2013 Keystone Slide question

[MomOfFive-KEY]

Hello,
We purchased a 2013 Laredo 291TG from a “dealer”. After purchasing we realized this was probably a flipper and we have a few problems to address.

One - the slide is leaving a sticky residue on the carpet on one side. Under the slide the black tape is getting ripped, no water damage. We purchased rollers to install but when I look at the decals on that side they don’t match up. This leads me to believe the slide is racked a little. I don’t want to do the slides if the problem could be something different.

The second problem is the black and grey tanks were most definitely not emptied properly at the end of the prior season and although I smelled nothing when we bought it, as soon as we put water to it to make sure there were no leaks the stink was terrible. Husband replaced the toilet (it was disgusting and defective), and I could smell the bulk from kitchen sink AND toilet and also the outdoor kitchen sink. Interestingly when we looked at it I smelled vinegar - now wondering was this on purpose .

After those to issues are fixed I have a Sun fade to address but I don’t want to get too far into this if the first two issues are not fixed. We’ve tried different dawn and also a dawn borax treatment and the orange solution at Walmart in camp section but the smell is not completely going away - perhaps 50% better?

I am upset that we didn’t notice these issues when we bought it - and I have a bad feeling the seller did know of them.

Thank you for any assistance.

I can post the underside of the slide tomorrow, it’s closed up for the night right now. The camper is parked next to a garage but if you look closely you can see where the decals aren’t lined up and I noticed the other side they ARE lined up. :/

 

[St. Michael]

Where to start. Everyone’s gonna have an opinion on the tanks. If it were me I’d start by putting quite a bit of water in the tanks. A lot. Add one cup of borax, one cup of dawn dish washing soap and a scoop of happy camper to the black tank. Add one scoop of happy camper, one cup of dawn and one cup of Zep degreaser to the grey. Let them sit as long as you want. The longer the better. Happy camper needs time to do its thing. Then, go for a ride get things all mixed up and find a dump station. The longer the ride the better. Dump your tanks and rinse the hell out of them. Repeat as needed.

When you feel your on top of things put water in them and a scoop of happy camper.

Wish I could help on the slides. Not enough info. The sticky substance could be old glue who knows. Could be a kids crayon. These old slides need those rollers. If it’s not square you should be able to tell by measuring things. I’m not qualified to adjust one and not sure I’d attempt to. Big question is does it seal?

 

[MomOfFive-KEY]

Thank you for the info St.Michael. We installed five rollers today, next step get all that sticky gunk from the tape that got jammed up in there. As we added the rollers some chunks of the tape worked its way out. I also have some black scuff marks on the side of the slide that I’m going to try to rub out with a magic eraser and hoping the rollers solved the problem.

I have used some of those mixtures but haven’t taken the time to tow the camper around I will try that next.

I attached a photo of the damage that was there prior to putting on the roller. For some reason the photo with the roller keeps coming in sideways.

 

[sourdough]

Looks like you need to pay close attention to the bottom of that slide. From the pic it appears the fabric is torn in places which will lead to water penetration into the bottom of the slide.

Can't tell well enough from the pic where the "tape" came from. The fabric on the bottom of the slide should be one piece WITHOUT tape due to exactly what you experienced. I had one that had a strip of tape (new) placed on the bottom of the slide on top of the darco for some unknown reason. The wear bar did just what yours did and rolled up the tape and made a mess. If the tape was there because there has been some sort of repair on the slide bottom you need to know that and see what's what.

 

[Canonman]

Here is a link to a product referral from a forum member. It's called ZEP Drain Defense. You can get it at Home Depot.
https://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54313&highlight=Drain+Defense
I started using this product can say it does work well to control grey tank odor.
I use the GEO method for our black tank maintenance and have never had to go "medieval" to correct any black tank issues. Others with that fun experience will have to comment further. But, lots of water flushing the black tank is always good bet
Best of luck with your repairs.

 

[St. Michael]

As we added the rollers some chunks of the tape worked its way out. I also have some black scuff marks on the side of the slide that I’m going to try to rub out with a magic eraser and hoping the rollers solved the problem. .

Good ol’ fashion brake cleaner and a rag will take care of those marks and sticky stuff. Judging from the photos adding those rollers may lift that slide up where you want it

 

[St. Michael]

Sourdough’s right on that slide, you’ll need to do something about the bottom. I’ve seen a bunch of suggestions (common problem) start a separate thread and pick one that works for you. Good luck

 

[JRTJH]

Somewhere along the line, someone put Eternabond (or a competitive brand) tape on the bottom slide moldings. THAT WAS NOT OEM. Keystone does not apply tape to the lower side moldings on any of their trailers.

I think what MIGHT have happened is when that tape was applied, the roller (which might have been OEM or maybe was installed aftermarket) pressed against the tape as the slide was operated. In time, the roller tore/pressed on the tape and the adhesive got on the roller. As that happened, the adhesive spread away from the roller track and as the slide was operated, that adhesive got on the wear bar and caused the DARCO fabric to stick to the adhesive as the slide moved over the wear bar.

Eventually, that adhesive "gummed up the DARCO and it eventually tore away from the bottom of the slide which caused it to stretch out of shape and eventually get caught and tear away, causing holes and rips in the DARCO.

At this point, cleaning all that Eternabond tape away from the bottom edges of the slide and off the wear bar is the first step in fixing that issue. Once things are clean, then the repairs start. I'd suspect you're going to find at a minimum, the need to replace the DARCO liner or install a new bottom cover on the slide.

IMO, installing rollers may "lift the slide so the decals match" but rollers won't do anything to stop the adhesive on that tape from spreading again and continuing to damage the wear bar and the slide bottom cover.

It won't be an easy fix and without removing the slide, you likely won't be able to get to the wear bar to replace it and probably, with the slide installed, you may not be able to get enough access to completely clean the underside of the slide and the slide wear bar.