waterproofing slide floor

[bamaboy]

I just had my 12 ft slide floor replaced due to water damage and it was pretty expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to waterproof the new floor? inside especially which means no flexseal type products which arent healthy for indoor use.. I've read a ton of Articles and not really found a satisfactory suggestion.

TT is a 30 ft Coleman which I live in full time.

[bjlakatos1]

I had the wicking issue (Drops came down the side of the slide, over the metal rail then ran back under the floor. Costly Floor Replacement.

A year later I took a look at the slide during a steady rain...yup same thing happening. I saw this video and added a ski to that side of the slide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx8ouqlM5jo

I have 4 slides. Two have these SKIs and two do not-its a function of the slide design. This particular slide is the ONLY one where water does not drop to the ground but rather rolls back under the floor. I installed the ski per the link above and the problem is solved.

BTW, ski or no ski, if you don't caulk all the seams, screws, etc you can get floor rot. Don't ask how I know...

[JBarca]

Your one pic came through good. Good job! But we need more detail pics of the area that was wet, repaired and now is questionable to help better.

Take some pics of the bottom of the slide, underneath.

Some pics of the side wall to the bottom of the floor.

Your helper did some caulking on the roof area, if you can take pics of any of that and the slide seals will help.

That is a start and once we see that, we may need more.

Glad you are feeling better.

John

[bamaboy]

Hi folks after some on-going health issues (all resolved, all well) I took a new approach to solving my leak issues. I found a young guy who works in my RV park who does minor repairs on the side, and he has caulked up many questionable places on my roof. Someone said you could help more if I posted a photo of my slide. The right corner of the slide is where it leaked before the floor was replaced. I call reach under the slide and feel the new floor, which is now wrapped in some sort of waterproofing material, but it still disturbing that I can reach it so easily, which means moisture can too.

As usual, your suggestions are appreciated. I haven't posted a photo before, so wish me luck. Oh, and there is a window in the side of the slide, but it doesn't open.

[JBarca]

bamaboy wrote:
i suspect that is exactly what happened. and exactly what the repair man told me to do if it happens again (sell it)??if you can share a bit more detail about what to use for a drip edge and how to attach please do so. i love this forum everybody is so kind and helpful.

Hi,

I have all the pics and background on both of my slide issues. The one Burbman is talking about above, and a new one that happened a few years ago with water flowing in a sliding end wall window.

This post here on RV.net is the first one with slide floor rot in 2010 that Burbman followed and fixed his. There are pics of the problem, and later in the thread, how I repaired it and created a drip edge.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23443150/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1

Since that time in 2010, I have followed the RV industries changes in slide manufacturing. And the trials and tribulations of how several of the next generation slide design changes, fixed one problem and created another. Which in turn, creating follow on changes again... Now a days, some brands have changed the way the slide floor is made and sealed at the floor level. Other brands still keep creating the same issues from 10 year ago. Every time I go to an RV show, I look at all the brands and how they build the campers and the slides. I'm under the camper looking up, and the wife in side looking at the inside...

This is where pics of your slide will help show what "vintage" your slide is made to. And how it may be able to addressed if it has any of the older or next generation issues. When you get time to post them, we can see and possibly help on what the new fixes are as they are made different then mine.

My other issue more recently was with water coming in the slide open window in the end wall of side room. I did not post this yet on the web about the problem, nor the correction so I can't link it, yet anyway. If your slide room does not have a window on the ends of the slide that opens, then it won't be an issue. If yours does have a window that opens, I can load up the pics and explain once we see what yours looks like.

Hope this helps

John

[Sjm9911]

Im curious also as to what the drip edge set up looks like. I have a rear slide bed, no way to get a cover for it. When i first bought it, i qent on a long trip and noticed it was wet inside the camper. Dumb me checked everywhere for leaks. Then it dawned on me that the condinsation on the top of the slide ran off in the camper and made it wet. So, hours of looking for leaks for no reason. Now i dry it off before taking it in.

[bamaboy]

i suspect that is exactly what happened. and exactly what the repair man told me to do if it happens again (sell it)??if you can share a bit more detail about what to use for a drip edge and how to attach please do so. i love this forum everybody is so kind and helpful.

[BurbMan]

JBarca wrote:
I do agree, after what I went through on my slide, I will never own another slide camper without a topper.

100% agree here. I don't want to speak for John, but what he discovered was that water runs down the exterior side of the slide out, and via surface tension runs under the slide bottom before dripping off. This allows water to wick in and rot the floor. John discovered and repaired this, and I followed his tutorial when repairing my rotten slide floor as the damage had been caused by the same situation.

The fix was to install a drip edge on the bottom of the slideout sides so that water dripped straight off without following under the bottom, so it has no chance of wicking in.

The slide topper awning is wider than the actual slide, only by a few inches, so that water drips directly off the awning and not down the side of the slide.

This may or may not have been your particular issue, so your fix may not be the same, but if the floor rotted once it will rot again unless you find the root cause. If not, sell it now while it's newly fixed!

[Sjm9911]

bamaboy wrote:
unfortunately the water damage occurred while I was having emergency brain surgery in Florida in the middle of a pandemic, followed by 2 months of f radiation and chemo. While I was stuck in Florida the RV was home in Texas with the slide extended when a big storm apparently hit. The good news is the surgery and subsequent radiation and chemo turned out very well. But by the time I got home the floor was rotted out. I was thinking that if I had waterproofed the floor the damage wouldn't have been as bad.

I appreciate your comments about not sealing the floor. That makes sense.

I will tell you to be thankful for what you have. When you are a 20 year old you feel invincible. When you are 65 and one emergency surgery and a few hours away from death, you get a new appreciation for the things that are important.

Wow, sounds like the least of your trouble was the camper! Wishing you a speedy and total recovery. Post here when you can , and these guys qill help you figure it out. I will also agree, when you get older stuff dosen't work or heal the same. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff, have fun with what you can while you can.

Ill also agree that it sounds like a seal or something failed or wasn't in corectly. But who knows.

[JBarca]

bamaboy wrote:
i am out of town getting some ongoing health care but will definitely post some photos when i get back in 2 days.

What is a slide topper? Not familiar with that but sounds like something I need.

No rush on our end, post when you can.

To add to Barney's great post

BarneyS wrote:
A slide topper is an awning that covers the slide and goes in and out automaticlly when you deploy or bring in the slide. I have had them on my trailers for years and would not have one without them.
Barney
Slide toppers on Amazon

Be careful if you order one online that you are getting the hardware and not just the fabric. Here is an example of the complete package.
Complete awning package

When adding a slide topper, you need to "make sure" the topper fabric length is "longer" then the slide. Even if a dealr is supplying and installing it. Some brands, (Dometic for example) go by a generic topper size. That generic size is not the length of the fabric, but more a nominal frame length to fit onto a slide room of a certain range of sizes. Regardless of the brand, Carefree, Dometic or Lippert, make sure the actual fabric is longer then the actual roof of the slide. It should be longer by 1 to 2 inches or more longer if possible, on each end then the slide roof. If your camper already has an topper gutter rail with the cord slot, then make sure the fabric is not longer then the cord slot too.

Some brand new campers on a dealers lot have the topper shorter then the slide roof. That is "not" what you want.

When the time comes, and you get close to ordering a topper, check back with us on which to order and how to mount them. Yes, many have been mounted wrong, with very little pitch or negative pitch even, to them making them not as effective on shedding water off the slide roof.

I do agree, after what I went through on my slide, I will never own another slide camper without a topper.

That said, we still need to see your pics as the leak path can be from many areas. The topper will not correct for a bad design on the slide floor setup.

Hope this helps.

John

[BarneyS]

A slide topper is an awning that covers the slide and goes in and out automaticlly when you deploy or bring in the slide. I have had them on my trailers for years and would not have one without them.
Barney
Slide toppers on Amazon

Be careful if you order one online that you are getting the hardware and not just the fabric. Here is an example of the complete package.
Complete awning package

[bamaboy]

i am out of town getting some ongoing health care but will definitely post some photos when i get back in 2 days.

What is a slide topper? Not familiar with that but sounds like something I need.

[colliehauler]

Good point Jbarca. Mine wicked it's way in from the strip that attaches the floor to sidewall. The vinyl strip had shrunk that covers the screws and allowed water to be wicked in. Compounding the problem Forest River left a quarter inch gap in the siding and the rain gutter right above the area on the side of the trailer.

[JBarca]

bamaboy wrote:


While I was stuck in Florida the RV was home in Texas with the slide extended when a big storm apparently hit. The good news is the surgery and subsequent radiation and chemo turned out very well. But by the time I got home the floor was rotted out. I was thinking that if I had waterproofed the floor the damage wouldn't have been as bad.

I appreciate your comments about not sealing the floor. That makes sense.

So glad to hear you recovered.

Trying to help here as I have been through slide floor rot and repaired the floor myself.

Something is not adding up to what caused the first damage. Yes, I understand a bad storm, but to rot out the floor, partly or totally takes more time then 2 to 4 months. I'm going by your words, rotted out, like large damage and the floor has a hole in it or the OSB board is disintegrated falling apart in chips.

Odds may have been, you have a leak path that has been ongoing for some time, allowing water to seep in. The big storm may have been the last straw and you noticed it.

Posting pictures of the side end walls, the underneath bottom ends of the slide, and the overall slide in general will help us see how yours is built. There has been slide construction design issues over the years. Some manufactures solved the issues, and others still build them the same way they have failed for the last 10 years.

Also, do you have a slide topper on the slide?

Are there windows in the end walls of the slide that open? (like sliding windows?)

I did not want to type a long note of how some design slides leak until we even know which design you have. The best is, know how the first slide floor failed and where the leak came from. Then make sure the cause is no longer and then treat the areas needed.

Hope this helps.

John

[coolmom42]

bamaboy wrote:
unfortunately the water damage occurred while I was having emergency brain surgery in Florida in the middle of a pandemic, followed by 2 months of f radiation and chemo. While I was stuck in Florida the RV was home in Texas with the slide extended when a big storm apparently hit. The good news is the surgery and subsequent radiation and chemo turned out very well. But by the time I got home the floor was rotted out. I was thinking that if I had waterproofed the floor the damage wouldn't have been as bad.

I appreciate your comments about not sealing the floor. That makes sense.

I will tell you to be thankful for what you have. When you are a 20 year old you feel invincible. When you are 65 and one emergency surgery and a few hours away from death, you get a new appreciation for the things that are important.

Glad you have recovered!