Problems with a New Camper

[Frankly]

We took our new Gulf Stream Ameri Lite out for the first time a couple of weeks ago and ran into a fairly serious issue. The first day we had beautiful weather, but day two saw it rain all day long. That night we noted that water was leaking in, and it was obviously coming from the slide. We mopped up a small amount of water and went to bed. Even though it rained some that night it did not leak visibly any more.

The next day when we had to break camp about noon after enjoying a bright sunshiny morn. We started pulling in the slide and the water started gushing in. There is no ladder on the trailer, but I was able to climb up on top of the electrical box and mop up the water standing on the roof. In doing so I noted that the roof is sagged and water puddles in the middle. This is obviously why it leaked, as I doubt a lip seal is going to work in standing water?

We took it back to the dealer for repairs. The office where we bought it only has one mechanic and could not find the leak and so washed his hands of it. The home office, which is about the same distance away from us came and picked it up and has it at a much bigger repair shop. I have two questions:

1) Are leaks on slides common?
2) Are sags in slide roofs common and is this the likely cause of leakage?

It would appear that the only fix for this is to replace or extensively overhaul the slide room. I am wondering if I should consider compromising and allowing them to install a slide cover over it to minimize the amount of water that hits the roof? I am sure I will have to acquire a ladder to insure that water is mopped up before breaking camp each time, but probably need to make sure all of the other trash is gone also.

[Frankly]

I am a maticulous leveler. I had it nearly perfect - checked with a 2' level I carry. I don't believe the tongue jack will rid the puddle in the middle, but it may? Thanks for the replies.

[RedRocket204]

cyntdon2010 wrote:
We Now always place a board under tires to drain water away from the slideout side. also go slow when closing to let water run off top.

I too always will go slightly higher on the non-slide-out side of our TT when leveling to make sure water properly drains away.

What would concern me though is the OP's mention of a sagging slide roof where water is pooling. Hard to tell just from guessing if the OP's TT was properly leveled and water still pooled or not. Certainly the dealer will probably come back and say the TT wasn't leveled properly.

[troubledwaters]

If water is pooling on the top of your slide, when you pull the slide in the pool of water is now inside your trailer. So when you hit the brakes or go up a hill the water now sloshed off the top and into your RV. So you don't have to have a leak to get water inside. The easy fix is as has been said, raise or lower the front and let the water run off before you pull the slide in.

[We_Cant_Wait]

With slide outs it's always best to raise or lower the tongue jack after a rain and before pulling in the slides to drain off any water that's accumulated on the top of the slide out. I even do this with our motorhome to ensure that all water is off the top of the slide out.

[cyntdon2010]

"We started pulling in the slide and the water started gushing in. "

This happen to us when when we didn't correctly balance the camper side to side. It was high on the slideout side.
We Now always place a board under tires to drain water away from the slideout side. also go slow when closing to let water run off top.

[ScottG]

It happens but not often - ours has never leaked in all these years.
Even if water pools along a edge or seam, they shouldn't leak. Those area's have sealants and dont just rely on overlapping like a house roof does.

[Artum_Snowbird]

Jerry,

1: Yes, they are indeed. Often it's not the slide that is leaking, it's the wall that holds the slide out there.

2: As you suspect, the roof on the slide has likely stripped away from the walls, and as the roof sags and fills with water, the edges can fail. Slide roofs do help with this, but often to cut costs, they install a roof covering the same length as the slide, rather than the maximum past each edge they can install. If you are installing aftermarket, put the brackets out so the slide coverage extends as far as possible past each wall. Builders, we look for your best effort to keep us happy, and will reward you with increased business if you outperform the market in water intrusion prevention.

[downtheroad]

If installed correctly, the top rubber sweeper should have pushed most of the water off when you retracted the slide. You can also have a slide topper/awning installed and this will really help...

But, we have had 3 trailers with slides, some of them multiple slides. We live and camp in the Northwest....rainy - and none of them have leaked...so something needs addressing.

[coolmom42]

You should not accept ANY leak or ANY water standing on the slide. You will inevitable soon get rot and mold from it.

The roof should NOT sag.

Quite honestly if this is not fixed well and fast, I would be pushing for a replacement trailer. This is a major, major problem, and should not happen on any trailer, much less a new one.