outside slide seals gooey and split

[GA1817]

Originally Posted by 0nTheRoad

No slide toppers and have had no problems with seals so far. Our coach is 2 years old.

When I treat the seals I use baby powder

Interesting! Is that all that you use is baby powder? Sometimes I wonder what RW changes as time goes on in the products used to construct these units.

[0nTheRoad]

Thats it, nothing but baby powder. I read that somewhere and have been using this method since we got the coach...I apply 3-4 times a year.

[atom ant]

Mine were rotten out of the factory and we took delivery immediately after assembly. From the day we picked it up the slide seals had stuck to slides and left black rubber streaks up and down the sides of the slides. Within 2 months they split in half. The replacements are splitting in half.

Nothing to do with slide toppers, the side seals are bad too.

I think they got a bad batch, and I possibly picked up a part of that bad batch for replacement when I went to the Dealer.

[crusepro]

They will not stick to the side if you use baby powder.

[atom ant]

I've never had to baby powder the seals on a slide for any other brand I've owned, but I guess if I have to baby this ones ass I will

I wash this thing everytime I get it out, and again when I put it away. I'm assuming powder becomes part of the job now.

[sinder]

I agree there was and perhaps continues to be one or more vendors supplying an inferior product. I never had seal problems on our previous owned RV. My top seals are the worst, obviously UV damage. I'm not certain baby powder would have prevented the disinegration of the rubbers over-all make up. My failing seal is sticky and gooey as described in the initial post.

[Shane Wood]

i checked the neighbors seals yesterday on a older Montana. They seem twice as thick as the ones on my Redwood.

[5th_Time]

When you baby powder them, is there still enough friction to still make them "flip over" when you put the slides in/out like they should?

Also, doesn't washing your rig just wash off the power?

[Radio_Flyer]

I use powder on the inside, but how do you apply it to stay on through rain, etc? I use a slide seal spray that was given to me when I bought the rig. Can't say that it helps either. Best I do is keep it sprayed on and check regularly. The top seal on my main slide out is pretty much gone, and two of my side seals have either a split or splitting.

[GA1817]

Originally Posted by sinder

I agree there was and perhaps continues to be one or more vendors supplying an inferior product. I never had seal problems on our previous owned RV. My top seals are the worst, obviously UV damage. I'm not certain baby powder would have prevented the disintegration of the rubbers over-all make up. My failing seal is sticky and gooey as described in the initial post.

I would agree with Atom Ant that it is likely just a bad compound problem with isolated batches of material. I would not think that UV has anything to do with the seals becoming sticky and gooey. UV degradation would likely cause the seal to become embrittled and crack which does not appear to be the case. In addition, most elastomer materials offer excellent resistance to UV. In my experience with elastomer materials that are sticky and gooey they have either been exposed to petroleum products or something serious went wrong during the compounding or extrusion process.

[Dave&Ginny]

Here's another supplier of seals for RVs http://www.trimlok.com/

[GA1817]

All elastomers are not created equal. Does anyone have an idea as to the type of rubber being used or does it vary by manufacturer?

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by GA1817

I would agree with Atom Ant that it is likely just a bad compound problem with isolated batches of material. I would not think that UV has anything to do with the seals becoming sticky and gooey. UV degradation would likely cause the seal to become embrittled and crack which does not appear to be the case. In addition, most elastomer materials offer excellent resistance to UV. In my experience with elastomer materials that are sticky and gooey they have either been exposed to petroleum products or something serious went wrong during the compounding or extrusion process.

The "sticky and gooey" condition sounds like an issue of incompatible materials. My questions would be, "Is this only occurring on the full body paint coaches?", and if so, "Do the seals come in contact with the paint?".

For those of you that are fishermen, remember how the soft body lures use to slowly dissolve through the early plastic lure boxes because of the incompatible materials and solvents in the materials. This may not be the issue but it is similar.

I have a 2012 36RL built in Aug/Sept 2011 and I have not experienced an issue with the seasl as of yet. I have been using a coating of Pledge on the seals that I can reach. This was suggested by Randy at the factory service center. He also mentioned using the baby powder. I have slide toppers and of course can not reach the seals under most of the slide.

[atom ant]

I can only speak for mine and it has paint.

This isn't just Redwood. I've heard of similar issues with Landmark and Sanibel. But it seems to be hit or miss, which would lend me to think it was a bad batch.

It would probably be really hard to figure out what materials actually go into this this stuff, because I don't think many of the overseas manufacturers are honest about what they use.

[GA1817]

Guy our 36RL's were made in the same month/year. Mine is full bodied paint and no issues with seals. I also have the slide covers. I doubt if RW does any type of audits on vendors so they really do not know what they are being sold. Simple tests such as tensile and elongation, hardness test, and others would determine the problem. Someone send me a piece and I will test it LOL! I bet if you tracked those RW units with similar year and month of manufacturer you will likely see only a small group of units exhibit the problem.

[mhs4771]

Could be another case of "Too Much Lead" in the process. You do all remember the shipment of Lead from China that was rejected at the Port because of contamination right, it was found to be contaminated with toys.
Sorry, the Devil made me say that.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Could be another case of "Too Much Lead" in the process. You do all remember the shipment of Lead from China that was rejected at the Port because of contamination right, it was found to be contaminated with toys.
Sorry, the Devil made me say that.

Excellant.

[Neal]

Originally Posted by sinder

I believe our slideout seals can be found here: https://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/cat...ategory_id=170

I get up on the roof tomorrow and verify.

I have a split d seal on one of my slides. This is the second one. The replacements in the website from sinder look to have a peel and stick adhesive. Anyone used these? If so would you recommend sticking on then also caulking once in place? Our Redwood is in storage (an hour away) so anyone know which size Redwood uses, the 1"? Thanks for any info or recommendations.

Neal

[Radio_Flyer]

Sorry to bring up and old thread. Need to replace the seal over my dining room slide. The recommended site above for the d seals and self sticking would help. Anyone try these yet? They are available on Amazon as well. Thanks.