the directed white-water stream, that is inadvertently created.

Now this poses an interesting situation. I will bet that all travel trailers suffer from the slight swoop or sag when the jacks prop up the ends of the frames.

Wes,

Do you have a picture of how your slide system is built? If you have fiberglass walls, I have seen some made where the slide flange has a seal bulb that presses to the side wall of the camper. If the wall has enough bow in it, the slide may not seal and water running down from the roof "might" enter.

Mine is made different. 1st I have aluminum sides. 2nd my slide has a trailer frame aluminum flange that rests inward of the camper. Then in that trailer framework, the actual slide flange seals however the entire slide flange is in-board of the camper side. There is also a 2nd semi useless gutter above the slide, the one above the slide which I added gutter extensions to. This setup helps from water flowing down the wall or blowing down the wall of the camper under tow to helps deflect off water before it ever reaches the seal. See here


How is yours made?

Thanks for responding, John. I actually had to go look again. I don't have pictures.
I couldn't remember if the bulb seal was on the wall or slide. :R

The TT is Filon, often called fiberglass. My side flange, and seal, is pretty much identical to yours, except my flange, and bulb, rests directly against the smooth main camper sidewall when in. The wall always remains largely straight side-to-side with the seal, but there is an overall up/down center sag of about 3/4 inch when the jacks are lifting the ends of the TT.

The differentiation of vertical sag is probably only about 3/8 inch, and shouldn't leave an unusual opening for water. But it is getting in there somehow. Maybe I will close the slide against some paper strips and see if it is looser in some areas more than others. I am considering an additional gutter above the seal, but I sure would like to find the exact path the leak takes.

The leak is uncritical in that it does not leak with the slide out, nor if the TT is not level with it in. One catch-22 here is that I like to level it in the street in order to run the fridge overnight, but the slide must be in while parked out there.

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I think I have learned enough about Eternabond the hard way to do a better job in the future. An important point is that it is much easier with two people, if any length is to be laid down. That and I surmise one half the release paper at a time, like you said. It is true that the gum, on a long piece, would probably stretch without the vinyl backer attached.

Thanks again, John.

Wes
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Wes Tausend wrote:


It is applied by removing one film and pressing the exposed sticky gum to the surface one wishes to seal by burying. Pressing is an overstatement, as this tape seems to frantically jump, and bond, onto any nearby surface under it's own volition.

The idea of creasing it neatly into an angle was nearly impossible; I should have arranged help and probably split the protective film layer down the middle to groove/apply one side at a time. The end result was a rather crooked application that I will end up going back over with help. I only hope it finally solves the leak and doesn't add too much weight to the slide.

FYI for the future, learning "how to" Eternbond takes at least 1 such "super stick" event....

Here are 2 tricks on how to deal with that square corner

Save the release paper from when you use the EB. Then when you want to do a right angle corner, cover one side of the angle with release paper so both sides do not stick immediately. Once one side is pressed, peel off the other side

2. Only 1/2 unfold the tape (2" on a 4" wide tape width) and only go about 12 to 18 inch long at a time. Press down the 1st half up to the corner, then keep working your way down the slide. One side is still not stuck as the release paper not pulled off. Once you make it to the end of the slide, some 12 to 16 foot long, then go back and work the other side of the 2" leg.

Basically, only peal off what release paper is needed and keep working it as you go. If you take it all off first.... and the piece is very long... it can be a free for all...

John

Wes Tausend wrote:
...

Snip....

This turned out to be a likely key to the leak. I noticed that sighting down the rain gutter reveals that very moderate jack pressure immediately "swoops" the shallow rain gutter (actually the whole camper roof).

snip...
Anyway, when the slide is in, and the jacks are barely down, rain then gathers towards the center of the roof, spills over the side, overpowers the useless token rain gutter, and runs directly across the joint and seal that is supposed to seal the slide roof when closed (if that makes sense). I'm not sure how the rain is ultimately getting in, but there is plenty of it available in the directed white-water stream, that is inadvertently created.

Now this poses an interesting situation. I will bet that all travel trailers suffer from the slight swoop or sag when the jacks prop up the ends of the frames.

Wes,

Do you have a picture of how your slide system is built? If you have fiberglass walls, I have seen some made where the slide flange has a seal bulb that presses to the side wall of the camper. If the wall has enough bow in it, the slide may not seal and water running down from the roof "might" enter.

Mine is made different. 1st I have aluminum sides. 2nd my slide has a trailer frame aluminum flange that rests inward of the camper. Then in that trailer framework, the actual slide flange seals however the entire slide flange is in-board of the camper side. There is also a 2nd semi useless gutter above the slide, the one above the slide which I added gutter extensions to. This setup helps from water flowing down the wall or blowing down the wall of the camper under tow to helps deflect off water before it ever reaches the seal. See here


How is yours made?

...

This is long and I apologise for that. I given it a lot of thought.

We have the same problem on our older TT (2004 Cougar Keystone M-294 RLS). It has the same daven/dinette slide type. We discovered damp carpet in much the same way, but the cushions nearest the outer sidewall were also damp. On ours, the leak only apparently occurs when the slide is in and the camper leveled.

The first suspect was the window since some water is found in the track. But a close inspection of the window reveals no obvious seal leak. In addition, a water hose vigorously aimed directly at, and around, the window does not admit water inside.

Looking further up, the inside wall is dry, but it could be coming in from the top and running down the interior wall cavity. Looking at the slide roof, their is no obvious crack or hole up there, but I thought maybe the seam along the outer wall leaked. So I got some 4" Eternabond tape and attempted to fold it into the angle where the outer wall lip rises. The plan was to overlap the seam on the roof itself and form a curved seal right up the vertical lip.

Working with Eternabond is easier said than done. It is aptly named. The product is basically the stickiest gum you can imagine sandwiched between two paper-thin outer vinyl films. It is applied by removing one film and pressing the exposed sticky gum to the surface one wishes to seal by burying. Pressing is an overstatement, as this tape seems to frantically jump, and bond, onto any nearby surface under it's own volition. I'm just lucky a bird didn't fly by, or the roof would be feathered. I should have video-taped it for the entertainment of all (How Not To...). The idea of creasing it neatly into an angle was nearly impossible; I should have arranged help and probably split the protective film layer down the middle to groove/apply one side at a time. The end result was a rather crooked application that I will end up going back over with help. I only hope it finally solves the leak and doesn't add too much weight to the slide.

It is rather curious that the leak only occurs when the slide is in, the TT is level, and the jacks are down to steady the unit. This turned out to be a likely key to the leak. I noticed that sighting down the rain gutter reveals that very moderate jack pressure immediately "swoops" the shallow rain gutter (actually the whole camper roof). The TT rests quite level when supported only by the axles, probably a circumstance dictated by being factory-built resting only on the axles. Anyway, when the slide is in, and the jacks are barely down, rain then gathers towards the center of the roof, spills over the side, overpowers the useless token rain gutter, and runs directly across the joint and seal that is supposed to seal the slide roof when closed (if that makes sense). I'm not sure how the rain is ultimately getting in, but there is plenty of it available in the directed white-water stream, that is inadvertently created.

Now this poses an interesting situation. I will bet that all travel trailers suffer from the slight swoop or sag when the jacks prop up the ends of the frames. All frames give somewhat, even the sturdiest. This is likely made worse by the large sidewall hole cut out for the slide. When the camper is built, the frame is likely naturally sagged ever so slightly down away from the axle supports. No doubt an attempt is made to build square on the bowed frame. The when the frame is slightly sprung back up and more straight by end jacks, the entire cabin structure then slightly sags in the middle. This certainly not a problem for 5vrs that often have a sloped roof from the front on back. But for TTs, most theoretically have level roofs from front to back. The rain gutters are probably 3/8s to 1/2 inch deep max. There is no way that they even begin to drain to the ends when the cabin is sagged. If you don't believe me, sight down your gutters before and after the jacks are down. I would be interested in hearing the results.

I hope the OP found some useful info in my lengthy rambling. Good luck and be sure to let us know if you find your culprit. Thanks.

Wes
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I used to have a Passport with a terrible slide leak. After much searching, the dealer discovered that one of the seals was missing, believe it or not!! It must have been built on a Monday or a Friday...

I have the same camper and had the same problem. I resealed all of the joints and eternabonded the roof. When you seal the joints and gaps make sure you seal around the cable anchors and its screws on the slide. that seamed to help mine, but it was only open in the rain once after the third time I wert over it so I'm not 100%. I'm pretty sure my leak was at the cable anchors though. It was leaking at both ends and right along the outside floor.

Katnatblessed wrote:
The dining table has three bench seats with storage underneath. This summer we noticed when we opened the storage bench toward the back of the slide the wood side and carpet were wet. It continues to stay damp/wet despite us sealing the roof of the slide with the self-leveling sealer and sealing the side seams with silicon. The leak actually seams to be getting worse and we just can't find it's source. Any thoughts or suggestions on what might be leaking? We're concerned about the damage and possible mold this could cause.

Actually, yes I do have some thoughts. See this post of mine complete with the problem and the fix. I hope this is not your problem but it does fit to the symptoms you are stating.

Slide Floor Water Damage (Long with lots of pics)

Basically putting it, wet carpet and wet wall on the slide that cannot be found coming down from above, can be that it is not from above. The problem is actually from the floor up.

If you have "slide floor rot" after the floor rots, water wicks up and the carpet soaks it up like a sponge. Then the wet carpet wicks up the walls.

Good luck and hope this helps

John

As new as it is I'd take it back to dealer and have them replace the seal.:)

I have the same problem on a 2006 Keystone Springdale. There looks to be a gap of about 1/32' or less between the slide and the top wiper. Light rains are no big deal, but a real gully washer makes it necessary to close the slide. The side wipers look like they seal pretty well. Would replacing the top wiper be a solution, or could there be something expensive going on with the slideout itself?

Slide awning???