Thor slide leaking

exit55 · 08-05-2020, 01:48 AM

Have 2016 Thor Vegas MC. Am getting water leakage inside coach be hind drivers’ seat from living room slide. Occurring (I think) when slide is closed.
There is a 4” rubber piece attached to MC (under canvas) that acts as a boot for the slide. When slide is out, it is on top of the slide to shield water. When slide closed, a rubber piece on top of slide, makes it go back under the wall of MC. Since rubber shield is longer than slide, it does a crease in the corner. There is a tear in the rubber at back and front where it makes this transition.
There is another rubber gasket on the top of the slide under the canvas. It is suppose to seal the slide when it is closed against the MC. These gaskets are also on the vertical part of the slide to seal the sides. The top gasket (in a groove) had moved toward the back of MC. I have slid it back forward.
Any ideas on how to stop leak?

sheilamcc · 08-15-2020, 03:00 PM

Hi, we are dealing with a similar issue. A contractor in the RV park recommended using a product called Quad with a caulking gun. It is a clear sealant that cures in about a week. We are not finished, but this is a trial and error process of pouring a small amount of water onto the top of the slide, watching for water, then drying the seal and applying sealant wherever you think the leak may be starting. Our first try did not resolve it, but we are trying again this week. I don't believe this is any better than a shop could do. Perhaps we will hear from some of the other owners....

**EA37TS** · 08-15-2020, 03:24 PM

A 5 year old coach. Replace the seals, it is time especially if they have not been maintained properly.

Beau388 · 08-15-2020, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EA37TS

A 5 year old coach. Replace the seals, it is time especially if they have not been maintained properly.

True - replacement bulb seals are readily available and easily installed. <https://www.recpro.com/rv-seals/>

Paul0138 · 08-15-2020, 07:01 PM

I am having a leak in the rear lower corner of my slide. I pressurized the coach using a squirrel cage blower and got soap bubbles coming from that location. It's on the inside of the outer corner of the slide and not visible unless the slide is out. I caulked it yesterday but we had some rain (2") come in before the caulk could set up and it leaked a little. Waiting for a dry day to re-caulk. Hope this helps.

Paul0138 · 08-17-2020, 08:08 PM

Think slideout may not have been fully closed.

axis earl · 08-17-2020, 08:45 PM

If you search the forum you will see that many of us had the similar leak when the slider is retracted. We found that the exterior molding on the bottom/front corner had not been completely sealed with caulking. This was the point of water intrusion especially if the coach was parked with a slope to the right. Hope this helps.

Paul0138 · 08-18-2020, 12:44 PM

I found my exterior trim is leaking also and caulked that but I'm still getting leakage I'm thinking maybe the slide is not completely closed. I read that you hold the retract button down for a second or two after it stops.

Oneilkeys · 08-18-2020, 01:28 PM

I put a bead of caulking all the way across on the inside of my slide - after caulking the slide itself, which trapped any little bit of water that got past the slide between the caulking and the slide and kept it from getting inside the coach.

Paul0138 · 08-18-2020, 07:52 PM

I'm wondering if the rubber seal on the bottom is supposed to cover the opening all the way to the end. Mine stops about 1.5 inches short on both ends of the bottom of the slide. This opening would be exposed to blowing rain if the slide was opened (or not closed tightly). It leads to the inside of the coach.

raffaelli · 08-19-2020, 12:11 AM

Recently had a leak on the floor behind the driver. The cailk at the exterior upper molding the top of the slide had developed a gap. The Sealed it. No more leak.

Beau388 · 08-19-2020, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul0138

I'm wondering if the rubber seal on the bottom is supposed to cover the opening all the way to the end. Mine stops about 1.5 inches short on both ends of the bottom of the slide. This opening would be exposed to blowing rain if the slide was opened (or not closed tightly). It leads to the inside of the coach.

No, the bulb seal seals should meet and be held in place with a dab of calk. The seals do shrink about 5% over time, so they should be compressed when installing to allow for the shrinkage. Replacement seals are available from RecPro.

Paul0138 · 08-19-2020, 05:48 PM

Bottom of slide. Gap is about 3 and 1/2 in Long.

cbach · 08-19-2020, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul0138

Bottom of slide. Gap is about 3 and 1/2 in Long.

That's not a "gap", but the drain chute for any water that does make it behind the seal. It's there by design on each corner, although I'm not sure they're installed in a way that will ensure the water gets out without weeping back under to the floor/wall.

Paul0138 · 08-21-2020, 07:57 PM

We just had 1.6 inches of rain and I'm still getting water leaking in on the floor. So, shutting the slide by holding the button down a little longer didn't help. Maybe I need to look into adjusting the slide to close tighter? I'll have to google how to do that. That corner is the only place that blew bubbles when I pressurized the R/V.

Oneilkeys · 08-21-2020, 11:08 PM

If your slide is working well, I would not screw with trying to adjust it. Try rubber stripping or caulking before you try adjusting the slide. It is much safer in the long run. T

Paul0138 · 11-05-2020, 06:50 PM

After many weeks of trying to find my leak I think I found it! The heater exhaust port was leaking water to the inside of the outer wall. When the slide was closed this water ran down the slide rail channel into the RV. I caulked around the port and we'll see what happens when it dries. Hope this helps someone else having the same problem.

Oneilkeys · 11-05-2020, 07:03 PM

I don’t know if your ACE is set up the same way as my Axis, but when Thor built my 2015, the seal for the furnace cover was missing one of the bottom corners. This allowed water into that compartment when it rained and shorted out the furnace board and rusted out the inside of the exhaust pipe. I had to replace the whole furnace.

Paul0138 · 11-05-2020, 08:02 PM

Wow! Sorry to hear that you had to go thru that. A cheap gasket would have prevented that.

Oneilkeys · 11-05-2020, 09:08 PM

Unfortunately, while we loved our Vegas and Axis, Thor’s workmanship left a lot to be desired. While most of the components in the RV were pretty good, how the whole package was put together was not. Taking the price into account and the fact that I did almost all the repairs and upgrades myself, I still think the overall product was worth while. We put 60,000 miles on the two in 6 years and one trip lasted four months from Key Largo FL to Alaska and back for a total of 14,000 miles. The only time I had it in the shop while on the road was to replace the AC unit while on the Alaska trip. That was not Thor’s fault and the shop replaced the whole upper unit in about two hours while we had breakfast. We spent months on the road, thousands of miles from home and they never failed us. I had to repair a lot of stuff, but that’s part of RVing and boating.

You may also like: