3901 Aria air and light coming under slide

wcricks · 11-26-2019, 02:31 PM

I recently sent photos to Thor off light and air coming in the rv from under the front slide on the drivers side in two places under the sofa and dinette.

They suggested I show it to the dealer which I did and we both confirmed that there is a Tbar that guides the slide when it retracts and it is not properly sealed.

The dealer had two other Aria's on the lot and we looked at both of them and they have the same problem.

The dealer is proposing a fix to Thor under warranty that should work. The opening is difficult to seal off because of the Tbar guides but we are going to install rubber sweeps in the sofa and dinette to block the air / light.

Also, we think these openings are a source of dirt entering the coach while we are traveling or parked.

I will keep you posted in the situation. Please let me know if your Aria has this problem or perhaps there is a better way to seal off these two places.

Beau388 · 11-26-2019, 03:49 PM

You have the Schwintek In-Wall slide system. There is a perimeter bulb seal that is on the inside of the exterior slide surround than seals the slide when closed. It works well when properly installed. When open, the slide is sealed by a thin wiper seals. These seal are found on the exterior of the coach's vertical walls and on the top and bottom inside edges of the slide. They do not seal well even if in good condition and have cutouts for the slide tracks and fittings. Dust and water will seep-in during windy conditions. In cold conditions the coach is much easier to heat with the slides closed. I never leave the slides open in thunderstorms as I have already lost one slide topper due to high winds.

NG7V · 12-22-2019, 04:22 PM

Hi,
I did notice the same thing and I also noticed the outside wipe seal is curled up and doesn't seem to do much to help the situation. I will bring that up with my dealer as well. As far as dust and such, I would just stuff the gap under the slide from the inside using a damp towel or rag for those storms that blow junk around until a fix is provided.

Please keep this thread updated. I am also concerned about this because we hang out in the deserts and dust does blow around. All that grit winds up on the floor and that will scratch it all up. I already have a thread seeking advice on how to polish up the damage caused by grit on the floor.

Our rig is drafty on windy days, blocking those breaks in the seals would help that too.

I will update this thread if Thor or my dealer finds a fix.

NG7V · 12-23-2019, 03:06 PM

Any update? Was your dealer successful in applying a fix to this?

NG7V · 05-27-2021, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcricks

I recently sent photos to Thor off light and air coming in the rv from under the front slide on the drivers side in two places under the sofa and dinette.

They suggested I show it to the dealer which I did and we both confirmed that there is a T-bar that guides the slide when it retracts and it is not properly sealed.

The dealer had two other Aria's on the lot and we looked at both of them and they have the same problem.

The dealer is proposing a fix to Thor under warranty that should work. The opening is difficult to seal off because of the Tbar guides but we are going to install rubber sweeps in the sofa and dinette to block the air / light.

Also, we think these openings are a source of dirt entering the coach while we are traveling or parked.

I will keep you posted in the situation. Please let me know if your Aria has this problem or perhaps there is a better way to seal off these two places.

The service center installed floor sweeps under the dinette and theater seats. They also installed a double exterior sweep under my long slide. They added a slit rubber covering over the T-Bar tracks on the dinette and kitchen slides much like the one that the factory installs for the water line slip track under the long slide.

As a result, our coach is much warmer in cold weather and a lot cooler in warm weather. We haven't been in the desert yet but we think that will take care of the blowing sand.

The Aria floor plan is such that there is no way to avoid the slipway for the water lines. The inside sweeps were there at some point but someone cut them out to inspect the tracks from the inside of the coach.

We were told that the T-Bar tracks were there to prevent the slides from coming out of the coach during a roll-over accident, a safety measure. I will refrain to opine on that. The fix with the slit rubber cover under the slide should just be part of the standard build for this coach.

We are quite happy with the results.

wasper600 · 11-11-2021, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NG7V

The service center installed floor sweeps under the dinette and theater seats. They also installed a double exterior sweep under my long slide. They added a slit rubber covering over the T-Bar tracks on the dinette and kitchen slides much like the one that the factory installs for the water line slip track under the long slide.

As a result, our coach is much warmer in cold weather and a lot cooler in warm weather. We haven't been in the desert yet but we think that will take care of the blowing sand.

The Aria floor plan is such that there is no way to avoid the slipway for the water lines. The inside sweeps were there at some point but someone cut them out to inspect the tracks from the inside of the coach.

We were told that the T-Bar tracks were there to prevent the slides from coming out of the coach during a roll-over accident, a safety measure. I will refrain to opine on that. The fix with the slit rubber cover under the slide should just be part of the standard build for this coach.

We are quite happy with the results.

Hi, we have the exact same issue with our 2017 Miramar coach. I’ve been trying figure out how to deal with it for at least a year. For now I put sponges in the three openings under our slide when in open position. But for the money we spent on the coach it seems a bit ridiculous to have to do that. Would you be willing to share photos and/or the name of your service center so I could attempt to duplicate the fix. Thank you! Wayne

camperguy99 · 11-11-2021, 05:37 PM

On our 2015 Tuscany that is similar to the Aria I have put pipe insulators under the inside where there was a gap. Pipe insulator come is a few diameters so I purchased some in various diameters. Think they are 6 or 8 feet in length but can easily be cut to size. Works great and keeps the wind from blowing on our feet. About a buck each but are re-useable.

Camperguy99

NG7V · 11-11-2021, 08:09 PM

Yeah, I tried the sponge thing and the water pipe thing and the drawback in my mind was forgetting these things and retracting my slide. I opted to call the Thor support line who put me in touch with the repair group in Wakarusa, Indiana. Great bunch of techs! They are the top in the game as far as I know. Just awesome people and a great repair facility.

This is what they did to fix it. They installed floor wipes under most of my slideouts, the parts that they could reach with a reverse stapler of some kind. The floor wipe is the same rubber wiper you see outside that keeps the sides and bottom of the slide dry as it travels in and out.

As for the T bar under the slide. Those are meant to keep the slide from coming out of the body in a roll accident. That was their design solution and I am sure it would work. The T is a 2x2" steel post with a 1/2" cross bar that is engaged into a steel track. Good safety but not so good for keeping the draft out. So this is the repair they did for that problem:

They installed two pieces of thick rubber material that overlap in the center to allow the T bar post to travel into when retracting the slide. These two pieces of rubber are riveted to the bottom of the slide. Both pieces are riveted all around at about 2" rivet to rivet except for the portion of the rubber pieces nearest to the body of the coach when the slide is opened.

Pictures included, before and after. Sorry for the dark photo, this is the best I could do on a dark rainy day under a slide.

HMCSW · 11-11-2021, 10:27 PM

Thanks, I am taking our Aria there for a door fix. The folks at Thor told me to send them a list of anything I can think of that I want them to look at. Going to check out the slide next week. We did notice cold air coming form under the dinette. Thanks,

wasper600 · 11-15-2021, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NG7V

Yeah, I tried the sponge thing and the water pipe thing and the drawback in my mind was forgetting these things and retracting my slide. I opted to call the Thor support line who put me in touch with the repair group in Wakarusa, Indiana. Great bunch of techs! They are the top in the game as far as I know. Just awesome people and a great repair facility.

This is what they did to fix it. They installed floor wipes under most of my slideouts, the parts that they could reach with a reverse stapler of some kind. The floor wipe is the same rubber wiper you see outside that keeps the sides and bottom of the slide dry as it travels in and out.

As for the T bar under the slide. Those are meant to keep the slide from coming out of the body in a roll accident. That was their design solution and I am sure it would work. The T is a 2x2" steel post with a 1/2" cross bar that is engaged into a steel track. Good safety but not so good for keeping the draft out. So this is the repair they did for that problem:

They installed two pieces of thick rubber material that overlap in the center to allow the T bar post to travel into when retracting the slide. These two pieces of rubber are riveted to the bottom of the slide. Both pieces are riveted all around at about 2" rivet to rivet except for the portion of the rubber pieces nearest to the body of the coach when the slide is opened.

Pictures included, before and after. Sorry for the dark photo, this is the best I could do on a dark rainy day under a slide.

Great. The photos help a lot. So they basically covered the entire track under the slide with the overlapping/slit rubber? That is what it looks like in the photo. Not sure how to attach the sweeps on the inside under dinette and sofa but we’ll figure something out. On a side note…we only forgot our sponges were in once when retracting the slide….and that trained us to never forget again!!�� Thanks again for the help…much appreciated!

HMCSW · 01-27-2024, 06:46 PM

We found cutting upholstery foam and putting into the gaps was the fix for use. It is a PITA but no light AND no mosquitos or flies. The ARIA is nice but the next RV will have drop down slides, Aquaheat, real Jake brakes, and over 1000 pounds of torque.

NG7V · 01-27-2024, 08:21 PM

Ultimately, we took our Aria to the Wakarusa service center where they installed rubber split caps over the guide track holes under the slideout and they installed rubber wiper seals in the gap between the floor and the slideout bottom.
We are quite happy with the result even if it isn't the most perfect of solutions. We can actually stay warm on cold windy days.

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