HELP - RAIN LEAK - Montana Owners Club

Larry-P · 01-07-2016, 01:17 PM

As you see we have a 2011 3455 Montana.
Arizona has been experiencing heavy rainfall the past couple of days.
Our problem is we have a leak in the bedroom slideout in the front of the unit.
We have toppers on the slideouts. And I put plastic hoses on the gutter ends to take away the rain from the sides & slideouts. All of the rubber seals are facing outward as they should be. There is no sign of water under the toppers on the slideouts. I can see no lack of caulking on the top seams.
I need help in trying to determine where the rain can possibly be seeping into the unit. We soak up the water as much as we can & keep a fan blowing on the area to dry out the carpet to keep from getting mildew starting.
Please help help help.

1retired06 · 01-07-2016, 01:49 PM

I would start by removing both the top and bottom outside seam strips on both sides of the slides and the seam strips running from top to bottom on the far edge of the slides and recaulking. Then check the tape, particularly the corners, running along the far edge of the slide roof.

jcurtis934 · 01-07-2016, 01:58 PM

I would check the horizontal strip on the side at the bottom of the slide. Another thing to check is the levelness of that slide bottom, ie, is it off level and allowing a film of water to funnel into the front area. And I would really look at the window on the slide at that side...assuming your model has one. I can easily see that the butyl tape used to seat and seal the outer frame would be in a state to allow water intrusion. To check this out, just run a bead of silicon 2 covering the top and sides of the window. Hope one of these is your cure. John

Larry-P · 01-07-2016, 02:00 PM

Irettired06,
Are you talking about the metal 4 inch strips & 4 corners on the outside of the slideout?? What keeps the panel covering the slideout from coming off?? What type of tape should I use & what type/brand caulk??
Thanks for the information.

1retired06 · 01-07-2016, 02:21 PM

No. I am referring to the.one inch strips on the sides of the slides and the taped corners sealing the roof membrane to the slide. Any good sealer will work. Re tape, I used eternabond on my 2010 and that worked well even though it was a little thicker than the original tape used.

WeBeFulltime · 01-08-2016, 12:12 AM

When ours leaked it was the caulking on the BOTTOM narrow trim on one end of the slide out. Leaks don't always occur from the top!

**DQDick** · 01-08-2016, 01:00 AM

Ours was the 4" trim piece on the bottom edge of the slideout. Caulked it with the clear outdoor caulk the dealers use.

**Rondo** · 01-08-2016, 03:08 AM

The biggest problem about a leak is that water can run a long ways before coming out into the unit. Make sure you have good seals at the seams up on top of the unit too. Even a little crack in the caulking up there can cause a problem. We had a leak on our old unit that came in from the windows in the slide. The caulking or gasket material around the windows had dried out and cracked. Removed the old caulk and used silicone caulk that the service dept. at my dealership uses and had no more problems. One of the problems with the slide covers is that you can't see real well across the front of the slide to see if the sealing tape they put on at the seams is actually bubbling up somewhere. I had that problem on another slide on our old unit and removed the old tape, cleaned it good and put down 4"wide Eternabond tape and had no problems after that also.

Larry-P · 01-10-2016, 04:27 AM

Okay, I have found a couple of issues that need to be fixed.

The boot on the antenna cable has pulled loose. Will replace onto pipe.

There is a crack in the molded caulking that needs closing. This caulking is like a large gob poured onto the roof & left to solidify. Question is - do I need to scrape all of the molded caulking off & replace or just fill crack with fresh caulking & what kind. Or can I cover the crack with eternabond tape. If I need to remove all of the caulking what type of cleaner should be used. Remember this is a rubber roof so the solvent must be of type not to damage the rubber.

Also purchased marine/silicone caulking to put around frame as suggested.

**DQDick** · 01-10-2016, 07:42 AM

What was most likely used and what you want to use is Dicor Self Leveling Lap Sealant. Use mineral spirits to clean the old Dicor, but be careful not to get it on the rubber roof. Then apply new Dicor to the affected area. You can google rubber roof repairs and find Youtube videos on it. The product is available from lots of places, here's it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Dicor-Sel...or+lap+sealant

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