Top of of Slide needs resealing

[Paulcal]

So checking the top of slides I see holes in the tape at the corners. And some of the screws are almost exposed. Is the tape eternabond and will it come off? Thinking of just going over the spots with Dicor. What do you think?

[Guest]

We have this issue as well. I plan to remove the eternabond at the corner and sanding the edge smooth rather than having the sharp edge which catches the seal and rips the tape. A small piece of eternabond can then be placed back over the repair area. What I would like to find is a place that can repair a small hole by vulcanizing on a small patch of TPO. Anyone know who can do this? The seal passing across the eternabond will eventually peel it loose.

Jim

[Paulcal]

Hey Midwest are any of your screws showing thru the etenabond? Also it seems to me the slide is either out of adjustment to cause this or the eternabond has just shrunk and failed.

[flyfshrockies]

Guest Jim, our 2021 2600RB is starting the same issue so would like to know what you end up doing. In looking at ours it seems to me that the main cause could be a lot of pressure right there from the seal as the slide is extended. Watching it from the roof, as the DW extends the slide, that is where the seals start to reverse orientation from folded in to folded out. Looks as though that is just the way it is so a long term solution could be elusive short of finding a way to install a small metal flashing/wear guard in that area. I may try that as we are hanging around the r.v. park waiting for our new home to close. Keep us posted as you work through this, if I try the flashing I will post results.

Dave

[StephenO]

Paulcal - I had some screws poking through the tape on our slide roof; the suggested fix, and the one I ultimately went with, was to put lap sealant over each one. I ended up putting sealant over all the screws, not just the ones poking through, figured I would just get ahead of the problem.

One thing to note for myself though, was the screws were not poking through on their own, it was my own doing . One time I was sweeping the slide roof off with a broom and I had the broom at too steep of an angle, essentially close to parallel with the roof. Anyways, the bottom head dragged along the tape causing it to tear at some of the screw heads...

[Paulcal]

StephenO I checked the opposite slide, screws are exposed as well. And the tapes seems awful easy to peel up. THe proper solution would have been for GD to have used a flushmount scew in the first place. Then we wouldnt be having this conversation. There must be considerable shrinkage in the tape over time.

Also does anyone know what type of caulking is used on top of the tape along front edge? Looks like silicone to me.

[Guest]

Guest Jim, our 2021 2600RB is starting the same issue so would like to know what you end up doing. In looking at ours it seems to me that the main cause could be a lot of pressure right there from the seal as the slide is extended. Watching it from the roof, as the DW extends the slide, that is where the seals start to reverse orientation from folded in to folded out. Looks as though that is just the way it is so a long term solution could be elusive short of finding a way to install a small metal flashing/wear guard in that area. I may try that as we are hanging around the r.v. park waiting for our new home to close. Keep us posted as you work through this, if I try the flashing I will post results.

Dave

Dave,

Yes I believe the seal rubbing across this area is wearing away at the Eternabond. Best of luck on the closing and moving. We sold two homes and purchased one and man we are so beat up and tired. Even after having movers take care of the heavy stuff. LOL.

Also to Paulcal, most likely the wrong style screws are used where they should be a tapered screw rather than a pan head but I've not looked into that. I do not think there is an alignment issue causing this as my slide is aligned properly.

Jim

[flyfshrockies]

Guest Jim, thanks for the thoughts, even the dog is exhausted and bruised. Getting moving help was a real trial, when we got to Oregon, our help said where do you want to start then stood around watching the DW and I work, yikes. Was going to start the wear guard and discovered everything I need is in storage, oh well. We did luck out and found a home with full hook-ups, 50amp power and the spot is paved!

Dave

[KamFlyer]

So checking the top of slides I see holes in the tape at the corners. And some of the screws are almost exposed. Is the tape eternabond and will it come off? Thinking of just going over the spots with Dicor. What do you think?

We had this issue with our 374TH on all 3 schwintek slides. The aluminum angle stock which forms the corner flange was cut a hair too long plus the factory left the sharp edges intact. The slide seals were putting pressure on the Eternabond when retracted and cutting it against the aluminum edge.
I cut the Eternabond back a bit so I could file a radius on the sharp edges and then reapplied new Eternabond.
Another area to watch is the slide seals where they rub against the edge strip that ties the TPO membrane down. The factory uses pan head screws which rip the seals. We had to have all the seals replaced under warranty and at the same time they replaced the screws with flat head screws.