Water pouring in on long slide....Not Happy - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

montanaman · 02-12-2007, 10:56 AM

We have a 2006 3475 and had water leaks around the computer desk, under kitchen cabinets and in bedroom at the slide. One thing we found is when the slide is out the black rubber seal and the white stripping does not always go in place properly. We found some of it was half in and half out, so we had to pull the slides in, and slowly put them back out, but fixing these seals so they were laying down properly as the slide was going out.
I am not sure this is the whole problem. We think water also came in through the refrigerator exterior vent when we had some wind driven rain. We know many folks with Montanas and most of them have water problems. Keystone really needs to address this situation.

richfaa · 02-12-2007, 02:03 PM

Hope this does not bring any bad luck but after 9 months we have had no leaks anywhere. That included 6 inches of snow on the roof, driving through heavy rain and heavy rain and wind. I was sure we would have leaks..but did not yet..

Dave e Victoria · 02-12-2007, 03:39 PM

Ozz, sorry I didn't notice your post sooner. We had a similar problem in our 3295 Big Sky. First time in rain I mopped up and sucked up over ten gallons of water. Anyway, I could pull slide in just a little and look over the top to abserve the dip in the middle of the roof. It cleared the rubber seal by about an inch. (Any one that says this seal is not important has his head up and locked. It is an abso;utely crucial leak preventer.)

Now to the solution. Kitsmiller RV in Michigan called the factory and were guided through the fix. First the front facia was removed from the slide. That is all the oak trim. Behind this is a partical wood outline on the sides and top. The piece on top is mounted so that it is perpendicular to the roof. That is, it is oriented with its width in the vertical plane. This piece is critical in making the roof level. The techs removed this piece, turned it over so it would have new screw positions. Then while the center of the roof was held up slightly above level, the stip was screwed back in place. The oak facia was re installed and we had a dry trailer there after.

I did learn a couple of other things. First, after looking at how this thing is constructed, I will never walk on a slide roof even if someone says it is strong enough. Two, Not long after this incident we had slide toppers installed and also have them on the Cambridge. This is just for insurance against slanting rain and to negate the need to clean the slides off.

Hope this helps.
Dave

Ozz · 02-12-2007, 03:43 PM

Thanks, Dave. I will stay off the slide roofs, I wondered about that.
I will hold off on the fix, at least until after checking with my dealer for their input.

Ozzie · 02-12-2007, 04:20 PM

Considering I had not had that area apart, I was pretty close in what I thought could repair the sag...the idea of a metal plate up there sounds like a winner - not as thick as wood, and very strong.
Is this sag the result of seams in the wood across the top that provide the support for the edge of the slide?
12' material is not easy to come by, and any seam close to the middle negates most of the strength of any material used.
I would think a steel plate (or aluminum of equal strength) across the entire length of the slide would give it plenty of strength - and be a one time solution if applied properly.

Dave e Victoria · 02-13-2007, 01:35 AM

From memory, such as it is, I don't recall a seam. The roof is the same kind of composite structure as the walls. Also, the sag was a gradual, smooth parabolic type curve like an "almost taut" closeline curve.

No doubt, metal would be a good choice for this structural piece. However, The wood should work if installed properly. Personally, coming from an aircraft background, I would have liked to see a better bonding than just screws. Even a little Elmer's Glue would seem like a good addition although I am not sure how good Elmer's is in shear. The load between the roof and this plate is definitely shear.

richfaa · 02-13-2007, 04:55 AM

Humm..I will add this to our service center list."check for sag in the main slide roof" we have no leaks, we do have the toppers and we can detect no sag from the inside of the camper.Next time we run the slide in we will take a closer look.

indy roadrunner · 02-13-2007, 08:30 AM

Dave that must have been how my dealer fixed by sag because I could tell on the inside that they had removed the facia plate on the inside. I wasn't present when they repaired it but I do know that the roof of the slide sagged and it wasn't the rubber seal not being installed properly. I agree - I don't think I would want to walk on top of the slide. And Slide toppers are on my wish list.

Dave e Victoria · 02-13-2007, 01:41 PM

A side note on Kitsmiller. I bought the Big Sky in AZ so Kitsmiller was not MY dealer. We were on the road in Michigan and Keystone suggested I contact them. At the time, they were Keystone dealers but did not handle Montana. When I called, I got the usual "We are booked three weeks out." I suggested I might bring it in right away so they could look at it and get an idea of what they might have to do. After the trailer was on their lot, they looked at it, called Montana and I drove away with a fixed unit about two hours later. Needless to say, I was impressed and recommend them whenever possible.

Since this incident, Kitsmiller has become a dealer for Montana. IMHO, a good move for everyone.

indy roadrunner · 02-14-2007, 12:10 AM

Sounds like Kitsmiller must of had one of them positive experiences with Keystone. That's good, I don't think there are enough Montana Dealers out there anyway.

Ozz · 02-14-2007, 01:37 AM

OK folks, Time to eat a little Crow, As Steve and others stated, the Black rubber flap has to be 'set' correctly over the flange of the slide. My slide has not sagged enough to cause the problem of water intrusion.
I think what happened was the rubber flap had been pushed over the top of the flange by something, possibly when washing the Monte.
Looks all well now.
Sorry Keystone, (as of now) it seems all normal. The driving rain from the side, may have been the culprit as well.
The next rain will tell the tale.
Ozz

sreigle · 02-14-2007, 03:56 AM

I'm glad to hear your problem may be fixed, Jim. It's very frustrating to have lots of water coming in. Ours was during a driving rainstorm, too. The seal on ours got twisted when we moved the slide part way out, then had to bring it partway back in to remove an obstacle, then all the way out. Apparently that back and forth action did not allow the seal to fully position correctly. We had more driving rains shortly after I cleared the seal and have had no more leaks on that slide. This all happened about 6 weeks ago. No leaks since and lots of rain.

richfaa · 02-14-2007, 03:59 AM

One of our checks when setting up and tearing down is that I walk around the camper with the awning rod and make sure all the black seals are properly positioned around the slides...we do have the toppers.

Ozzie · 02-14-2007, 04:17 AM

I'm glad that it wasn't serious Ozz, those pictures were pretty scary.
Judging from the responses in this thread, I see this is something we'll need to keep an eye on anyway. I'm not walking on mine...no way - no how.

As I posted earlier, the roof tape on the outer edge of our big slide is starting to lift and will need to be repaired this year. Slide roof maintenance and repair is looking like an important thing to do.

bsmeaton · 02-14-2007, 05:41 AM

Ozz,

So glad you found something without having to tear it apart. Major fixes are no fun and you've had a few to do on the road!

campbud · 02-14-2007, 06:14 AM

Ozz, that is good to hear. We will keep this in mind when retracting the slides.

Bowie · 02-14-2007, 08:20 AM

Thanks for the heads up. Good to hear that things seem under control for the time being. Still envying you.........

Dave e Victoria · 02-14-2007, 12:50 PM

Ozz, Glad it all worked out for you. We keep learning, don't we.
Dave

Okie Guy · 02-14-2007, 02:30 PM

Ozz

I am glad to hear this worked itself out. You had enough trouble last time with the cabinet support.

Fire5er · 02-15-2007, 06:40 AM

Ozz
Glad to hear that it's no longer a problem, and thanks for sharing the corrective action. We learn things every day from this forum that we can and will use when we get our 3400RL home. Can't wait!!!

Rich
Do you have a written set-up and break-down procedure? We plan on using one because we are new to RVing and can use all the input we can get.

Karl

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