Slide Leaking

[tim43]

The main door side slide on my 3585 is leaking when the slide is in. The carpet around the slide at the rear of the camper in front of the refrigerator is wet and it appears to be coming in from the seal area. This may also occur when slide is open. After checking the search feature here I am going to:
1. Check screws for caulking.
2. Check tape on roof and sides of slide.
3. Insure the top gasket is fully folded out when open. When I closed the slide the other day, I noticed the top gasket in the middle was curled in. I do have slide toppers over the area.
4. Check the caulking where the top and side gasket come together.
5. Reseal/replace and tape on the top and side of the slide.
6. Pull the drawer out from under the refrigerator and make sure the leak is not coming from this area.
Did I leave anything out that needs checking? Any additional thoughts and ideas would be appreciated. Of interest, I fully leveled the rig a couple of days ago and with the leveling completed, the leak is more evident at the point where the slide is fully retracted into the camper. Thanks.

[bncinwv]

Tim,
A lot of problems have been documented with leakage from the refrigerator vent as well if it is located in this slide. There were posts showing the addition of an aluminum angle bracket to deflect any water entering the vent area. It may be worth checking as well. I seem to remember that Waynem provided the original fix if you can research his postings. Also check beneath the fridge to see if there is a drain line that has become crimped or clogged.
Bingo

[tim43]

Bingo,
The frig is not in the slide, but in the rear corner adjacent to the slide facing forward. I'll be checking that area when I pull the drawer out from under the frig. I did re-caulk the areas around the frig vents and checked the inside area for signs of water and saw none. Will check the interior today if time permits. I did fully seal the area around the roof vent where I found a two inch cut under the rear portion of the vent overhang which had never been sealed. Since sealing that, the musty smell that was present under the sink has gone away.
Tim

[sreigle]

Does the leak occur only with the slide in and you are traveling? And only when it rains or you travel through water? We get wet carpet at the front corner of our main slide in that situation. There is a seal underneath that has fallen off 2 or 3 times, even after being replaced. Now we just stuff old rags in that corner when on the road. That keeps the water off the carpet.

If it happens when the slides are extended, there are several things that can be causing it including your refrigerator drain not exiting to outside. However, what it usually is for us is that the exterior vertical side slide seal doesn't get fully turned out when the slide is extended. This happens sometimes, not all of the time. So after extending the slides we check those up-down seals. If any is turned under, we just run the rounded edge of the "L" on the awning rod up under the seal and turn it fully out. Doesn't hurt the seal or the exterior wall. If we leave it turned under when it rains, we get a wet carpet in that slide as well as under the drawers.
I know you said the slide is in but I wasn't sure if that's when it leaks or that's when you noticed it is wet.

[tim43]

Steve,
Seems to be leaking when in, raining, and stationary. That is when it is most prevalent. Pulled the under frig drawer out today to check for leaks from the side frig vent area and although it was a little moist along the wall, not near as wet as the carpet. Plan to pull the vent cover when the rains are gone and really caulk the flat area immediately to the rear of where the bottom of the vent cover rests. Will do this first in lieu of angle irons and see what happens. As we all know, it may leak in at one point and run out at another location. Now to just find the where in and where out.
Tim