# Water Leak In Slide-out



## Travelers (Apr 6, 2006)

Yesterday, on our 3rd day of a 8 day vacation we ran through some rain going into Canada and when we stopped for a snack I noticed that the floor was wet by the slide. Cleaned up the water and I put a towel down by the rear slide arm and continued our journey. Stopped two hours later and there was no additional water by the slide but the towel was really wet.

Today (day 4) I looked under the slide when it was extended and noticed that the rubber gasket on the slide hangs down slightly in the middle and might not be sealing really well. I saw this during the PDI at Lakeside but the Tech was to busy trying to sell me an extended contract to fix it.

So, has anyone had any water coming in under the rear slide arm while you were travaling through some heavy rain? The slide was in all the way and we've never had any problems before - but I can't really remember driving through any heavy rain up to this trip. Any thought would be appreciated

Thanks
Lee


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Time for the old hose test. You need to spray it with a garden hose to see if you can identify the point of entry. The loose seal sounds like a good source to isolate and check.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Sounds like a good plan to me
Let us know were the water is coming in at then

Don


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

A while back someone posted pics of a gap between the floor and wall (on the outside)when lookin inside the wheel well. You could check that possibility also.


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> The loose seal sounds like a good source to isolate and check.


"You picked a fine time to leave me loose seal" In my best singing tone.

Andy makes a good suggestion by testing with a hose. We haven't had any problems but also haven't experienced much rain lately.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

We have had some minor leakage problems along the leading edge of the side slide during travel in very heavy rains. The dealer adjusted the slide, but to no avail. I am now just going on the assumption that it is the nature of the beast, and have one more reason to appreciate the non carpeted floor.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> Time for the old hose test. You need to spray it with a garden hose to see if you can identify the point of entry. The loose seal sounds like a good source to isolate and check.


Another possible way to check for leaks is the way we did it with big rig trailers. Put a lot of light inside the trailer or have someone inside hold a portable spotlight on a dark night and see if you can see light escaping from the outside. You might need to cover the windows good to get a good effect. This was how we found cracks in a trailer roof. Water can travel after point of entry, light really can t.

John


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## kbrazielTx (Apr 29, 2004)

We had the same leak in a heavy rain back in March. I had the dealer add some more weather stripping but have not been in a heavy rain since. It looks to be a design issue with the 28RSDS. With the arms setting on the floor it also allows light to be seen when slid out. Which tells me that air and bugs may get in from time to time. I will be adding more weather stripping here as well.

Good Luck and as Doug said thank goodness for no carpet.

KB


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## Camper Man (Jan 12, 2006)

While visiting our 26RS at the storage lot recently, I noticed water on the floor near one corner of the slide. After doing a search on Outbackers.com, I learned that others had experienced this problem while in storage, and the solution was to store the camper slightly "nose up." That way, any rainwater that gets through the rear-slide seal would drain off the back of the slide-out, rather than down the top of the slide-out and into the camper. Sure enough, my camper was parked slightly nose-down, and cranking the tongue up a couple of inches solved the problem. While traveling, with the camper properly configured slightly nose-down on your hitch, you may be experiencing the same problem. Leaks in our Fleetwood motorhome were a cancer that eventually ruined the entire unit, so my heart sank the first time I saw water in the Outback. However, thanks to Outbackers, the solution to fixing my leak was found. Perhaps yours is a similar situation.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Camper Man said:


> While visiting our 26RS at the storage lot recently, I noticed water on the floor near one corner of the slide. After doing a search on Outbackers.com, I learned that others had experienced this problem while in storage, and the solution was to store the camper slightly "nose up." That way, any rainwater that gets through the rear-slide seal would drain off the back of the slide-out, rather than down the top of the slide-out and into the camper. Sure enough, my camper was parked slightly nose-down, and cranking the tongue up a couple of inches solved the problem. While traveling, with the camper properly configured slightly nose-down on your hitch, you may be experiencing the same problem. Leaks in our Fleetwood motorhome were a cancer that eventually ruined the entire unit, so my heart sank the first time I saw water in the Outback. However, thanks to Outbackers, the solution to fixing my leak was found. Perhaps yours is a similar situation.


Good advise for sure.

Our Outback gets its fair share of Oregon liquid sunshine and to date, we've had NO leaks.


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## Travelers (Apr 6, 2006)

90 and sunny for the last couple of days so no chance for water to get in. Yes, with the dinette slide extended I can see a little light by the slides, but when it's closed I can't see anything. I think that water is getting kicked up by the rear wheel and the pressure of the spray shoots it around the rear slide support and eventualy some water gets in - not much, maybe a 1/2 cup or so in a couple of hours of driving through heavy rain.
Will have to do a spray test but it's almost impossible to get into the inside of the slide when it's retracted to see where the water comes in. Just another small issue to content with.
Thanks for the comments!
Lee


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