Interior Seal Tear on Bottom of Slideroom

[RVFun4Us]

When we were out in the RV a few weeks ago, we noticed a 12 inch long piece of seal laying in front of the refrigerator when putting the off-door slide out. Upon further investigation, I found where the torn seal came from. Right in front of the slide rollers under the refrigerator. My guess is that the seal somehow was grabbed by the rollers the last time we put the slide in and thus tore it off. I contacted Heartland and they have sent me a 14 foot replacement seal for the entire slide. It was still under the one year warranty. Now the closest dealer is playing the usual game and saying they cannot get the rig in for a couple of months and maybe longer since I did not buy the rig there. So was wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem and whether they repaired themselves or went to a dealer. It looks like the seal is stapled on the inside of the trim piece. So the entire trim piece would have to be removed to get to the seal. I could remove the piece but was concerned about refitting it and making it look nice again. One dealer told me they used a ton of staples to attach the sweeper seal to the trim piece. Heartland indicated that the problem could be caused by a misaligned slide.

 

[Garypowell]

Don't have the seal on my rig but had the trim piece off due to roller problem and it was fairly easy to get off with some care.

Then used a few few brades to hold it back in place then drilled some holes and screwed it to be real secure.

 

[donr827]

I use a RV Repair shop that does not sell RVs. Service is usually quicker and better
Don

 

[sengli]

I had the exact same problem. The damage to to my lower slide seal was on the exterior though. There is a sheet metal barrier in front of the those rollers, which is supposed to stop that seal from getting sucked into them when the slide is moved. I had found the wire bundles(power for the slide) on the exterior under the slide had been pushed against that sheet metal guard bending back enough to where the slide seal was getting eaten. I moved the wires bundle some, and then got a hold of the the sheet metal guard and bent it back.

I didnt want to tackle replacing the slide seal in its entirety, so I cut of piece big enough to fix the damaged area. Used some 3M windshield glue and patched it. The trick on the patch is the seal needs to be lightly sanded, and cleaned with like MEK first. Otherwise the glue wont hold.

 

[wdk450]

First of all, I agree with Don's post above and believe dealer RV "service" is about useless. Did Heartland agree to pay for the seal installation under warranty? If so, you should be able to find an independent repairer to do the work, and phone Heartland service for warranty repair authorization. Or you may have to bite the bullet, and pay for the seal install out of your own pocket.

A couple of years ago I was noticing morning sunlight coming under the refrigerator slide. My seal was torn like yours and others. I tried the re-gluing fix but it didn't last. Also, I wasn't impressed with this thin rubber lip seal's ability to hold out the exterior cold/heat, anyways. I went to Walmart and found a kit for insulating wall air conditioners which consisted of lengths of 2 inch (?) square foam insulation. Using rubber cement I fabricated a long strip to be tucked into the long front inside lip under the kitchen slide, and 2 short corner pieces to seal the ends of the slide lip. This is all glued together in a wide short "U" shape. This I now stuff in place when I arrive at a site, and remove before pulling in the slides and leaving a site. It helps with the heating/cooling. Last night was 28 degrees in the mountains East of San Diego, my water lines froze, but I stayed comfy with just fireplace and electric space heater heat (I didn't have to spend propane $$$s).

 

[RVFun4Us]

Bill,

Yes, Heartland has agreed to pay for the seal replacement. I just need to find an authorized repairer that Heartland approves. I have an inquiry into Heartland to ask about local repairers but maybe they only have dealers. Will find out.

First of all, I agree with Don's post above and believe dealer RV "service" is about useless. Did Heartland agree to pay for the seal installation under warranty? If so, you should be able to find an independent repairer to do the work, and phone Heartland service for warranty repair authorization. Or you may have to bite the bullet, and pay for the seal install out of your own pocket.

A couple of years ago I was noticing morning sunlight coming under the refrigerator slide. My seal was torn like yours and others. I tried the re-gluing fix but it didn't last. Also, I wasn't impressed with this thin rubber lip seal's ability to hold out the exterior cold/heat, anyways. I went to Walmart and found a kit for insulating wall air conditioners which consisted of lengths of 2 inch (?) square foam insulation. Using rubber cement I fabricated a long strip to be tucked into the long front inside lip under the kitchen slide, and 2 short corner pieces to seal the ends of the slide lip. This is all glued together in a wide short "U" shape. This I now stuff in place when I arrive at a site, and remove before pulling in the slides and leaving a site. It helps with the heating/cooling. Last night was 28 degrees in the mountains East of San Diego, my water lines froze, but I stayed comfy with just fireplace and electric space heater heat (I didn't have to spend propane $$$s).

 

[Piperflyer]

My slide seal came unstapled in several places on the piece of trim molding. I just took the molding off and re-stapled the whole piece of rubber seal to the back side of the wood molding with heavier staples. Heartland uses staples to join there wood pieces on the slide. I used screws to reinstall the wood molding, so I could remove it easy, so when I most likely have to staple the rubber seal again. Just poor workmanship on heartlands part.
If you do opt to fix your seals or have a shop fix them, check your rollers while their exposed and make sure none of the brackets holding your rollers are cracked or developing cracks. This has been a problem with some of their rollers.