Slide-out water leak

Washed the roof and slide toppers the other day, and about 1/2 hr later found water dripping inside from right behind the slide-out facie board, in the vicinity of the slide locking unit that locks the slide when in the in position. Seem the logical place to look for the leak is at the slide lock mech. Anyone had any issues with these locking units leaking? Units a 2012 Journey 40U.

Found I had a leak in the front corner of the DS slide on my 09 Journey after a few wet and windy days. Took the lock closure in the overhead cabinets  apart  which I found was a major suspect along with a plugged drain from the forums but it was bone dry. Put coach away for couple of months during which time I replaced my toppers. Found that there was absolutely no caulking on the front edge of the lock cabinet on the slide but the other sides were fine. Used butyl tape to temporarily reseal as weather was cold and had no further problems with the leak. I had my sidewalls replaced a year and a half earlier due to a defective batch of sidewall panels and this was one of many things Winnebago missed when reinstalling the slides in the new sidewalls. 

Added note on this leak, when I washed the unit with the slide in all was OK. Leak showed up when I washed the roof and the slide toppers. Unit was level and stable with the jacks down.

Have you checked to make sure the drain or drains are not plugged on the slide?

Hmm, drains on the slide? Did not know there was such a thing. Where might they be? I have not noticed them and figure if there are drains I should check them periodically.

The drain is in the closure that encases the side lock mechanism  and pass through the sidewall near the top. The lock enclosure is open on the top of the slide under the topper awning and water can get into it although there is a 1/4" lip around it. The sidewall drain hole can accumulate debris and block moisture exiting the closure so it should be checked/cleaned periodically. The enclosure can also fill if the drain is blocked  or the rubber tube to the sidewall drain can become detached - both can cause a leak in the coach. If you do not have locks on your slides, it will not be an issue.

Ah, thanks Bob. No locks, so I guess I have to look elsewhere for the leak. We are going to try a fall trip to the factory to resolve this, and visit more fun points west.

In the meantime we have been told of a closer place to at least have it evaluated.

We too have had leaking on passenger front slide.  2011 Journey 40U.  We did not discover it until the total slide ceiling (thin foam backed vinyl) had absorbed as much water as it could hold, all 17+ ft of it.  Not sure where it is coming in.  My husband has checked that the drain is clear, but not if it is attached.  Sounds like he is going to have to take the slide awning off again (3rd time).  Can you access that drain by taking the slide lock apart inside the speaker cabinet?

. Is this drain location specific to the Whinnie? If not and I need to do routine maintenance on my Monaco, could someone post a photo of what we're talking about? A picture is worth a 1000 words, for me anyway, cuz I have a hard time visualizing where this drain might be on my coach.  Thanks for any help!

Linda

Linda:
Don't know if you have slide locks on your  Monaco. You would only have a drain if you have side locks. Check  if you have momentary switches near your slide controls to lock the slide. That will tell you if you have them.
Bob

Thanks for the quick response. Our Monaco just has a push button/toggle switch: push it one way the slide goes out, other way it comes in. If you take your finger off the button it stops the slide action. There does not appear to have any other 'locking' system. But the main reason I ask is because we did have a leak on our rear slide that everyone spent untold hours trying to locate and fix. Right now it is dry in there but if there's something more I can do to insure it stays that way...well.

Linda

Gramma, your leak may be caused by water passing around the gaskets on top of your slide, with your foam backed headliner acting as a wick! Winnebagos fix in 2009-10  on the Tour was to remove the gasket and reset in silicone sealer...this fix also required pulling the cabinets microwave etc from the slide wall removing the headliner to dry out the area...also need to check the slide wall as well.

Just to update this thread.
We got a leak at the slide lock in my 2013 36M Journey.
The issue looks like missing caulk but if you look closely the problem is that the slide lock housing moved after it was installed creating a gap on the outside.
My guess is the housing is installed in a hole roughly centered and screwed in and caulked.
The force of locking slowly moved the housing in board until it is firmly against the inner edge of the hole.
The amount of motion will vary depending upon where the housing stated but I wouldn't be surprised if there is motion in just about 100% of the locks.
This is a manufacturing defect and it is beyond me how it can be an ongoing issue this many years.

The fix is to:
1. close the slide and run the slide lock until it stalls to get the housing as far inboard as possible.
2. Remove the topper.
3. Cleanup and re caulk the slide lock housing.

Welcome aboard!

may day ....,may day........taking on water in the land barge

(aka 2008 winne 32H)


its raining .....and i have water comin in thu my slide lock.....we are in pots and pans mode as the rain comes down

i took off the motor cover on the top of the closest that covers the screw drive shaft  that moves the lock clamp up and down

the horizontal screw shaft is enclosed in a rubber rectangular box and the water is dripping from the outboard edge of the rubber box and also from the routed out hole in the sidewall that the yellow wiring harness comes out of.....

i cant see anything that looks like a drain hole on the outside slide sidewall nor do i see any trace of a drain tube....

looking at the previously posted comments .....

when the rain stops.........do i need to retract the slide awning cover.... if so... my slide is the 32h full slide model....... how do disconnect the slide cover and then open the slide.... re attachment advice would also be helpful... is this a one person job on the 22 ft long slide?

assuming i can get the awning cover off the top ....from the prior comments indicate i will be looking at a hole in to of the slide with a gasket r a caulk bead around it........check to be sure that the bead/gasket is intact and the hole is not plugged..... i think thats the order of business

is it a gasket with a part number i need to get from winnebago?????

finally ........

there is mention of a drain tube... where is it located ..what does it attach 2 and where does it exit? i cant find anything that looks like a drain tube on the inside of the closet.........will i see it after i get the awning peeled back and can look down the hole in the roof.....??

help.... i have the crew wearing life jackets and and am getting ready to swim for shore here soon

shel
(suffering from the el nino blues in california)


Edit by staff: removed excess blank lines

What's with all the white space at the end of your message?

R

Go outside to the slide and look at the top area directly adjacent to the slide lock. This should be about in the middle of the slide. A couple of inches below the top of the slide you should see a small hole (drain) in the side of the slide. The paint scheme usually does a good job of hiding this hole.

Take a pipe cleaner and work it into the hole from the outside, until the pipe cleaner moves freely back and forth. Keep moving the pipe cleaner back and forth until it hits an obstruction (the locking mechanism on the top of the slide) or moves freely to the top of the slide (which is covered by the slide awning) so you can't see that area. Since I've never done this procedure, I don't know which will happen.

Once you remove the pipe cleaner from the hole (drain) theory says the locking mechanism should drain to the outside of the slide.

If you can't get it to drain you may want to relevel so the top of the slide tilts toward the MH which will direct any water away from the locking mechanism (but toward your slide seals) until you have some dry weather to further examine the problem.

As information, the locking mechanism (or at least the part the locking mechanism engages with) is exposed on top of the slide if the slide is open and the slide awning is removed.

When the wind blows I have always had a wet floor on mine. If it is raining hard I have to bring in the slide on the wind side. It is a 2006 but has done it from new when we bought it. I am just glad Winnebago does not make boats! Art
 

RLSharp said:

What's with all the white space at the end of your message? R

Click to expand...

I think he was having fun with the enter key.  Excess white space removed.

thanks for all the input

thanks to all the great info.... i have  cleaned both drain holes (have 2 locks on full slide), identified that the rubber gasket that runs the length of the top of the slide to act as a squeege had curled under.... i suspect allowing the water to wick into the hole......also using a step ladder inside the rv... i can access the errant slide lock opening from the inside of the rv without having to take the awning cover.......

so solution was three fold...clean the drain.......uncurl the 2 ft of curled gasket..... and some 3M 5200 around the perimeter of the lock mechanism that i can access without taking off the slide awning cover....

hope this is of some value to others who experience leaks from the slide lock areas

shel