Slide out seal issue

**ScopesNC** · 05-30-2020, 06:01 PM

I was treating my slide out seals today before a long trip and found one of our seals has an issue. It has not leaked yet I think it could under the right condition. I did contact GD on it today. Will wait to hear back. I have not seen a seal do this before on any camper I have owned. I hope GD will cover it. I have only had the camper one year this month. Has anyone seen a seal just come apart like this? Is there something I can do? Looking at it there doesn't seem like much I can do except patch it. I hope I'm wrong on this and it is a simple fix I can do myself.

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**SteveO** · 05-30-2020, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by ScopesNC

I was treating my slide out seals today before a long trip and found one of our seals has an issue. It has not leaked yet I think it could under the right condition. I did contact GD on it today. Will wait to hear back. I have not seen a seal do this before on any camper I have owned. I hope GD will cover it. I have only had the camper one year this month. Has anyone seen a seal just come apart like this? Is there something I can do? Looking at it there doesn't seem like much I can do except patch it. I hope I'm wrong on this and it is a simple fix I can do myself.

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So somehow my post got deleted, so let's try this again

I'll start off by saying, I have never worked on my slide seals only read about them, so if I am wrong please let me know so I can learn. Anyways, I can't tell from your picture but did the slide bulb seal pull off of the track, or did the track come off the trailer too? If it's just the slide bulb seal that pulled off the track, you should be able to buy a replacement length, remove the retaining screws, slide out the old seal and slide on the new one. Put the retaining screws back and seal the corners, and you should be back in business. Here is a picture from the GD parts lookup of the slide bulb seal.

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Hope that helps, but let me know, such that like I said I can learn too!

**ScopesNC** · 05-30-2020, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by SteveO

So somehow my post got deleted, so let's try this again

I'll start off by saying, I have never worked on my slide seals only read about them, so if I am wrong please let me know so I can learn. Anyways, I can't tell from your picture but did the slide bulb seal pull off of the track, or did the track come off the trailer too? If it's just the slide bulb seal that pulled off the track, you should be able to buy a replacement length, remove the retaining screws, slide out the old seal and slide on the new one. Put the retaining screws back and seal the corners, and you should be back in business. Here is a picture from the GD parts lookup of the slide bulb seal.

Hope that helps, but let me know, such that like I said I can learn too!

I don't know enough to say your wrong , but I think you maybe right. However I do think it's something GD should be willing to fix under warranty.
It should have never come apart like that so soon. I'll update as soon as I know what they say. From what I can tell it will not let rain in while sitting .
I think it is there for protection when going down the road only. The one under it keeps the rain out when sitting. and it has not leaked . We've had several hard rains over 6 inches this past month here at the house. The slide was out for most of it. No leaks. We have a long trip ahead of us starting Monday and I hope to get this fix by
a mobile tech or after I get where were going by a mobile tech. I do not have the time for a dealer now. Like I said I'll update when I know more from GD.

**ScopesNC** · 05-31-2020, 10:55 AM

SteveO

You were close to right.

Here is what I found while laying on the roof on my belly ( NOT FUN ) in the heat. CRY BABY HERE.

The seal had come off but not ripped or torn. It sort of snaps on top and bottom of a plastic strip. Like channels that would slide on . I snapped it back on. However I do not think they will stay long, so for the short term I used some clear gorilla tape in a few places to hold it in place. While it is back like it was I think it needs something to keep it there. It came off I think due to heat. The sun does get to that side and I think the seal expanded causing it to let lose. A very thin bead of silicone or glue of some sort seemed to to have been run down the entire thing . I can only assume that was to make sure it stayed in place. In my case that did not work. For now it is up in place and I'll wait for GD to decide what to do from here.

By the way. Warning. If you ever have to do this watch out. That seal gets hot. I mean very hot. As I was putting it back I could only touch it for a few seconds and stop. It was burning my fingers. I kid you not. Would be hard to put it back on wearing gloves. Best to do it late just after sun goes down or early before sun rise.

**Second Chance** · 05-31-2020, 11:20 AM

Now that you've got the seal back on, run a bead of high-quality silicone along where the seal meets the side wall - that should help it stay in place. On the good side, you won't have leaks with the slide out since the inside bulb seal and the interior slide flange are what make the seal while the slide is out. The seal you put back in place wipes the slide on the way in and seals everything while the slide is in. Finally, GD covered replacement of the seals on both of the big slides on our Reflection 337 a couple of years after the 1-year warranty was out (though it was just barely within the 3-year structural warranty). Have a conversation with GD Customer Service and see what they say.

Rob

**SteveO** · 05-31-2020, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by ScopesNC

SteveO

You were close to right.

Here is what I found while laying on the roof on my belly ( NOT FUN ) in the heat. CRY BABY HERE.

The seal had come off but not ripped or torn. It sort of snaps on top and bottom of a plastic strip. Like channels that would slide on . I snapped it back on. However I do not think they will stay long, so for the short term I used some clear gorilla tape in a few places to hold it in place. While it is back like it was I think it needs something to keep it there. It came off I think due to heat. The sun does get to that side and I think the seal expanded causing it to let lose. A very thin bead of silicone or glue of some sort seemed to to have been run down the entire thing . I can only assume that was to make sure it stayed in place. In my case that did not work. For now it is up in place and I'll wait for GD to decide what to do from here.

By the way. Warning. If you ever have to do this watch out. That seal gets hot. I mean very hot. As I was putting it back I could only touch it for a few seconds and stop. It was burning my fingers. I kid you not. Would be hard to put it back on wearing gloves. Best to do it late just after sun goes down or early before sun rise.

Thanks for the follow-up Jim. I would agree that the heat and sun took its toll on the bulb seal and the silicon used to hold it in place. With the amount of sun you get, and based on your description of not even being able to handle the seal because of the heat I would assume that it's lots, I would suggest not using silicone in the future, but some caulk that can withstand the UV. Up here in the north, we have LePage quad seal, but I think down there it's called OSI Quad, and it seems to hold up to UV. I've also heard that RV flex seal also works very well. Let us know how you make out with GD.

**SteveO** · 05-31-2020, 11:48 AM

Just one other thing I remember from our trailer that I noticed when I was going over the exterior seals, is that the sealant goes over the track that is attached to the fiberglass and engages the bulb seal very slightly and just at the base. What I'm getting at is you don't want the sealant touching 'the peak' of the seal, stopping the seal from expanding and contracting. IE, if the slide was closed, which will squash the bulb seal and flatten it, the top lip of the seal should not be affixed to the fiberglass.

Also, if you replace the seal and put new caulking on, wait for it to cure before you close the slide, otherwise the situation I mentioned above would occur when the seal gets squashed against the trailer.

**ScopesNC** · 05-31-2020, 12:43 PM

Rob & Steve O

Rob, I had the same idea and I think Steve O does also. He is right about not letting it interfere with the bulb function of the seal.
I won't hear from GD until at least tomorrow while I'm on the road starting on our trip. So will see what they say. There may be some delay on this reply as to what is to be done according to GD. While it does seem to be a simple fix, it does need to be done right in order to keep the warranty and most of all leaks from occurring. Thanks for the input guys.

**ScopesNC** · 06-02-2020, 05:54 PM

Grand Design will be as we all thought they would be, fixing this issue. Once I get where I;m going I can get a mobile tech to make the repair and send them the bill. Can't ask for much more than that. Three cheers for the Home Team of Grand Design.

**geotex1** · 06-02-2020, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by ScopesNC

Grand Design will be as we all thought they would be, fixing this issue. Once I get where I;m going I can get a mobile tech to make the repair and send them the bill. Can't ask for much more than that. Three cheers for the Home Team of Grand Design.

Very good! My experience in my ~9mos of GD ownership has been very positive with customer service. They overnighted me emergency repair parts straight to a campground last year, and tomorrow they will be delivering new lavatory drains to my home after we found ours had broken over winter storage (clearly over-tightened upon original construction). Called Monday afternoon and emailed them the pictures and ship to and they're due 10am tomorrow.