Thor Forums

[Miramar Owner]

Jamie, not to belabor the point, but it still could be the lower slide trim. For the first year or so I never noticed a leak because it was so minor and I usually parked level. The only time I had a cup or so running across the floor was when parked overnight at a truck stop. The slides were in, the driver's side was high and rain and wind was so hard it was rocking the camper. I looked outside and saw a garbage can blowing by. I got up and walked to the front of the RV and stepped in the water. I investigated that night but couldn't really tell where it was coming from. I assumed from the top, but couldn't see the top of the slide without a step stool and a much brighter light.

When I got home I spent about 2 weeks investigating and tweaking everything from the slide topper to the seals and bulbs on the slide wall (re-lubricating them).

I finally tried just letting the slide out about a foot and with a garden hose in one hand and a bright flashlight in the other, I found the culprit. The lower slide trim was not caulked. Driving rain would make its way into the slide trim where it would be trapped between the waterproof membrane under the slide and the slide floor. It would then drip down a screw that penetrated this membrane. When the slide was in, that would place that drip on the floor under the slide. Most of the time it would simply evaporate under there and I was none the wiser. Until that one night.

Odds are I would never have discovered the issue had it not been for that one night. The few drops that made it's way onto the linoleum under the slide would either evaporate or run to the outside edge of the RV. Years of that could create swollen flooring so I am thankful I solved the mystery.

As you know, these coaches are designed with weep cups at both ends of the slide to catch any water from retracting the slide and drip to the outside of the coach. I first thought one of those was split. Turned out not to be the case.

Anyway, I know this is detailed. But I just wanted to make sure you understood how easy this is to miss.

Upon further investigation, I found caulk either missing or inadequate for the outside TV, entrance door, hot water heater and passenger window. So I added caulking to virtually all of the outside trim. I used Flex Seal black caulking which blended in nicely with the paint on my coach. Looks like a shadow.