Dear Gary,
We have a 2009 Monaco and have had a leak in the bedroom slide from the very beginning. It takes about an hour or so after it starts raining for the water to start dripping in on the floor and it will continue to drip three hours after it stops raining. I just keep putting down rolled up towels and it will soak them. We can see it dripping in but can’t find out where it is coming from.
If you have any ideas please let us know. We have enjoyed your seminars in Hershey – we go every year. I guess we should have asked you in person but didn’t want to take up your time. Thank you in advance for any help that you may give us. —Gary and Linda B.
Dear Gary and Linda,
Sight unseen, this is a tough one! Slideouts remain inherently difficult to keep leak-proof forever. There has to be enough clearance for the room to slide in and out, yet gaskets and seals should be positioned to effectively wipe away moisture and keep water out whether the room is extended or retracted and at all points in between.
All slideouts are adjustable and it sounds like re-centering the room and adjusting the slide stops may be in order, as well as checking the integrity of the seals. Unfortunately, it will have to be looked at by a certified shop to be sure. It does not have to be a Monaco dealer, by the way; just a good technician with slideout experience.
Sorry I can’t offer much else without actually taking a look and taking a few measurements.
Read more from Gary Bunzer at the RVdoctor.com. See Gary’s videos about RV repair and maintenance.
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Most rv slides have an aluminum edge piece that joins the roof to the side walls of the slide. This edge piece is raised about 1/8″ above the surface of the slide roof & prevents water from flowing off either edge of the slide roof. If your slide is even slightly sloped back towards the main rv wall then water flows back towards the rv & collects behind the inside fascia of the slide. The water leaks around the point where the slide roof sweep seal rides up over the metal edging piece on each side of the slide. When enough water collects, it flows over the metal edge piece & runs down right behind the inside fascia strips & collects on the floor of the rv.
I solved this problem in my rv with a strip of hot melt glue about 3/8″ high along the slide roof edge from the fascia out about 3″ along the edge piece. It created a ridge that trapped the water & prevented it from flowing over the edge. Then it either evaporates over time or, when I close the slide, I wipe up the collected water with a sham wow absorbent towel. This has worked perfectly for me for the last 10 years.
I also had a leak in my bedroom slide out but could never find problem with seals. On inspection of the slide out awning I noticed a small and I do mean small crack in the sealant, so out came some caulk and low and behold no more water. Water was following the crack to where it was screwed on to rv and in it went.