Can the top of the slide room support a person's weight (about 210 pounds)?
On our 36RL, the kitchen slide exterior top seal (D-shaped seal) and both vertical D-seals are beginning to fail. The top D-seal replacement will need someone (me?) to have access to the horizontal top seal rail. The topper material is in the way. I really do not want to remove the topper if possible. I would like to scoot along the top of the slide, laying in a prone position to remove the rail and replace the gasket.
If the topper was not there, I was just retract the slide and do the repair within an hour or so on a ladder. The folks at Carefree, the manufacturer of the slide toppers claim the topper must be removed. Most of the time required will be cleaning off the silicone sealant that was generously applied by Redwood. Removing the topper would be additional time.
Also wondering, with the slide retracted that the roller locking cotter pin, that is placed in the roller on the right side, prior to removing the cover material could be inserted then unbolt the roller support brackets and lay the assembly on the RV roof. Not sure of this.
I have observed that the street slide D-shaped seals are failing where they are in contact with silicone sealant. The 'D' shaped seal rail and seal have a continuous bead of silicone sealant along the entire length of the 'D' seal. In those areas where the seal is not in contact with silicone sealant the seal is in like new condition. Wondering if the sealant is causing these seals to fail.
Thank you beforehand for your comments. Outside of returning to our Redwood dealer, or bringing in a mobile RV tech what are my options? I would like to do this repair myself however not sure I should tackle the removal of the slide topper myself. That appears to be a job for two strapping strong people. I am about one half of a strapping person.;)
I worked for a Company that made Military Radios and associated equipment and we avoided using Silicone where it would come in contact with Rubber. There was some type of inter-reaction between the two which would cause the Rubber to fail.
When I replaced my seals on the Redwood, I had a terrible time finding anything to stick to the rubber. The first time I would bring in the slide and the seal compressed, the sealant would let go, even after letting it cure for a month with the slides open. I tried Proflex in a small spot, and that was the most awful stuff to get off after it let go on the rubber - that one ruined the paint.
A small town Redwood Dealer handed me a tube of Geocel MHRV 2300 and it worked perfectly. The MHRV stands for motorhome and recreational vehicle.
Two years ago at the Rally I had that as one of my items for Redwood. The tech I believe slid across the slide out and did the work. I am not sure my 260LB frame would be good, but it worked for their guy. He looked to be about 180lbs.
Atom, thank you for the sealant info. I will go after that.
That's helpful. I am a little north of his weight however a few laps around the neighborhood should do it!!
For days, I've been looking through all of my factory photos in order to show how the roof of the slide is made. After an exhaustive search, I cannot find a good picture for you.
Having said this, the studs are on 16" centers (running interior to exterior). Keep in mind that toward the exterior side of the slide, it will naturally be a lot stronger than the interior edge due to the supporting wall. The interior edge spans the entire length of the slide.
For decking, it looks like they have 3/8" (or slightly less - 5/16" - 11/32") plywood.
I've been on our stationary roof deck many times. Each time, I deliberately step on the rafters and not in between the rafters.
Like you, I once needed to inspect the roof of the slide out. I happened to test footing on the bedroom double slide out (on the 38GK). I'll not advertise my weight directly, but I am probably more in line with the tech description in the previous post. I deliberately put my foot down gently to see if it would give. As more pressure was applied, I began to hear the cracking of plywood and immediately let off. So, for me, putting full weight on a slide roof and in between rafters is NOT a good idea.
If, in the future, I have to work in this area, I would just use an extension ladder from the ground level. The slide would only be out about a foot or so to access the area.
IF I had to get onto the slide top for any reason, it would be done with a couple of 2x12's or a 2' x 8' piece of 3/4" plywood stretched across.
It's ultimately your choice, but I'm not sure it would be worth the risk of just stepping onto the slide roof...
Let us know how it goes.
Thats what I was thinking - lay a piece of plywood down to spread out the weight. That's what I did when working on the roof of our vintage trailer - it is definitely not designed to support a lot of weight.
I agree that beefy planking should be spanning those 16" on center slide roof joists before walking or laying on the slide roof. I favor standing on a ladder to replace the seals if I can lock the roller with a cotter pin and lay the roller onto the roof of the RV. Should be much easier to scrape all that sealant off the seal track area from a ladder than laying under the topper material on planking.
Relatively new to me 2013 31SL. While cleaning the slide tops of debris, I noticed a couple of slide seals had small tears. I am assuming replacement is necessary, but where should I buy the material?
Might want to try Tiara RV in Elkhart, as they should stock most RW parts
Here's another someone else posted just recently.
Suggest Geocel MHRV 2300 Clear as the sealant to reinstall those D-Seals. It was recommended to me by one of the Redwood Dealers and the stuff is fantastic. I tried several different brand0s before and hard to apply, even harder to remove. Ironically other Redwood Dealers I went to for more tubes never heard of it and they bought silicone from Lowes to do repairs, or even Camping World. I think I mentioned it earlier in the post, but it was a year ago.
Suggest Geocel MHRV 2300 Clear as the sealant to reinstall those D-Seals. It was recommended to me by one of the Redwood Dealers and the stuff is fantastic.
I would agree, when at the Rally this past summer, the Redwood Techs did some seal replacement on our Redwood and swore by the Geocel MHRV 2300 product. The Techs showed me some pointers on prepping, cleaning and application of the Geocel product.
I got some and have replaced two D Seals and done some joint clean up and re caulk with the Geocel, it is awesome stuff.
Suggest Geocel MHRV 2300 Clear as the sealant to reinstall those D-Seals. It was recommended to me by one of the Redwood Dealers and the stuff is fantastic. I tried several different brand0s before and hard to apply, even harder to remove. Ironically other Redwood Dealers I went to for more tubes never heard of it and they bought silicone from Lowes to do repairs, or even Camping World. I think I mentioned it earlier in the post, but it was a year ago.
I was looking for this stuff and could not find stock anywhere.. Called Geocel and they told me that it is made and sold specifically for the RV manufacturers and not sold to the public . . The told me to use the Geocel- Proflex
