# Water Leak From My 230 Rs Back Slide



## alex2000 (Sep 11, 2013)

i'm a new owner of a 2014 230RS. after picking it up from Lakeshore RV in Michigan two weeks ago, we are driving it around mid-west before heading back our home in California. Last night it had some good showers at our KOA camp site in Cheyenne but everything went fine. This morning we packed and drove to Salt Lake City. When arrived, we found that the dinette cushion and the sofa bed were all wet. We wonder if this comes from the water gathered on top of the back slide. We thought that there is a rain shield (a rubber seal) should have scraped off the rain water when we slided it back in. Not true? Any 230 RS OBers got the same problem? Any solution to address this? Any suggestion/comment is appreciated. Thanks.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

It may not be from the roof of the rear slide at all. There have been reports of water wicking in through the rear slide out cables that are exposed on the exterior of the slide out. Do some searching on the site and you should be able to find some posts on those who have greased the cable to prevent this.


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## cdawrld (Jul 31, 2011)

On damp/rainy mornings after you retract slide. Step up on sofa or dinette bench and do a quick towel wipe on the roof.

On heavy dew mornings or retracting during a rain shower I do this. Some water does make it past the rubber squeegees on my 230rs.

Camped in hurricane Sandy and a tropical storm. No leak from the extended slide or cables in my experiences.


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## alex2000 (Sep 11, 2013)

thefulminator said:


> It may not be from the roof of the rear slide at all. There have been reports of water wicking in through the rear slide out cables that are exposed on the exterior of the slide out. Do some searching on the site and you should be able to find some posts on those who have greased the cable to prevent this.


Thanks "thefulminator" for the tip! I will never suspect the cables in a million years. Will research on the forum on the leak from cable more.


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## alex2000 (Sep 11, 2013)

cdawrld said:


> On damp/rainy mornings after you retract slide. Step up on sofa or dinette bench and do a quick towel wipe on the roof.
> 
> On heavy dew mornings or retracting during a rain shower I do this. Some water does make it past the rubber squeegees on my 230rs.
> 
> Camped in hurricane Sandy and a tropical storm. No leak from the extended slide or cables in my experiences.


Thanks Cdawrld for the tips. I think you are right that the rubber squeegee did not getting rid of rain water on the top.
Wiping it from inside seems to be a good idea after our bad experience. It is a bit of chore though since the access is very narrow and hard to reach.

Does anyone know if there is a slide out awning option/solution/mod that we can install?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

alex2000 said:


> Does anyone know if there is a slide out awning option/solution/mod that we can install?


There are no "Factory" or "Aftermarket" slide covers that will fit the rear slide on the Outback. There have been a couple of people that took awnings and modified them but that is a Major chore.


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## MJV (Apr 19, 2012)

Hi.

We also experienced a similar situation in the first year we had our 210RS. I was sure there was some kind of leak at the large metal flashing on the bottom of the back of the rear slide. On inspection at the dealer, the service person surmised that the calking on the back was not real good, so all of that area was re-calked. Also four more screws were added to that flashing to make a total of seven. The cushions were then cleaned, as they were water stained. All of this was documented and a warranty claim (complete with pictures) was sent to Keystone. I paid nothing for all of this.

We have had no problems since. HOWEVER, I somehow think that it may have some water on top of the slide, and we did not realize that that could cause problems. Some have suggested having a ladder and some kind od squeegee to remove water. But as someone has already pointed out the use of a stool inside (my DW is short and needs one in the trailer anyway) and a old towel to quickly wipe off any moisture seems the best. You can be sure we check every time we think there may be moisture there, when we bring in that slide! So far So good!!! M.V.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

With both our 21RS and 250RS I have always leveled with the tongue slightly high for a few reasons. A rear slide leak is one of them. Just to be safe I have always wanted the runoff to drain at the back of the slide. My other reasons are bathtub draining and downspout location over the bike door and forward exterior storage door. Tilting down towards the rear keeps the water on the bathtub ledge running back into the tub and not on the floor. It also doesn't matter what the weather is, I don't want either the rain or AC condensation running out of the downspouts at the front of the trailer. I don't appreciate a shower when loading in or out of the bike door or front storage compartment. I've also never argued with adding a little more slope to help the black tank drain.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

I also purchased from Lakeshore RV and then traveled the country in a 'round-about-trip back home to Washington State. We traveled through some major rain on the trip back. Each time it rained I was particularly concerned when I put the slide in. I swabbed the top and got the water off. I knew there was no water on the slide top because I chamoised it dry.

During the days travel through rain I checked the seat cushions and they were saturated AGAIN. I did not want to stop our trip to get the problem fixed so I removed the cushions and placed laundry baskets under to sides with towels to absorb the water. That took care of the symtom.

Long story short, when I took the TT to the dealer they found the gaps of the slide were incorrect. They adjusted the slide and I have not had the problem again. The adjustment was made two years ago and I still am dry when traveling in the rain.


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## alex2000 (Sep 11, 2013)

thefulminator said:


> With both our 21RS and 250RS I have always leveled with the tongue slightly high for a few reasons. A rear slide leak is one of them. Just to be safe I have always wanted the runoff to drain at the back of the slide. My other reasons are bathtub draining and downspout location over the bike door and forward exterior storage door. Tilting down towards the rear keeps the water on the bathtub ledge running back into the tub and not on the floor. It also doesn't matter what the weather is, I don't want either the rain or AC condensation running out of the downspouts at the front of the trailer. I don't appreciate a shower when loading in or out of the bike door or front storage compartment. I've also never argued with adding a little more slope to help the black tank drain.


Thanks for the tips. It makes sense.


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## alex2000 (Sep 11, 2013)

Leedek said:


> I also purchased from Lakeshore RV and then traveled the country in a 'round-about-trip back home to Washington State. We traveled through some major rain on the trip back. Each time it rained I was particularly concerned when I put the slide in. I swabbed the top and got the water off. I knew there was no water on the slide top because I chamoised it dry.
> 
> During the days travel through rain I checked the seat cushions and they were saturated AGAIN. I did not want to stop our trip to get the problem fixed so I removed the cushions and placed laundry baskets under to sides with towels to absorb the water. That took care of the symtom.
> 
> Long story short, when I took the TT to the dealer they found the gaps of the slide were incorrect. They adjusted the slide and I have not had the problem again. The adjustment was made two years ago and I still am dry when traveling in the rain.


hi Leedek, 
good to know other folks from the west coast picking up their trailer from Lakeshore RV as well. They saved me $5K plus from my local RV dealer, i.e. more than good enough for our round trip x-america. Thanks for the tips but I don't think our 230 slide has the gaps problem. We did traveled through the recent heavy downpour in Denver, Colorado without any problem. We believed that it should be the water on top of the slide. We will work harder to dry it out before installing a topper.


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## scott d (Dec 31, 2013)

alex2000 said:


> I also purchased from Lakeshore RV and then traveled the country in a 'round-about-trip back home to Washington State. We traveled through some major rain on the trip back. Each time it rained I was particularly concerned when I put the slide in. I swabbed the top and got the water off. I knew there was no water on the slide top because I chamoised it dry.
> 
> During the days travel through rain I checked the seat cushions and they were saturated AGAIN. I did not want to stop our trip to get the problem fixed so I removed the cushions and placed laundry baskets under to sides with towels to absorb the water. That took care of the symtom.
> 
> Long story short, when I took the TT to the dealer they found the gaps of the slide were incorrect. They adjusted the slide and I have not had the problem again. The adjustment was made two years ago and I still am dry when traveling in the rain.


hi Leedek, 
good to know other folks from the west coast picking up their trailer from Lakeshore RV as well. They saved me $5K plus from my local RV dealer, i.e. more than good enough for our round trip x-america. Thanks for the tips but I don't think our 230 slide has the gaps problem. We did traveled through the recent heavy downpour in Denver, Colorado without any problem. We believed that it should be the water on top of the slide. We will work harder to dry it out before installing a topper.
[/quote]

Hi Alex2000,
This is *Scott Domont* at Lakeshore RV. I think you bought your 230 from me.







Glad you're having so much fun with your new Outback. Did you get the issue resolved? It should not be doing that. Give me a call and we can help you.


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