Last night it poured and this morning, the drip over the sink started again.
I've receive several tips from readers on how to handle it. One reader said that the face board over the slide can be removed to access the slide from the inside.
Carefully looking that idea over would cause more problems than it would solve, I'm afraid I'd break something (and you know how well I do that), so I scratched that idea.
Another reader said that with the slide in, a mirror can be used to locate the leak and it can be repaired that way. I used a make up mirror supplied by my bonnie bride and inspected the top of the slide when it was in. I found a rivet (back end) sticking up right near the rubber seal. I also inspected the seam where the slide edge is and can run my fingernail under it along the whole length of the slide. Nothing obvious jumped out, so I will need to remove that rivet and seal the hole as well as seal all along the seam. Both items will require the slide awning to be removed. Ergo, that will have to wait for a long spell of warm, sunny days.
In the mean time, what can I do for a temporary solution? Karen and Al offered a brilliant suggestion (why didn't I think of it?). The best part, their idea is cheap (love it) and easy (love it a lot).
The awning material is not water resistant, it mainly is there to keep debris off the slide top and protect the slide seals when the slide moves in and out. In a heavy rain, water seeps through the material and slowly drips on top of the slide.
They suggested some water repellent spray, the kind that is used to waterproof tents and shoes. Did I say that is a brilliant idea?
Off to our local camping supply store where I picked up a couple of spray cans of waterproofing spray. As soon as my slide awning dries completely from all the rain, a spraying I will go.
This won't keep water from being blown under the slide in a windblown rain, but it will keep the vast majority of water off the slide top until I can make a permanent repair.
So, thank you Karen and Al! And dinner is on us as soon as we get down to Florida near you. Another great part of the RV life, RV friends are always ready to step in and help. :c)
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
Or, you could put out your awning, just far enough to cover the slide and it will keep things dry when it rains :)
ReplyDeleteThe other alternative would be to always make sure you're parked under a cover. We know how hard that would be unless you're paying for a covered storage site for your RV. However, I think they outlaw living in the storage yards. Hopefully, you'll get it figured out soon. Spring is coming and with spring comes lots of rain.
ReplyDeleteRain warning from Florida too. Hope we'll cross your path while you are here and by then you'll be high and dry. I so agree with you about the greatness of commenters. Love mine, wish I had more.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the suggestion about the water repellant. I have to give Al credit for that one. It sure keeps a lot of water off the slide.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had a leaky slide on the old mh and took it to Lazy Days for repair. The slide topped had been ripped, and they wouldn't even look at the problem until they replaced the topper. They told us 95% of the water tightness came from that slide topper. Made no sense to us since we see a lot of 5th wheels with no awning toppers. But....once they replaced the topper and put it in the rain simulation room, it didn't leak and never leaked again......
Our MH seems to have a design flaw and there can be a small leak at both bottom corners of the slides. Our 2 slides are on the drivers side, so we've found if we lean the coach a tad to the left, it stops that. It's enough for the water to run away from the slides, and not enough we notice it. Works for us!
Good luck...leaking motor homes are not a good thing.
glad to see you have some type of a fix solution to tie you over..good idea on the spray...we think we may do that just to be on the safe side...have to love when others on here have the answer...now Karen any suggestions on how I can deal with darn verizon? have a super day folks
ReplyDeleteNo Elaine...sorry. I read your post about the problem with Verizon and I don't have a clue.
DeleteI don't envy your problem of having to find the water leak nor do I have any brilliant advice (as usual)!!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that RVers should have something like a Ghostbuster for leaks only we'd call him a 'Leakbuster'.
Couldn't agree more...the people we meet in this lifestyle are just the best!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you found a temporary solution:o))
Too bad about the leak. I hope you get it completely fixed soon.
ReplyDeleteDang water. If we could only be where it never rains :) Great idea from Karen & Al, hope that works for the short term.
ReplyDeleteThere's always the tarp. They come in every size and color!
ReplyDeleteHad a leak in my dinette slide. (during a rainy Seattle winter) My temporary solution was to place a partially inflated beach ball in the middle of the slide roof to keep water from puddling in the middle of the topper and eventually dripping through.
ReplyDeleteFinal solution was to re-caulk the slide's top seam along the outside edge. No leaks since. (and we have been in lots of rain from time to time.)
Happy New Year! Also a dry one:)
ReplyDeleteThat's probably a better solution than what I would do - avoid the rain.
ReplyDeleteI really like your content it is really very inspiring for I guess I have selected a mind blowing and interesting blog.okAprilRice
ReplyDelete