water coming in on exterior of underside of fifth wheel

[ourv123]

hello, we have a 2016 grand design 300gk, we really enjoy. our only issue is, water traveling to exterior underside of bedroom slide and going into channel where plywood decking terminates. the dealer has been helpful covering this under warranty but is having a hard time finding a solution. any advice would be appreciated. i hope the post makes sense, since i do not know all the terminology of the fifth wheel parts.

thank u in advance.

[rwoverman]

I am not sure if this is the same problem / and solution, but on the GD facebook page, a gentleman posted how he repaired a leak point for his schintech (sorry for the spelling) slide mechanism. His repair envolved removing the rails and filling a tube that was behind it? with silicon and other leak pts. You may want to check it out and see if it is similar. Hope this is helpful.

Bob

[JCZhome]

Under the slide....is it the schwintec or the other style? If it's the other one, look underneath and see if the lap seal may have came loose.

It should look like this....

[rvoilers]

Here is the article that is posted on the GD Solitude Owners facebook page.

UPDATE: for anyone having issues with their bedroom slide, or specifically the front slide outs with the Schwintek system. These slide outs are prone to leaking underneath and causing the OSB to get saturated with water. My particular leak was found to be at the outside corners of the slide away from the trailer. I believe this to be more common of an issue as most people have probably not checked for any staining there (personally have looked under 2 other Solitudes and found signs of leaking). Finally, after about 3 weeks of diagnosis we (Devin Helland and myself) have identified the issue and remedied it. I am posting this so that others might find it helpful. My issue (and probably others) lies in the sealing of the Schwintek gear bars. The backside of these bars are hollow allowing the freeflow of water throughout. Below I have listed the procedure we have used to stop any leaking caused specifically by these tracks. Here goes:
1) Rule #1.....silicone sucks! I have experienced first hand the downfalls of using silicone on areas exposed to the kind of water runoff as these Schwintek gear bars are. I used Proflex Rv (non silicone base) and have found it to be superior.
2) remove ALL silicone around the Schwintek gear bar and clean thoroughly removing any oil left behind (nothing adheres to silicone. Even silicone).
3) Remove screws securing schwintek bars to slide out up to the rubber seals where the slide out goes into the rv.
4) Pull gear bar out from slide at facia end (about 1 1/2" is all thats needed). Don't worry, the bars are not carrying the load of the slide out.
5) install butyl tape in place of foam already there along where screws are.
6) CRITICAL: place large bead of Proflex vertically along where back of Schwintek gear bar meets the flange of facia trim. This prevents water from getting inside and travelling behind gear bars. This bead of Proflex must fill the hollow area behind this gear bar COMPLETELY prohibiting the flow of water. It's a little tricky getting the caulking back there as you can only pull the track out so far. Might have to use fingers to tool it in there. I have identified this area with a red line in a photo attached.
7) Push gear bar back onto slide and re-install screws. Butyl tape and Proflex should squish out a little. Tighten screws down but don't strip them.
8) Remove any excess butyl and shape Pro flex with your finger using soapy water.
9) Apply Pro flex on top of bar the full length right to outer facia trim. ***Do not caulk underneath bar where it goes over outer facia flange. Any water needs to be able to escape without backing up into track.
The above procedure has completely stopped my leaking Schwintek gear bars. I'm sorry I didn't incorporate the pics with their own caption, but am lucky to have accomplished as much of this as I have. I have put some pics on for reference and myself or Devin Helland would be happy to explain any details if needed. This is a very inexpensive relatively simple fix that anyone moderately handy can accomplish on their own. Once diagnosed, the fix was maybe 1-2 hours for both bottom gear bars ( or you can take it to the dealer and leave it for 6 weeks and hope they took the time to fix it properly). Hope this helps!!

[rwoverman]

the above article had good pictures to go along with it.

[ourv123]

Appreciate the help.

Thank you.

[acadiaforever]

We just had our PDI for our Nov 2018 310GK. About 1/2 inch in from the outer end of the schwintek rails, there is an approximately 1/8 inch hole drilled through the track half way between top and bottom, and filled with what appears to be clear silicone sealant, as if it were an injection port. Has this been present all along, or is this new? I'm wondering whether this is GD's approach to fixing this particular problem.

Thanks for any comments whether this is new or has been there all along, in which case we may still have to fight the problem of water leaking in behind the schwintek rail.
-Al

[cjr5151]

I ant see pictures

[Country Campers]

I ant see pictures

Being a trial member you will not be able to see pictures.

Brian

[Steve7]

Being a trial member you will not be able to see pictures.

Brian

In this particular case, there are no pics though posted here. Just FYI