slide wiper seal melted

[bigfrank]

Has any one had a slide out wiper seal melt from being in the sun while out
appears easy to replace but never had this happen in al my years of owning a RV

[bigred715]

Never heard of that!! Where were you that it got that hot? Must have been in direct sunlight for long time to melt? Didn't think that would be possible. Did it melt your wiper blades also?

[daveinaz]

When we got our 5er, the bulb seals were gooey - a tarry mess. The wiper seals just got brittle and were falling off. Not sure if it was from the sun/UV or if they had put some sort of petroleum based lube on it and it caused them to dissolve.

[speedster100]

2015 3790RD and one of the slide wipe seals on the side of slide has basically started to disinegrate already. It looks like it has rubber rot or similar. I have purchased a new length of seal from Trekwood but haven't got around to changing it yet. Its on my to do list with about 10 other repairs.... Didn't expect this premature failure, I've seen these things on trailers 20yrs old that haven't failed yet... Yikes..

[Stevhop]

I just replaced all the seals on our 2008 2955rl, took about 45min for the whole job. I got them from Elk and they had them drop shipped from Keystone. The part of the bulb that contacts the side of the trailer is grey and seems like they will not stick.

[bigfrank]

Just replaced my bad wiper seal and it was a very easy thanks for all the comments the only thing I have done that could explain my problem was treat all the seals with the slide out lube from camping world but just the one seal got real gummy and stuck to slide it does sit in direct sunlight all afternoon but it has been parked there for seven years when we are not camping with the slide open for the best part of the time

[bigfrank]

here is a photo of my bad seal I cut out a piece that was loose

[Rondo]

Frank, I would guess that using the slideout lube was the cause of the problem. It is a petroleum based product but has chemicals in it to clean the slideout gears and rails also and it is intended to be used for the bottom side gears and rails of your slides only. The chemicals more than likely reacted to the rubber gaskets and melted them. My recommendation for the slide gaskets is 303 stray. It works great and keeps the gaskets soft and pliable. Since you got your slide gasket/s put on I'm glad you found out the answer to your original posted question. Happy Camping!

[Dave W]

I was just out cleaning the slide roofs in prep for some toppers and found that one wiper had turned to goo. The others still seem OK. I'll order new, probably Trekwood



How are these seals held in place since it seems that I have one more unexpected project before the end of May. Are they just stuck on with two sided tape or do they snap over another piece?

[Stevhop]

They slide into a groove. Remove the square shaped corner trim pcs. and the bulbs will slide out....and new ones back in.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by Stevhop

They slide into a groove. Remove the square shaped corner trim pcs. and the bulbs will slide out....and new ones back in.

Thanks

Seems simple enough. I'm now waitig for Trekwood to send me a shipping quote for the wiper and bulb seals. If I have to do one, the rest wont be far behind

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by Dave W

Thanks

Seems simple enough. I'm now waitig for Trekwood to send me a shipping quote for the wiper and bulb seals. If I have to do one, the rest wont be far behind

Oh my, one 8' wiper($7/foot) and one 8' ($3.15/foot) bulb seal with shipping, $95. I hope I can find an alternate source if more are needed. I don't begrudge a reasonable profit margin for a company, but this is a bit beyond that point. Luckily, the rest seem OK .... so far

[daveinaz]

Originally Posted by Dave W

Oh my, one 8' wiper($7/foot) and one 8' ($3.15/foot) bulb seal with shipping, $95. I hope I can find an alternate source if more are needed. I don't begrudge a reasonable profit margin for a company, but this is a bit beyond that point. Luckily, the rest seem OK .... so far

That does seem like a ridiculously high $$ for shipping! When I was looking to order seals, I was put off by their shipping charges and went through Elk RV instead.

$7 a for for wiper seals seem high too.

I ordered more seals than I need. I have extra footage of slider and bulb seals. If your bulb seal looks like this one:

https://www.trekwood.com/products/31...k-Wall-1000-Bx ($1.54 a foot)

And if your wiper seal looks like this one:
https://www.trekwood.com/products/31...lip-On-1225-Bx ($3.42 a foot)

8' of each would be $39.68. I'm sure they'd fit in a large priority flat rate box for $20.

I have over 8' feet left of each. If those are these correct seals for your rig, PM me and I can get some sent to you for $60.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by daveinaz

That does seem like a ridiculously high $$ for shipping! When I was looking to order seals, I was put off by their shipping charges and went through Elk RV instead.

Thanks


I'm assuming that this is the Elk RV you were referring: https://elkrv.com/collections/seals. If so. I have it book marked



I took a look at what they have to offer and quite likely can find a seal that will work and for a lot less then Trekwood. As it stands, I'm kinda up against a time restraint with our summer site opening on 24 May and not only have to get that seal replaced, have three toppers to install --- and it is, has been and is predicted to rain. We may be late and our early season trip planned to PA and VA cancelled.



Those bulb and wiper seals you copied to me are not the ones that our HC uses. Ours are slip on where the wiper appears to be captured behind the bulb seals bracket, I didn't fully disassemble anything yet ... it started raining even before I finished roof cleaning

[JeffBusarow]

I treated mine annually for 8 years and never had a problem. I store mine with the slides closed.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by JeffBusarow

I treated mine annually for 8 years and never had a problem. I store mine with the slides closed.

I do not believe that doing any kind of treatment makes a bit of difference. Of 4 slides on ours, three are just fine, The 4th wiper is goo, They have all been treated with 303 Protectant. Keystone, IMO, bought a truckload of poorly cured seal material with the replacement material probably no better then what is on there now and danged expensive for what you get.

[samroll]

I use the slide seal conditioner on my 2012 3582RL and it makes a BIG difference. Before I started using it my seals would not turn over when I put the slides out and they were dry and hard. Now, they flip in the proper direction immediately and they are soft and pliable. I don’t remember the brand name but I buy it at CW. Good stuff !

[twindman]

Originally Posted by Dave W

I do not believe that doing any kind of treatment makes a bit of difference. Of 4 slides on ours, three are just fine, The 4th wiper is goo, They have all been treated with 303 Protectant. Keystone, IMO, bought a truckload of poorly cured seal material with the replacement material probably no better then what is on there now and danged expensive for what you get.

You may well be right about a bad batch. I have a 2013 Mountaineer. I had one or 2 seals on the fridge slideout that also turned to goo. I used WD40 to clean the slides and somehow wiped down the seal. It has held up pretty good since then, although (I forget!) I may have replaced the worst seal.

[Dave W]

Well no one said Trekwood (or should I say their supplier, Tiara RV) was a fast shipper. No word on shipping date even though they kinda said were shipping on Friday in an email.. I'm trying to install slide toppers and the lack of that slide wiper will be holding me up on one after tomorrow.

[Eagleback]

Happens all the time in Florida. The UV from the sun destabilizes the rubber and you get the gooey mess. I have seen this many times. I just helped my friend replace the bulb and wiper seals on all his slides mainly on the top, but some of the sides that were in direct sun.