Water Leak, Repair Update Feb 12th
Well, here we go again. Back in 2013 I found a leak that was deteriorating the slide out floor, so I undertook those repairs. I had a thread on here but couldn't find it again to give you a link, bu...
Forum Discussion
Hey Eric, great to hear from you and thanks for the invite! I wish the TT was indoors now, raining today and tomorrow then going back into the 30's again....
Thanks for the info on the slide topper, that makes sense. I'm going to look into that once I get everything back together.
Once again, that Darco is bad news. Just like on the slide out frame, they wrapped the outer 2x3 of the frame, and once the water got in there was no place for it to go. Like a school science project where you leave a wet piece of bread in a Ziploc bag out in the sun...
I had to make repairs to this part of the frame when I did the slide out floor, and used some epoxy filler...there's almost no wood left now. I've decided to replace some key parts of the frame. With the skirt off and the inside flooring out, it's easy to replace that outside 2x3 and the pieces in that corner of the frame below the slide out.
I was going to use penetrating epoxy and filler epoxy like I did on the last repair, but the wood in some spots is too wet and too far gone.
Here are the new pieces cut...I decided to treat the new wood with the CPES penetrating epoxy from Rot Doctor, this will seal the wood and deter potential rot.
The CPES is also supposed to be an excellent primer, so once it's all installed I'll go over the assembly with a few coats of spar varnish, and then spray a layer of Flex Seal rubberized coating over that on exposed areas. I did this on the 2x4 on the outside edge of the slide rather than wrap it, and so far it's holding up great.
There is a layer of unfaced insualtion that goes between the Darco and the floor, and that's nice to have for spring/fall camping. The problem was that when water got in, the insulation acted like a sponge and the Darco trapped the water from draining.
I would like to figure out a way to put drainage slits in the Darco so if water did get in it could drain out, but I also need to prevent road spray from getting in. Ideas welcome on this one....
All in all, I am happy with the repair progress, this should go back together pretty easily. I have new side wiper seals and new bottom slide wiper seal ordered, and new flooring from Costco is being delivered today.
Thanks for the info on the slide topper, that makes sense. I'm going to look into that once I get everything back together.
Once again, that Darco is bad news. Just like on the slide out frame, they wrapped the outer 2x3 of the frame, and once the water got in there was no place for it to go. Like a school science project where you leave a wet piece of bread in a Ziploc bag out in the sun...
I had to make repairs to this part of the frame when I did the slide out floor, and used some epoxy filler...there's almost no wood left now. I've decided to replace some key parts of the frame. With the skirt off and the inside flooring out, it's easy to replace that outside 2x3 and the pieces in that corner of the frame below the slide out.
I was going to use penetrating epoxy and filler epoxy like I did on the last repair, but the wood in some spots is too wet and too far gone.
Here are the new pieces cut...I decided to treat the new wood with the CPES penetrating epoxy from Rot Doctor, this will seal the wood and deter potential rot.
The CPES is also supposed to be an excellent primer, so once it's all installed I'll go over the assembly with a few coats of spar varnish, and then spray a layer of Flex Seal rubberized coating over that on exposed areas. I did this on the 2x4 on the outside edge of the slide rather than wrap it, and so far it's holding up great.
There is a layer of unfaced insualtion that goes between the Darco and the floor, and that's nice to have for spring/fall camping. The problem was that when water got in, the insulation acted like a sponge and the Darco trapped the water from draining.
I would like to figure out a way to put drainage slits in the Darco so if water did get in it could drain out, but I also need to prevent road spray from getting in. Ideas welcome on this one....
All in all, I am happy with the repair progress, this should go back together pretty easily. I have new side wiper seals and new bottom slide wiper seal ordered, and new flooring from Costco is being delivered today.
