Slide Water Damage

Jayef · 07-09-2021, 11:32 AM

I posted this in another forum & will repeat it here. I have a 2019 243BHS and noticed water damage on the left inside of our dinette this morning after a heavy rainfall. When I inspected the slide roof I don’t see any water pooling or areas where water may have got in. But what I do see is sealing tape the length of the slide where the rubber membrane meets the outside of the slide. There is maybe 6 inches of silicone along both ends , not along the entire length. Has anyone had similar issues and what did you do to resolve it? Will a slide awning stop water from going on the slide roof or am I wasting money on this option? Any ideas would appreciated.

**sourdough** · 07-09-2021, 02:15 PM

What am I looking at in the first pic exactly? Is the slide extended to the right and that tape is right at the slide seal? Did you do that?

I am assuming you bought this used and this was some sort of repair made by a previous owner? It also looks as if there are two strips of tape along that edge??

Jayef · 07-09-2021, 04:23 PM

Purchased new in 2019. Here is another pic of the slide top. Top right corner if you are facing the drivers side. The manufacturer used some sort of sealing tape to join the rubber membrane to the slide top. Not sure if this normal procedure for slide tops.

**chuckster57** · 07-09-2021, 04:28 PM

Looks like eternabond (normal) but it also look like the transition strip is short.

The fix? I’ll have to ponder for a bit.

Jayef · 07-09-2021, 04:50 PM

Sorry pic is inside the TT left side of dinette.

**sourdough** · 07-09-2021, 05:27 PM

My other slides have had that tape along the back side of the outside edge. Thinner than eternabond but much better than "gorilla"/"heavy duty duct tape". I could not find an exact replacement so used some other type (escapes me at the moment but I'll try to look back) of tape to seal down the fraying edges.

Yours looks like it has already had a repair - the drooping edges of what appear to be a 2nd layer of tape (I've not seen the overlapped/hanging over the edge tape on a new trailer) and the silicone looks like an "add" from some point in time. Somewhere in there it seems something didn't get sealed???

Jayef · 07-10-2021, 05:27 AM

Thanks. The rain here has subsided until we at least get home. I will keep the slide in until all this foul weather has gone and then go over everything with silicone and Dicor. Reading other Keysone owners posts this is a problem and Keystone is not living up to their warranty. That is a concern with me.

**chuckster57** · 07-10-2021, 06:02 AM

The warranty on roof seals is only 90 days I believe. After that it’s considered “routine maintenance” that is the owners responsibility.

**JRTJH** · 07-10-2021, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayef

Thanks. The rain here has subsided until we at least get home. I will keep the slide in until all this foul weather has gone and then go over everything with silicone and Dicor. Reading other Keysone owners posts this is a problem and Keystone is not living up to their warranty. That is a concern with me.

DICOR, especially "self leveling DICOR" is not a good idea on the slide roof. DICOR takes a very long time to set up and even after a year or two, can be "tacky and stick to anything it comes in contact". In other words, if you put DICOR on your slide roof, even after 2 or 3 weeks, when you pull your slide in, the DICOR may stick to the slide seals and then, the next time you extend your slide, the seals pull out of their location and "extend with the slide"....

DON'T USE DICOR ON THE SLIDE ROOF !!!!! Or in any other location where it can stick to the seals. You'll be replacing more than just the sealant.

**sourdough** · 07-10-2021, 08:08 AM

I agree with John and Chuck; after 90 days roof maintenance belongs to the owner, not warranty and dicor is not the best solution on top of a slide. It will cause more issues than it resolves.

My last trailer and this one (went and looked) all had one strip of tape about 4" wide down the back side of the outer edge of the slide. Yours looks like it has 2 strips of tape with the 2nd being narrower and a different color (and loose on the end). That and the silicone look like an attempt at repair - was it?

You need to dig into that roof seam and see if you can see anything that looks like it would allow a leak. Throwing things on there may or may not fix it because it could be leaking from somewhere else. From the pic of the inside damage it could be the upper transition strip that runs from the front to the back of the slide....maybe an unsealed or missing screw?

If you can't find anything else you could use the Eternabond tape or I believe Gorilla Tape makes an all weather, butyl based tape that provides a permanent bond as well. I would steer away from dicor and silicone though. Before applying anything at all that roof needs to be cleaned up thoroughly.

Jayef · 07-10-2021, 08:30 AM

Thanks I will avoid Dicor. Everything on the slide is factory installed. I have never tried to patch anything. This was a new trailer. Along with the tape there is maybe a run of six inches of silicone on both sides. Nothing beyond this. The slide top is usually pristine, we just went through a week of rain and I haven’t had a chance to clean it. Before we came here I did a thorough cleaning and conditioner in the rubber roof tops. Thanks for all your suggestions.

**sourdough** · 07-10-2021, 08:50 AM

Remember if you use ETERNABOND (or maybe even that butyl Gorilla tape) you will have to cut through it then reseal to access any of the screws on that upper strip, it does not want to "peel" off.

Jayef · 07-10-2021, 09:59 AM

Thanks for all your valuable information.

**sourdough** · 07-10-2021, 11:34 AM

I corrected post #12. I put "dicor" in there in a lame brain moment when it should have been Eternabond. Sorry

kfxgreenie · 07-10-2021, 12:00 PM

Can't really tell from a picture, but i would be looking at the circled area.

Jayef · 07-10-2021, 12:56 PM

Thanks for pointing that out.

I will look closer at that area.

fulltilt · 07-15-2021, 08:07 AM

Jayef
I recently repaired the slide top on my daughters Keystone Vantage. The EPDM was applied with what appeared to be contact cement. The slide top Eternabond strip had disintegrated allowing water to enter the screw holes which attach the extruded aluminum surround on the slide top. In a nut shell though, the prior owner did not do any maintenance on the trailer. I previously posted several times on this Forum titled "Replacement Roof Membrane" maybe something there may help.

yocsr · 07-15-2021, 08:49 AM

We had that on our 38ft park model on the super slide. I cleaned and painted two heavy coats of flex seal. This fixed it, which was over two years ago. We only had one tape strip. Have never seen two.

Danimal713 · 07-15-2021, 08:54 AM

Will a slide awning stop water from going on the slide roof or am I wasting money on this option?

We had water coming in the slide past the top seal. Debris had gotten caught under the seal leaving a space for water to get itself "invited" in. We were on a site with a slight slant and slide was on uphill side. I had been considering a slide awning anyway because of debris getting caught there (leaves and pine needles but some acorns too). The water coming in made that decision easy. I actually paid a local RV shop to install one. It has been worth every penny. I got a real nice Solera awning just over 12' and installed all around $800. If I wanted colors or other options like a cover, it was around $1000-1100.Rain would need to go a bit sideways to get onto the slide roof. But also it keeps debris off and when rolled in, debris and water just rolls right off. That said, if water does get there and the leak is not fixed,.... well it should be obvious it is coming in. The peace of mind is worth it AND I didn't have to do scary ladder time. Muscling a 12' awning and mounting at same time is getting beyond what I should be doing. A hospital portion of the injury could easily exceed that!
Looking at the pictures it looks like a bad repair even though you said you didn't have one done. Good luck. Finding the leak is always a PITB.

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