There’s a water leak in my bedroom slide. The seals look good, so now what?

Dear Dave, 
On the bedroom slide I noticed dampness at the headboard on the floor, but I can’t see anywhere that there is a leak. I checked the seal on the outside trim and everything looks good. I removed the carpet due to mold. Any ideas? —Judy, 2021 Cedar Creek 371FL

Dear Judy,
You definitely have a leak that needs to be addressed immediately. There are several seams and openings that could be allowing moisture in, and most of these are not at the immediate spot of the leak.

First, I would look at the trim piece that covers the sidewall to the floor all around the room at the floor. There should be a sealant like butyl tape and a non-leveling sealant at the two wall joints.

Here is a slide that would be similar to yours and it has an “L”-shaped trim piece on the edges. You might need to remove the trim and reseal it. Make sure you check the underside as well, as water can run down the sidewall and literally creep underneath.

If you have inspected the bulb seal around the entire room and verified it is attached and not torn anywhere, then inspect the bulb seal at the top, as well.

Check the trim around the roof

Make sure you inspect the trim all around the roof, as water can penetrate in the top and run down the inside of the wall.

If you have a window in the slide room, check the butyl seal that should be between the window frame and the sidewall. You might need to remove and reseal it, or at least add some non-leveling sealant around the edges.

It could also be coming in through the actual roof of the rig and running down the slide room wall when it is retracted. Therefore, check the roof-to-sidewall joint and sealant carefully.

It might be necessary to take it to a dealer that has a Sealtech machine. That literally pressurizes the rig from the inside and then covers the rig with a soapy water to find the bubbles.

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Dear Dave,
My 5th wheel is winterized. I used compressed air and blew out the water in the lines but I did not get the cover on for winter. I live in the Northwest, so rain and snow are a sure thing. I’ve found that my RV’s sealed underbelly is collecting a small amount of water. Is this a leak in the sealed underbelly? I turned to YouTube for ideas on how to look for leaks and found a video on how a dealership in PA places a positive 2-3 psi on the inside of the trailer then soaps the outside looking for leaks. Have you ever heard of such a process? Do you know if this is a good or bad idea? Your thoughts, please. Thank you. —Mary

Read Dave’s answer.

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Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”

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