Water into the slide on 2007 3400RL - Montana Owners Club

jkbeaudin · 12-27-2006, 06:08 PM

We have just had some pretty good storms with heavy rains here in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in the Southern tip of Texas and during the two days of rain we had pools of water in the center overhead cabinet of our living room slide (holds the table & chairs & couch) in our new 2007 3400RL.

Of course it has ruined the center cabinet (soaked into the particle board & bubbled it) but of more a concern I have no idea how the water is getting into the cabinet. This cabinet is in the ceiling of the slide on the outside wall. I have taken a look at the slide outside and the roof is seamless (no cuts that I can see) and everything appears to be fine.

Anyone else had problems with water entry through the roof of slides?

Any help is appreciated.

Will not be back to dealer until the spring and tough to bring into another dealer in Texas while we are living in the unit.

Thanks

The Oldguard · 12-27-2006, 08:21 PM

Jim,
Is the rubber seal on top of the slide all the way out, or is it sucked in any where in the center of the slide?
Check the top of your other slides and see how the seal look on them.

indy roadrunner · 12-27-2006, 10:53 PM

Jim, we were getting water in our bedroom slide and they put some tape along the outer edge by the outside seal that stopped it. Also on the livingroom dinette slide they had to lower the seal as it was not far enough down on the top of the slide to be an efficient seal.

Tom Gina 06 · 12-28-2006, 01:13 AM

Jim,

Our 3400 was built 10/19/06 and not even two weeks after build had a bad storm come through and soaked the computer desk, top of couch, table, I was at work when it happened and the way Gina made it sound it was coming from the windows. Called the window builders (Keystone gave me their number we have duel pane) and talked to them but everything seemed fine working with them doing some testing. Didn't find out about the center cabinet until a couple of weeks later, to late lost a bunch of important paperwork. Called Keystone, they lined me up with a repair facility. Called them, Fun Times of Dallas, and they seemed to know what it was right away. Took it in and they retaped overlapping the original tape on the outer edge of the slide. After overlapping with the new tape they sealed the very outer edge of that with some silicone Dicor being to sticky. From what the dealer sevice manager said. The factory tape doesn't hold up, air pockets form with the heating and cooling causing the tape to seperate from the metal edge where the screw holds the roof to the slide frame. The water creeps in along the tape edge and goes in where the screws are. This also explains why it passes water testing at the factory. That is if they even do that! I hope Keystone has corrected this problem. They should also issue this correction to the dealer to fix it right for the units effected, prior to the PDI.

I also have water damage to my cabinet, minimal but it is damaged. The only thing I really wonder is if the interior walls are OK? Not sure what to do about it and haven't had time to deal with it. Will take care of that when things slow down a little after the holidays. Please keep us posted about what they are going to do about the cabinets when you find anything out. Hope this helps others to prevent future problems.

The new tape has been through two storms now and no water leaks.

You would think that Keystone would at least spend enough money to either get wider tape for those seems, or at least put tape on that is of better quality. This bothered me because at first I thought I was the only one with the the problem, now it looks like it is a thing of the norm for Keystone for the time being.

One thing of note I did not purchase our Monty at Fun Times had major problems with the service dept. at the dealer where I bought mine so I refuse to return to them. Keystone called FT and they were wonderfull to work with, they do not sell Montana at this location but handle other Keystone products.

To those purchasing any new Keystone product please include this in your PDI inspection and if you see any bubbles in the tape on the roof at the outer edge of the top of the slide have your dealer correct this prior to delivery. To everyone else with Montys watch those seals very close and make sure the tape does not start to seperate from the metal edge.

Happy New Year everyone................

rak · 12-28-2006, 02:56 AM

Sorry to hear about the water leak. Hope Keystone takes care of everything. This almost makes one think that the slide toppers are a necessity.
Dick

bsmeaton · 12-28-2006, 03:24 AM

Tom - Thanks for the good info, and I'm glad you got yours fixed. I remember reading about your water earlier.

Indy - on the slide seal you had lowered, are you talking about the big black rubber seal that slides along the roof?

Furiously writing on my pdi checklist! By the time I get through I could have built it myself

indy roadrunner · 12-28-2006, 07:54 AM

Brad, yes on the top seal it was just barely touching the top of the slide. It would let leaves, twigs or water come in with the slide. So the dealership lowered it.- now much better.

Fire5er · 12-28-2006, 09:36 AM

Tom,

The tape you are talking about that was not wide enough and that caused your leak, was it on the slide or on the main roof? I am assuming that it was on the slide in order for it to cause the leak in the slide...Right?

Karl

Army Guy · 12-28-2006, 11:04 AM

I'm so glad I got the slide toppers with mine. I haven't had any problems with water and we've been through some good rain storms. Good luck and hope all works out.

campbud · 12-28-2006, 12:43 PM

I think that the slide toppers offer some protection and I am happy we had these put on.

jkbeaudin · 12-28-2006, 02:35 PM

Thanks for the replies - they are helpful.
For some responses to some questions:

to The Oldgaurd: The rubber seals come out naurally with the slide and appear to be long enough on the roof of the slide.

to indy roadrunner & Tom Gina 06: I thought it might be the tape that runs along the roof over the outside wall of the slide, although I couldn't find anywhere it had lifted. However the rain was so heavy and lasted for several hours; the rain would have not been able to get away fast enough and would have sat over the tape. If that is the cure - I will try to see if the local dealer has any suggestions for a fix besides breaking camp and driving 30 miles to their location.

to all who suggested the solution is buying slide toppers: it is nice if the slide toppers stop the rain from finding the entry hole into the slideout - but I would rather find the intrusion point and have it fixed. I really don't want to buy & install slide toppers.

If anyone else out there has had the water leaks and had them solved I am interested in their solutions too!

Thanks for the info & keep the suggestions coming.

& to Keystone: there is no way with the latest in manufacturing technology that we should still be having these types of problems - with the number of units you make a year your capabilities should be better.

Tom Gina 06 · 12-28-2006, 04:32 PM

Fire5er,

The tape is along the seam that covers the rubber roofing and the outer metal over lap on the wall edge of the slide. When I got up there and started looking I could see bubbles where the screws were but not any visible evidence where the water could travel under. The new tape went over the top of the old and right up against the inside of the 90 degree angle of the outer wall of the slide. After that they ran a thin wide bead of silicone overlapping the metal edge and the new tape for extra protection.

All I know is the service manager told me that once they start to leak it lets dirt in and releases the glue making the problem worse every time it gets wet. I believe that if the area was just a little dirty or dusty and they didn't clean it properly before the tape was installed, it would cause a problem. In my case I would suspect that it had many contaminates and the tape didn't stick properly at all when they put it on.

The service manager also said that they did not understand why Keystone kept using this inferior tape after they and other dealers reported it being a problem. The main thing is to understand that the tape is of very poor quality and not wide enough. Kind of like other things on these units. Some will fail some will not. But at least I know that I am not alone in having this problem now.

When I looked it, it looked fine. Yet knowing there was a problem, looking & thinking about it with no obvious visible idea, I thought I was going crazy. Fun Times gave me that sanity back.

Happy New Year to all!
Tom

sreigle · 01-06-2007, 02:52 PM

Jim and Gayle, there is a Montana dealer somewhere in the RGV. I think it's in McAllen, if I recall. With all the snowbirds in the area I'm sure they're used to working with folks other than those they sold to. It might be worth your while to make an appointment and uproot the rig and take it in to them. That's what we, as fulltimers, have to do, too.

sheiba1 · 01-06-2007, 05:20 PM

My 3600RE had a leak on the same slide when open, water came in while at a camp ground in Flagstaff the wind was blowing about 30mph on the side. When we returned to Tucson I climbed on the roof and found the seal was about 1" short went to Beaudry and they replaced the whole seal excellent dealer took less than a day.

sreigle · 01-07-2007, 04:37 AM

Our kitchen slide carpet got saturated about a week ago during a driving rain. That's the carpet that goes over the ledge and back under the cabinets and fridge to the back wall. I found a seal turned in about half the distance and out the other half. That probably happened when we moved that slide in part way, then back out. I straightened out the seal. We've had two more hard rains with wind with no recurrence of the leak. So I'm convinced it was the seal. Now I know if we don't move the slide all the way I need to be sure to check to see that the seal is in proper position.

richfaa · 01-07-2007, 04:52 AM

Just a follow up on Steve's post.When the slides go in and out Helen operates the switch and I follow the slides around to make sure the slide come out OK and the seals are properly positioned(that practice saved our butts in our "isolated incident) We use the awning rod to properly position the seals if need be. That seems to work for us....so far...

bsmeaton · 01-07-2007, 05:08 AM

Steve,

There was a post a couple of months ago about water coming in through the fridge vents as a result of an improperly positioned refrigerator angle. Might be something else to consider, although it is really hard to reproduce the same conditions that caused the leak.

Brad

jkbeaudin · 01-07-2007, 04:04 PM

I wish to provide my thanks to all who have presented ideas on possible leak entry points on my slide. I believe the water entry point for my situations is similar to what others have found which is along the tape seams that run along the outside wall at the roof line of the slide. It was only during the high volume of rain water that lasted for a few hours which would have backed up along the seam of the factory installed tape.

We have had smaller storms since and no additional leaks have been found. But I will be adding more high quality tape over the existing tape after speaking to a dealer. I expect to do it myself because I have no interest in uprooting from our present location, haul our living quarters over 70 kms, sit around all day and watch someone do what I could have done back at my site and then haul the unit all the way back and go through the process of setting up all over again.

I have no doubt about my abilities to fix this type of problem. But did need to hear from others who have had similar situations.

I will write again after talking to a montana dealer and finishing the repair.

Thanks again

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