Slide Leaks in Hard rain while closed

[jazzy]

We purchase our Grand Design Model XLS 22 MLE In April, It has been sitting at our House closed up and during hard rains we have found water in the front side of the slide on the floor and into the bedroom.
Last nite my Husband went in the RV while it was raining and could see some water coming in on the side up at the top so obviously it does not have a tight seal, any suggestions on what can be done to get a tighter seal?

[howson]

We purchase our Grand Design Model XLS 22 MLE In April, It has been sitting at our House closed up and during hard rains we have found water in the front side of the slide on the floor and into the bedroom.
Last nite my Husband went in the RV while it was raining and could see some water coming in on the side up at the top so obviously it does not have a tight seal, any suggestions on what can be done to get a tighter seal?

Welcome to Grand Design's Technical Forum.

The slide on your 22MLE is commonly called a "Schwintek". I can tell because of the "racetrack" rails on the side of the slide.

Is your camper level? If pitched towards the door side of the camper (leaning to the right, or passenger side), water could pool on top of the slide and find an opening to get into the camper.

In the picture below, the arrows are pointing to the bulb seal and the slide's flange. There are bulb seals on the outside of the camper and another set inside the camper.

With the slide extended, the interior wall of the slide should make firm, consistent contact with the interior bulb seals all around the perimeter. Using your fingers (carefully--may be sharp items back there!) to check all around (top and sides).

With the slide all the way in, do the same check on the exterior flange-to-bulb seal contact. The slide should be firmly seated against that bulb seal all the way around the perimeter (top, sides and bottom).

If there's not good contact between the flange and bulb seal, it's possible to have water intrusion.

Water is the #1 enemy of RVs, so I suggest pursuing this aggressively.

[jazzy]

I don't think the seal is tight enough on the front side when slide is in, we could take a pc. of paper and close on it and pull it out up towards the top and top side coming down. The Trailer is pretty level side to side and might be pitched forward a little. We used the RV for 3 nites last week for the first time but it had not rained during that time.

[howson]

I don't think the seal is tight enough on the front side when slide is in, we could take a pc. of paper and close on it and pull it out up towards the top and top side coming down. The Trailer is pretty level side to side and might be pitched forward a little. We used the RV for 3 nites last week for the first time but it had not rained during that time.

The only thing I can think of is to ensure you're holding down the slide extend (or retract) switch for an extra couple of seconds after the slide stops moving. This is the correct way to operate a Schwintek to ensure the motors stay synchronized.

https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd_0001602.pdf

[jazzy]

Yes we are aware of bringing the slide in and out and holding the button on for a couple second to allow it to seat

[howson]

Yes we are aware of bringing the slide in and out and holding the button on for a couple second to allow it to seat

Then I suggest getting a service call scheduled with your dealer. Water intrusion is not good.

[Cyclops62]

I experienced a similar problem yesterday. I was sitting in my 22MLE with the slide closed when it started to pour. I heard water running and I found the water was pouring in at the schwintech track near the kitchen. I immediately extended the slide to stop the waterintrusion. Today I measure and found the rear of the slide stuck out 1/2” More the then the front. I did the sync procedure per the manual and it only sticks out a 1/4” more then the front. I will wait for the next hard rain and see what happens.

[jazzy]

please let me know what happens.

[Cyclops62]

OK another storm today but the slide didn’t leak by the kitchen. It leaked by the bed, a it pours in. I’m reaching out for GD. I never had this issue with the slide on my Lance (also Schwintek).

[howson]

OK another storm today but the slide didn’t leak by the kitchen. It leaked by the bed, a it pours in. I’m reaching out for GD. I never had this issue with the slide on my Lance (also Schwintek).

Hopefully your dealer can get you in soon--as I've stated before in other threads water intrusion is bad.

If you'd like to check a few things yourself, there's a service manual for the "In-Wall Slide-out" here: https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws...cd-0001769.pdf

The section to focus starts on page 9, "Measurements".

Please post a follow up when the fault is found and what was done to fix it.

Howard

[Cyclops62]

Thanks Howard, I will review the LCI manual, but I think I found my issue. The mitered corner of slide frame is mis-aligned and has a large gap. This gap crosses over the bulb seal and allows for water to get pass the bulb seal. With my Lance, they covered these corners with Durabond tape. Does GD not use the same practice or did someone forget this step? I would be interested what others see.


Also the black durabond tape that goes the length of the slide by the frame is soft and puffy.

[jazzy]

We have a appointment at the Dealer in 2 weeks and I will update after that.

[howson]

Thanks Howard, I will review the LCI manual, but I think I found my issue. The mitered corner of slide frame is mis-aligned and has a large gap. This gap crosses over the bulb seal and allows for water to get pass the bulb seal. With my Lance, they covered these corners with Durabond tape. Does GD not use the same practice or did someone forget this step? I would be interested what others see.


Also the black durabond tape that goes the length of the slide by the frame is soft and puffy.

Good find!

There's no durabond on my 315RLTS' Schwintek or any of the flanges on the three slides in my unit, so I suspect GD does not use anything as the norm. Others will hopefully chime in with what is on their unit, regardless of the slide type.

[StephenO]

Good find!

There's no durabond on my 315RLTS' Schwintek or any of the flanges on the three slides in my unit, so I suspect GD does not use anything as the norm. Others will hopefully chime in with what is on their unit, regardless of the slide type.

Mine is the same, no durabond tape at the corners of the slide, but the trim edges are flush and there is some silicone sealant in the joint. Of course now that I looked at this area, I see the sealant needs some cleanup, and that I have a screw in the trim with a sheared off head. .

Related to my other post, you can see the one screw end that I filed down at the top of the slide trim. The screw end had a sharp edge that was pushing into the slide bulb seal, so hopefully filing it down stopped any further damage.

[jazzy]

We are at our Deslership now trying to get our leak in the slide resolved. Has anyone else resolved theirs?