Slideout leak - anyone with direct repair experience?

[Old Bear]

This is the rear wall of the single slideout on a 2008 Cougar 278 RKS fifth wheel. This is also my home, full time living as a geographic bachelor for my job. I don't have the luxury of just pulling the slide in and fixing it come spring. I'm hoping someone may have experience with this exact model, maybe save me some grief. This had happened before and we cut the panel, pulled out the insulation, killed all the mold. The few seams topside in that area were treated, but that didn't fix it. I guessed that it was the window seal, so the rear window has plastic sheeting over it, sealed all the way around with quality duct tape. I thought I had this beat until spring, but noticed that familiar smell.

The window is just above this photo, spacing between the two outside exposed beams. You can see that the only part of the panel that is soaked all the way up is the far right portion, against the outer wall. This doesn't jive in my head with a leaking window seal though. I already have the window inner frame off and all the trim. Tonight I will attempt to remove the rest of the panel, hopefully without destroying it for additional inspection. And now I'm also wondering about the outside wall with its big bay window. That will be a nightmare to work with!

Suggestions?

[Festus2]

I would remove the bottom exterior molding/trim piece of that end slide wall as well as any molding/trim piece on the longer side wall below the large bay window. Sometimes, these trim pieces which are screwed onto the exterior wall, are the source of slide leaks.

The water intrusion comes in through the bottom along the molding - not at the top of the slide.

After you remove the screws, you may find that they are rusty - a sign that there has been leakage in and around the screws. Clean off all old caulking, apply fresh stuff making sure that the screw holes and screws are filled and coated with caulking.

When finished re-installing the molding, lay a bead of caulking along the upper and lower edges. Also make sure that the "plastic skin" is pulled tight around the edges of the slide before you fasten the trim down.

[Old Bear]

I will check that this afternoon after work.

[Old Bear]

Here are shots from outside. No trim to speak of, a solid panel except for the windows. There is a narrow joining (?) strip at the very bottom and very top. I removed a couple of screws, no sign of rust. I see no cracks in the sealer between it and the panel. On the large outside section, there is a bumper strip that runs the full length. Looking at the last picture of the large side wall, there are some screws running up the left side, and I assume that they screw into the frame. I can see one screw near the top that has some rust, and has a short rust trail below it.
I just put the plastic sheeting on the side window yesterday, so the large window would still be "in play" as a possible issue as well. I picked up a painters tool yesterday, and am in the process of slowly separating the wood paneling from the frame. I hate stuff glued together, makes it damn near impossible to remove without breaking it. Slow and steady is the course.

[trueweb]

Part 1 of my 4 part repair series dealing with something very similar

http://www.nelsonet.net/wordpress/bl...hauler-part-1/

I found a small pin hole high on the slide near the roof and I also think water was was able to wick up underneath the bottom trim. I used a thin rubber/vinyl sheet product that was used somewhere on my house during construction that I found around the garage to create a curtain with the rubber flashing that kept the water from being able to wick up under the slide.

[Old Bear]

THANK YOU for the link and the detailed pictures. This has me thinking that I am approaching this the wrong way, or perhaps I should do both. I am in the process of taking the paneling inside off. Of course it is glued to the aluminum frame, making this a difficult job without destroying the paneling. I'm using a painter's tool along with a long chisel to slowly separate the paneling. My thoughts were that I need to get in there to (1) replace moldy insulation and (2) determine specifically how the water is getting in. You are the second one to suggest that it is wicking up, not dripping down.

I like the idea of simply saying to hell with it, and replace/improve every seal in the slideout. A few questions though. What did you use for the vinyl flashing? That sounds like a really good idea, but is there any issue with retracting the slideout? Concerning EternaBond, how far did you wrap it around the bottom? Did you use 3" wide for a specific purpose, or that was something you already had? The pictures look as though 2" would be plenty. And finally, am I correct that the Water Leak Alarm went off on a damp carpet? Wow, that is sensitive!

[bobbecky]

We had a leak a couple years ago in our curb side slide. We discovered the problem when we found damp carpet in the corner of the slide. After doing intense visual checking, roof, windows, etc, even had a mobile tech come out, who actually caulked a couple spots on the slide roof, which made no change. I finally decided the water had to be coming in from the front facing window. so I did what you did, sealed the window on the outside. This stopped the leak. I finally discovered the water was coming past the window flange seal that is between the flange and the outside wall surface. If the weather had been warmer and dryer, I would have removed the window and replaced the sealant. Instead, I used black silicone caulking and after removing the caulking that had squeezed out over time, I applied a small bead of silicone around the entire flange at the wall. It's been over two years now, and it has not leaked since. The water was leaking into the wall, going to the bottom of the wall and going under to the carpet. We caught it soon enough to prevent any damage, and even bought a heavy duty fan heater to dry the carpet a number of times until the leak was fixed.

[bobbecky]

We had a leak a couple years ago in our curb side slide. We discovered the problem when we found damp carpet in the corner of the slide. After doing intense visual checking, roof, windows, etc, even had a mobile tech come out, who actually caulked a couple spots on the slide roof, which made no change. I finally decided the water had to be coming in from the front facing window. so I did what you did, sealed the window on the outside. This stopped the leak. I finally discovered the water was coming past the window flange seal that is between the flange and the outside wall surface. If the weather had been warmer and dryer, I would have removed the window and replaced the sealant. Instead, I used black silicone caulking and after removing the caulking that had squeezed out over time, I applied a small bead of silicone around the entire flange at the wall. It's been over two years now, and it has not leaked since. The water was leaking into the wall, going to the bottom of the wall and going under to the carpet. We caught it soon enough to prevent any damage, and even bought a heavy duty fan heater to dry the carpet a number of times until the leak was fixed.

[trueweb]

Originally Posted by Old Bear

THANK YOU for the link and the detailed pictures. This has me thinking that I am approaching this the wrong way, or perhaps I should do both. I am in the process of taking the paneling inside off. Of course it is glued to the aluminum frame, making this a difficult job without destroying the paneling. I'm using a painter's tool along with a long chisel to slowly separate the paneling. My thoughts were that I need to get in there to (1) replace moldy insulation and (2) determine specifically how the water is getting in. You are the second one to suggest that it is wicking up, not dripping down.

I like the idea of simply saying to hell with it, and replace/improve every seal in the slideout. A few questions though. What did you use for the vinyl flashing? That sounds like a really good idea, but is there any issue with retracting the slideout? Concerning EternaBond, how far did you wrap it around the bottom? Did you use 3" wide for a specific purpose, or that was something you already had? The pictures look as though 2" would be plenty. And finally, am I correct that the Water Leak Alarm went off on a damp carpet? Wow, that is sensitive!

I think it was rubber brick flashing after doing some google searches. I just trimmed it to size, the depth of the slide long and about 4" tall, maybe 2.5-3" are behind the wall and 1-1.5" hang below the floor. I did not wrap it around the bottom, I let it hang like the bottom of a shower curtain so that water could not wick up, it would have to drop off the bottom of the flashing. Since it's pliable rubber it just folds up under the slide when you close it. I tucked it up behind the wall panel between the floor and side wall framing using a putty knife. then used the original screws and trim plate to hold it in place.

You are correct, the water alarm worked on carpet. They are super cheap from Amazon and I put one under each end of the bench in the corners of the slide and one under the kitchen cabinet near the pump.

[Old Bear]

My temporary "fix" was to simply duct-tape a strip of plastic sheeting on the bottom with the bottom edge of the sheet hanging loose about two inches below the bottom. This should do the trick until I can find something similar to what you used for a more permanent fix. Temps into the 20s tonight, might be a good idea to get the insulation replaced!

[pappy]

I vote for the wicking on the bottom too.I used an L shaped piece of aluminum trim behind the original trim on the bottom,letting wrap under the bottom.Have seen the newer ones done from the factory that way now.

[theeyres]

We had this same exact leak and it was as Festus 2 says: the exterior trim that runs along the bottom of the side. After trying to fix it with caulk that kept opening up again I took the trim off, cleaned off all the old gunk, bought some of that butyl tape or putty (or whatever they call it) reapplied, and no more leaks.

[Old Bear]

Well, this is a view to turn your stomach. My wife came in for the weekend and noticed that she could see light shining in when she stood on the slideout floor! I know that portion of the floor is shot, nothing I can do now. I did see after closer inspection where there had been two screws run through the bottom aluminum frame into the floor, but the heads of both screws were snapped off. I'll guess someone at the factory wasn't going to be bothered by it. I tried putting three new stainless steel screws in, but two of the three just don't have anything firm enough now to grab onto. Regardless, we got the carpet cleaned and everything put back together, and I now know how to keep it from happening again. Damn shame though. Only thing left now is I have to match the plastic contact paper used on the trim panel inside, as it is totally destroyed on the bottom. I've already made a new piece to replace it, just need the sticky paper!

[rjsurfer]

What water/leak detector to you guys recommend?

I'm thinking of buying a half dozen or so and place them in strategic places.

Thanks

Ron W

[Old Bear]

Trueweb recommended this one, I'm gonna pick up a couple.