Slider leaking water even though there is no snow or rain

[ParipateticOne]

Water is steadily dripping from the inside of my living room slider. It hasn’t rained or snowed in 24 hours. Presumably, there was ice somewhere that is just now melting. Any guesses where it is getting in? And, what I can do to stop it?

Ever since I’ve owned this Grand Design (Momentum 328M), I’ve had occasional leaks in this slider. In the past, it only occurred when there was both heavy rain and high wind gusts, such as in Arkansas when a tornado touched down near me. I blamed it on a poor seal. (You can fit your finger between the rubber and the roof on one side of the slider when it is extended.) My only other slider has never had any problems, even when trees fell two sites over from a near miss tornado in Texas.

I’m a full-timer. This winter, I’m staying in the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire. Anticipating problems from ice dams, I duct taped an extra seal over the slider. The strip is about 10” wide and runs the whole length of the inner edge of the slider.

Two days ago, we had 2” of snow followed by several hours of rain (but little wind). When the water started coming in, I used a roof rake to remove the snow and slush from the slider and trailer roof. The dripping soon stopped. It started up again last night and got significantly worse when the outdoor temperature went above freezing this morning for the first time in a week. It has not rained in 48 hours or snowed in 24 hours and the roof is clear of snow.
Any suggestions what I can do?

 

[huntr70]

Are you level? (By a bubble level, not the leveling system)

The top of the slide out rooms are tapered to the outside, so in theory, water shouldn't run uphill.

 

[ParipateticOne]

Yes, I'm level. Perhaps too level. If I pour a little bit of water on the slider, it forms a small puddle but doesn't go anywhere. If I pour more water on the slider, it slowly flows toward the outside edge of the slider. If I pour a lot of water on the slider, it flows toward the outside-front of the slider. I assume that this is what it should do.

During the snow/rain storm earlier this week, there was slush on the roof, which would have prevented the normal flow of water. I didn't clear the slush off of the slider until after the storm subsided, which, appearantly, was too late.

 

[Aridon]

Hard to say without being there. My first thought would be the seal itself has some failing sealant where it is attached. That might get you the leaking you see as it drips from the roof and goes behind the seal. Take a look there.

Also there are these strips screwed on at the bottom and top of the slide, above and below the smaller windows. On my momentum they weren't really sealed right. You could push them a bit near the edge and you could see that the sealant wasn't quite creating a barrier. I put some better sealant there but I imagine that if the top one wasn't quite right you could be getting water and and it could drop from up top.

Another thing is those strips bypass the seal. So if they are angled the wrong way any water in the could track into the rv bypassing the seal

Anyway, good luck tracking it down.

 

[ParipateticOne]

The leak has finally slowed down. Either the water completely drained out of the slider or froze again.

I'm planning to purchase and install rigid foam boards on the top of the slider and cover it with plastic sheeting. Should put an end to the leaks and improve the insulation.

The next snow storm is predicted on Tuesday. Will be a good test!