Slide rubbing/gouging side of RV

[geo]

A little over a month ago, I noticed metal showing through the paint around the top of the slide next to the door of our Alpine. Obviously the slide was rubbing the side! This past weekend, I finally was able to inspect the slide to find what was causing this rubbed area.

What I found was one of the bolts that hold the corner trim of the slide had a sharp, rough edge. This bolt was located beneath the D-seal and had rubbed a hole through the seal! As I gently rubbed my finger across the area, I could feel a very sharp edge. I got my Dremel tool out with a small grinding stone attachment. I carefully held open the worn area of the D-seal and ground the sharp protrusion down smooth. To patch the seal, I took about a six inch length of 3/8" thick EPDM seal tape I purchased from HD and removed the paper that protected the adhesive back. As I held the D-seal open, I carefully inched the EPDM tape down inside the hollow of the D-seal. Once it had covered and gone beyond the worn area, and the top of the EPDM tape was about a quarter inch down from the top of the D-seal, I pressed the EPDM tape into place.

The tape is thin enough to not affect the slide when it closed. And as the sharp edge is now removed, I hope that the EPDM tape will protect against further side damage. I inspected all the slides and found two other areas that were rubbed. Upon inspection, I found the corner brace bolts to be raised but no sharp edges. I placed strips of the EPDM seal tape into the D-seal on those areas to stop the slides from rubbing.

Ron

[Clanton24v]

That's good you found the problem and were able to hopefully keep it from happening again