isonychia
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Re: Slide out underbelly material. What is it, 1/2" thick?
GrandpaKip wrote: The bottom of the slide in our camper is black painted OSB. The exposed edge was also painted. I just covered it with Eternabond, wrapping it around the side and bottom. I would think that there should be no rubbing between the slide and the camper. Our slide sits on rollers and is a cable slide. Nothing rubs. Regardless of the type, something is wrong if it rubs the finish off. Thanks for the info. I looked at my bottom panel of the slide out again and it definitely isn't wrapped in that Tyvek wrap stuff. I checked some other trailers and they do have the black material wrapped on the bottom and over the edge. I don't really know what mine is made of and I have no idea why the edges are exposed. It would be nice to know what it is and why the edges are exposed?? I wanted to remove the trim piece, then wrap the corner of the slide with the eternabond, then place the trim piece over the top edge and add the sealant. But I don't know yet if my slide is the type that the edge rubs when it is retracted. I will have to look when I retract it and see if I can tell. Better yet, it would be great if I could add a piece of L flashing or even a true aluminum drip cap but I don't know if the 1/4" lip (drip edge) would clear when retracted. My slide mechanism has 2 large bars with teeth. I'm not sure if thats enough to tell what kind of slide mechanism I have. I am not at the trailer to identify it further. iso1.5KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban water heater gas valve stays open no flame
dougrainer wrote: 1. The Water heater Safety will NOT allow gas to flow thru the gas valve if no flame is present. The gas Valve opens for about 7 seconds on an ignition sequence. IF the Piezo fails or the flame does NOT light the gas valve shuts down. It will do this for 3 tries about 30 seconds apart. 2. BUT, those 3 tries will cause 21 seconds of LP to flow and THAT will cause a odor in and around the water heater. Long after the sequence stopped. 3. LEAVE the LP tank valve OFF. Start a LP ignition sequence and observe the water heater. See if the Piezo sparks and sparks a GOOD spark with a good gap between the probes. A common mistake novices make when installing a water heater(if you installed it) is to pull the Ignition spark plug cable away from the electrode Spade terminal inside the orange/black rubber boot. Pull back the boot and see if the wire is connected and secure on the electrode. IF no spark and the connections are good, go to the Ignition module and verify the Electrode spark nwire is indeed still connected to the control module. If so, then the Piezo tower on the board is bad. Doug PS, I will bet your input gas line connection may not be tight and is also leaking, Hi Doug, Thanks for the info. I did install it myself. It was simple and straightforward. I will check the spade terminal and see if I accidentally pulled on it somehow and disconnected it. iso523Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban water heater gas valve stays open no flame
Old-Biscuit wrote: Make a soapy solution (1 TBSP dish soap/water in spray bottle) With the propane valved in for service Spray the propane line connection at gas valve and check for bubbles Do NOT spray the outlet side of gas valve ...you will clog up the orifice IF no leaks on line/fitting ...rinse with clean water Then using a BBQ lighter see if you can ignite any propane at end of burner tube Gas valve ----requires both solenoids to open gas valve. One alone will not open it. Propane system pressure is only 0.4 psi (11"WC) 12VDC is applied to gas valve solenoids for only 6-8 seconds during ignition cycle....during which time spark electrode is energized Spark Electrode is also used in 'flame proving' circuit.......milliamp signal generated by FLAME which is detected by circuit board. No Flame signal...No DC to gas valve solenoids (easy to check with voltmeter on gas valve red/black wires) Gas valve 'could' leak....rare but possible Circuit Board.....could be faulty (doubt it) If faulty it is more likely it would NOT send DC to gas valve or not send DC to spark electrode HVAC guy sounds like a parts changer. Which eventually works if you throw enough parts at it. Here is the wiring diagrams for 12VDC (propane) and 120VAC (element) Maybe the HVAC guy can figure it out Thanks for the detailed info, I really appreciate it. I know my friend is not a novice at his HVAC trade. He runs his own business a lot of it commercial etc. for many years, He has taken care of a lot of stuff for the camp trailers and knows his stuff. Granted I know he has not spent his years servicing suburban rv water heaters. He suggested we look at the heater more in detail this weekend. He suggested getting the board so we had it in case it was a problem. As soon as I smelled gas, he quickly looked at the unit, then told me to shut it off. The heater is brand new. It was working fine for the 3 weekends I have used it. I just happened to be sitting near it on Sunday and I mentioned to him I smelled propane. I didn't think with all the safety measure in place it was even possible for the unit to fail this way. (expel gas with no flame present). We will know more this weekend. iso522Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban water heater gas valve stays open no flame
I suspect the control board because an HVAC engineer at the camp ground suggested it could be the control board. You are right joerg68, I am not sure what the problem is. I will spend some time up there this weekend and look into it fully with the HVAC guy. I wanted to ask the question here and see if there was any ideas. I will order the control board and return it if it's not the problem.525Views0likes0CommentsSuburban water heater gas valve stays open no flame
I have a new Suburban SW6DE installed in my trailer. It was working fine. This weekend I noticed a propane smell coming from the exterior door on the heater. I am almost positive it was coming from the gas valve and NOT the gas connection compression fitting. I was not getting a flame at the heater but I could smell gas. This was not the exhaust smell but propane. Is it possible I need a new module board? I thought all appliances like this had a system that would not allow propane to flow unless it senses a flame. Before I go out and buy a new module board, any ideas? I could buy the board and if I don't need it I could return it. Thanks, iso2.5KViews0likes9CommentsRe: Slide out underbelly material. What is it, 1/2" thick?
Thanks for the help. I am starting to think the material underneath is OSB but it simply looks black from the darco or something. I also learned how bringing the slide in and out wears away at the protective coating/material and thus exposes the OSB, then causing it to get wet. Apparently there are "skis" sold to wrap the edges of the slide made out of plastic. I guess it acts as a wear layer for the friction of the slide going in and out and also acts as a drip cap in way creating a 4" or so barrier underneath for the water to drip off. I guess there is no way for the manufacturer to install a flexible drip cap that compresses when the slide is brought in. Or maybe, as in my other post, they can make the bottom some type of plastic sheet instead of the **** OSB!!! Idiots. Thanks, iso1.5KViews0likes0CommentsSlide out underbelly material. What is it, 1/2" thick?
I have a leak in my slide-out storage compartment. I believe the leak is due to the vertical joint on the edge of the slide-out and the horizontal joint on the bottom of the slide-out. The horizontal joint also has a trim piece. The trim piece is flat with a small lip at the bottom. Why it doesn't have a longer lip to wrap UNDER the belly is beyond me. I guess because of the need for the slide to retract doesn't allow them to put in a proper drip cap to throw water away from the underbelly. In trying to inspect the problem, I noticed the bottom/belly of the slide-out has a weird material on it. It's not the waterproof plastic sheeting thats the underbelly on the rest of the trailer. Its almost like a black 1/2" thick material. Whatever it is, it absorbs water. So when water runs down the side of the slideout, it travels underneath and this material wicks water to the OSB and the carpet that is in the storage compartment. I assume the OSB and the carpet are sitting on this weird material. Looking in the storage compartment, there is the following layers, in this order. 1/8" luan plywood, 5/8" OSB, carpet and then something under the carpet. I did not yet tear out the carpet. I started by removing the 1/8" luan type plywood and the wet OSB but stopped there. The damaged section is about 12" x 12". I know what the problem is and am formulating a game plan, but does anyone know what the 1/2" (guessing on thickness) underbelly material is? The edge is exposed (the trim piece does not cover it) and it easily wicks moisture to the other layers. When I pressed on it, it was like a wet sponge. My quick temporary fix was to try and coat the edge with some of that lap sealant caulk to seal the edge. I know thats not going to work, but I could not stay at the camp to figure out the proper fix. I also resealed the vertical seam on the outside edge of the slide out. This post is exactly what mine looks like and also has the same design/water intrusion problems. However my underbelly is not that Darco sheet. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23443150 Thanks, iso5.1KViews0likes5CommentsRe: Removing bathroom cabinet-floor to ceiling, wedged in
The trailer has a fiberglass exterior. I removed the vanity, so I can easily see how they secured everything. I guess I will have to take a closer look and see if I can dismantle it. Maybe thats a possibility as some suggested. I don't really want to build a new cabinet. I could do it. It's just more work than I wanted to do. And in the end it will never be a perfect match anyway. Here are some pics. I don't have a ceiling shot that shows the top portion. And the other pic is the damage and beginnings of the repair. The cabinet is at the top of the photo. Under it is the water heater. I believe the damage was mostly caused by a leaking shower drain. It's frustrating because I had no clue it was leaking and never thought to randomly check the access panel to see if it leaked. I was always mostly concerned with the exterior leaking. iso714Views0likes0CommentsRe: Removing bathroom cabinet-floor to ceiling, wedged in
Gdetrailer wrote: isonychia wrote: Another dumb idea by the manufacturer of these things. Add that to the list, along with the manufacturer saving $150 on the use of OSB over AC plywood. A sheet of OSB is $17. AC plywood is $35. I estimate my trailer uses about 8 sheets. Thats $144. Ridiculous. So I would have to try and knock out the pieces of plywood under the cabinet to free the cabinet? Then to get it back in I would have to trim 1/2" off the top of the cabinet and add a piece of trim or crown molding to cover the gap. I'm wondering if I should just leave it. Thoughts? I have yet to see this mentioned when I have watched videos of people repairing their trailer floor from water damage. iso Pretty much the standard way a RV is built is to build the floor, then install inside walls/furniture/cabinets. Then install outside wall panels, then the roof is set on top as the last part of assembly. It IS done this way to make best use of LABOR AND MATERIALS, cuts down on wasted time and materials. Manufacturers will build walls and roof on large tables which act as assembly jigs. Once the panels and roof have been assembled they are eventually married up on the final assembly line. Extremely efficient making YOU the lowest cost possible RV. RVs are never designed with future service in mind (pretty much can say that about autos and boats too). Cut the cabinet up to remove, THEN BUILD A NEW CABINET IN PLACE. As far as griping about OSB vs Plywood, well if YOU were the PRESIDENT of the RV manufacturer, YOU would want to MAXIMIZE YOUR BUSINESSES PROFITS, that $144 saved might mean the difference between the company surviving or not.. Especially if you multiply that $144 x 10,000 units built for the year.. That would be $1,440,000 (yeah 1.4 MILLION DOLLARS) in extra cost!!! If you don't like how the RV industry does things, perhaps start your own RV company and try it YOUR way and see just how long you can stay in business.. I would gladly pay an extra $144 on top of the price of my trailer for some real subfloor. No need for the business to lose $1,440,000 and institute layoffs, cut workers pay leaving people homeless, ruin Christmas, Thanksgiving, having little Johnny run around with holes in his shoes, little Mary crying in a corner because her dolls head fell off or for Arctic seals to get clubbed. I'll just eat the $144. Tack it onto the price. No one will notice, I promise. Normal price, $50,000 New price, $50,144. But thanks for stretching the $144. ;)714Views0likes0CommentsRe: Removing bathroom cabinet-floor to ceiling, wedged in
Another dumb idea by the manufacturer of these things. Add that to the list, along with the manufacturer saving $150 on the use of OSB over AC plywood. A sheet of OSB is $17. AC plywood is $35. I estimate my trailer uses about 8 sheets. Thats $144. Ridiculous. So I would have to try and knock out the pieces of plywood under the cabinet to free the cabinet? Then to get it back in I would have to trim 1/2" off the top of the cabinet and add a piece of trim or crown molding to cover the gap. I'm wondering if I should just leave it. Thoughts? I have yet to see this mentioned when I have watched videos of people repairing their trailer floor from water damage. iso714Views0likes0Comments
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