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Old 08-18-2013, 03:13 PM   #1
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Living room slide gasket flat and paint damaged

Oddly the three slides are not made the same or work on the same type of system. The long curb side slide has flat edges and so the gasket does a good job of making a seal and protecting the paint. The short slide on the curb side is built the same way and both run on a track and gear mechanism.

The street side slide with the desk, TV, and fireplace is a cable slide and the outside edges of the slide have a rounded edge that curves back toward the coach. On this slide the gasket is flat and so the curved inside edge of the slide now cuts into the coach and has worn away the paint.

Coachmen says this is not a warranty item so I guess I am on my own.

I plan to peel the old gasket off and glue a new, more robust, gasket onto the slide.

I know others have mentioned the gaskets going flat and so I wonder if a suitable replacement gasket has been identified and where I might get one.

Roll
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Old 08-18-2013, 05:05 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Roll View Post
Oddly the three slides are not made the same or work on the same type of system. The long curb side slide has flat edges and so the gasket does a good job of making a seal and protecting the paint. The short slide on the curb side is built the same way and both run on a track and gear mechanism.

The street side slide with the desk, TV, and fireplace is a cable slide and the outside edges of the slide have a rounded edge that curves back toward the coach. On this slide the gasket is flat and so the curved inside edge of the slide now cuts into the coach and has worn away the paint.

Coachmen says this is not a warranty item so I guess I am on my own.

I plan to peel the old gasket off and glue a new, more robust, gasket onto the slide.

I know others have mentioned the gaskets going flat and so I wonder if a suitable replacement gasket has been identified and where I might get one.

Roll
HOLD OFF ROLL!

My Coach is in shop for that reason. From the first time I took delivery there was a moaning type noise when starting forward motion and when slowing. What I noticed was that a vertical stripe (front and rear) where the paint was worn off the coach. My dealer had the unit from Dec 2012-March 2013 and supposedly corrected the problem. Started camping in early may and noticed the moaning starting again. Three short camping trips and the paint was once again worn away at the coach as before. I contacted the factory rep by email. He said to make an appointment with the dealer and have the dealer call the factory for assistance. It has been at the dealership for 5 weeks now and there is finally indications of contact between the two. I have been working with Mr. Vrydaghs from Coachmen/Forrest River. I will send you the emails separately if you want. As more people get the Encounter this problem might start 'seeing' this problem. Possibly a potential design flaw?

Denis
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Old 08-22-2013, 09:58 AM   #3
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HOLD OFF ROLL!

My Coach is in shop for that reason. From the first time I took delivery there was a moaning type noise when starting forward motion and when slowing. What I noticed was that a vertical stripe (front and rear) where the paint was worn off the coach. My dealer had the unit from Dec 2012-March 2013 and supposedly corrected the problem. Started camping in early may and noticed the moaning starting again. Three short camping trips and the paint was once again worn away at the coach as before. I contacted the factory rep by email. He said to make an appointment with the dealer and have the dealer call the factory for assistance. It has been at the dealership for 5 weeks now and there is finally indications of contact between the two. I have been working with Mr. Vrydaghs from Coachmen/Forrest River. I will send you the emails separately if you want. As more people get the Encounter this problem might start 'seeing' this problem. Possibly a potential design flaw?

Denis
Our rig was doing the same thing. Had the dealer work on this but all they did was paint the strip that had the paint wore off. The permanent fix was done at the Coachmen Service & Seminar Rally. See my post: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post376266.
The bulb seal that the service technician, Gary, installed is much larger than that originally installed and solved the problem.

Larry...
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Old 08-22-2013, 10:10 AM   #4
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Oddly the three slides are not made the same or work on the same type of system. The long curb side slide has flat edges and so the gasket does a good job of making a seal and protecting the paint. The short slide on the curb side is built the same way and both run on a track and gear mechanism.

The street side slide with the desk, TV, and fireplace is a cable slide and the outside edges of the slide have a rounded edge that curves back toward the coach. On this slide the gasket is flat and so the curved inside edge of the slide now cuts into the coach and has worn away the paint.

Coachmen says this is not a warranty item so I guess I am on my own.

I plan to peel the old gasket off and glue a new, more robust, gasket onto the slide.

I know others have mentioned the gaskets going flat and so I wonder if a suitable replacement gasket has been identified and where I might get one.

Roll
Roll,
Dicor makes several types of seals (Perma-Fit? Bulb Seals | Seal Design | Official Website), including bulb seal with 3M adhesive tape on the back. You might contact John Vrydaghs to see if they can get you some or have it installed at the factory - should only take a few hours.

Larry...
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Old 08-23-2013, 06:56 AM   #5
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Roll,
Dicor makes several types of seals (Perma-Fit? Bulb Seals | Seal Design | Official Website), including bulb seal with 3M adhesive tape on the back. You might contact John Vrydaghs to see if they can get you some or have it installed at the factory - should only take a few hours.

Larry...
It was John that advised me this was a maintenance item, not covered by warranty and that I was on my own.

The slide does fit squarely. It really appears to be the gasket which is just too thin to protect the coach from the flared in edge of that particular slide. I don't have a problem with either of the other two slides.

Roll
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Old 08-24-2013, 07:51 AM   #6
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I have the same issue on our living room slide (too thin gasket; worn off paint), which I plan to have the dealer fix (heaven help me) later on this Fall when we're done camping. We know all too well that "it will take 2 weeks" easily turns into you actually getting the coach back in two months. Not like we have a lot of other options there, unfortunately, as a road trip back to the factory for us is just too far a trip unless we take a lot of time off from work to get/stay there.

My other gripe with all the slide seals is that they don't meet well in the corners, so I can actually see light coming in. Like a welcome beacon for bugs to crawl inside, or rain if there's a very heavy/windy downpour. I've actually been plugging the gaps from the inside by sticking washcloths in there. Our dealer tried to fix this in the bedroom slide (where it's most noticeable), but it's still not great. A design flaw, and another area where Coachmen just completely cheaped-out, in my opinion. I missed this prior to us pulling the trigger on the purchase.

Another thing with these slides is that if the slideout "sticks" to the intrior wall a bit when pulling it out, it can become un-level. We have this in our livingroom slide. It's not completely flush with the wall now, so you feel like you're sitting "downhill" on the couch.

A good education for me on what to look for on my next coach. I don't mind the cheapness in some areas, but I expect on the 'big stuff' that it should be solid -- like the freakin slide outs. This is one area that is completely unacceptable to have such multiple design flaws. Should be interesting when we attempt to have all this fixed in a few months...
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Old 08-24-2013, 07:47 PM   #7
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I have the same issue on our living room slide (too thin gasket; worn off paint), which I plan to have the dealer fix (heaven help me) later on this Fall when we're done camping. We know all too well that "it will take 2 weeks" easily turns into you actually getting the coach back in two months. Not like we have a lot of other options there, unfortunately, as a road trip back to the factory for us is just too far a trip unless we take a lot of time off from work to get/stay there.

My other gripe with all the slide seals is that they don't meet well in the corners, so I can actually see light coming in. Like a welcome beacon for bugs to crawl inside, or rain if there's a very heavy/windy downpour. I've actually been plugging the gaps from the inside by sticking washcloths in there. Our dealer tried to fix this in the bedroom slide (where it's most noticeable), but it's still not great. A design flaw, and another area where Coachmen just completely cheaped-out, in my opinion. I missed this prior to us pulling the trigger on the purchase.

Another thing with these slides is that if the slideout "sticks" to the intrior wall a bit when pulling it out, it can become un-level. We have this in our livingroom slide. It's not completely flush with the wall now, so you feel like you're sitting "downhill" on the couch.

A good education for me on what to look for on my next coach. I don't mind the cheapness in some areas, but I expect on the 'big stuff' that it should be solid -- like the freakin slide outs. This is one area that is completely unacceptable to have such multiple design flaws. Should be interesting when we attempt to have all this fixed in a few months...
Fellow (and Ladies) Gasket Victims,
I understand that for those not in warranty, this is maintenance issue, but for those still in warranty...it is still unfortunate. By law Coachmen only needs to replace it with the same CHEAP gasket and then, eventually, it becomes a maintenance problem. The best we can do is try to work out a deal with them to use the better gasket mentioned in the earlier post.
1n
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Old 08-25-2013, 10:09 AM   #8
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go6car,

I was informed the other day that repairs have been made and all that is left is a 15 hour paint job. I should be picking it up labor day weekend. I will inspect the gasket closely, take pictures of the paint job, drive it 200 miles, give or take, camp and take more pictures. I will drive a couple hundred more miles and take more pictures. If the problem reappears, I will take Coachmen to task with all original paperwork, communications etc., and try to get them to replace with the improved gasket material. Of course if their repair holds, my 1 year Coachmen warranty expires 27 Sept. That being the case, I will order the new gasket material and replace it myself. I checked my extended warranty and everything I could imagine going wrong is covered, except maintenance items of which gaskets are listed........oh well.

1nshort
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Old 08-28-2013, 08:09 AM   #9
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go6car,

I was informed the other day that repairs have been made and all that is left is a 15 hour paint job. I should be picking it up labor day weekend. I will inspect the gasket closely, take pictures of the paint job, drive it 200 miles, give or take, camp and take more pictures. I will drive a couple hundred more miles and take more pictures. If the problem reappears, I will take Coachmen to task with all original paperwork, communications etc., and try to get them to replace with the improved gasket material. Of course if their repair holds, my 1 year Coachmen warranty expires 27 Sept. That being the case, I will order the new gasket material and replace it myself. I checked my extended warranty and everything I could imagine going wrong is covered, except maintenance items of which gaskets are listed........oh well.

1nshort
Thanks! I'll let you know how our saga goes as well later on this Fall. I haven't checked my extended warranty, but likely won't be covered either I would imagine. I'm still really bugged by this issue, even though it's cosmetic-with-a-design-flaw!

I never did get any replacement paint from Coachmen to touch up these areas - we had to get it ourselves from the codes I was given (INCOMPLETE codes at that), which put us on a wild goose chase to do so. And on our dime. After a while, the one guy at Coachmen who I kept getting transferred to just stopped responding to me, which I will definitely remember when I'm about to plunk down even more $$$ on our next coach. (Yes, already planning our next coach, LOL!)
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Old 09-02-2013, 03:36 PM   #10
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All gasket victems,
Got the coach back. The tech did talk to John Vrydaghs of Coachmen and tried adjustments suggested by Coachmen and then at their suggestion called the manufacturer, they called Kathy Dewit at BAL. The manufacturer suggested that the four Cable system brackets on the slide be moved and tested after which the bulb seals replaced. This appears to have fixed the problem. No more moaning noises and the paint is good so far. 60 mile trip with slide deploy, 121 mile trip to home and slide deploy with no paint damage. I will go out camping next weekend and deploy and check. If no damage, I will try to get the newer wider bulb seal to replace the small 3/4 inch seal to take care of the "maintenance issue" before it happens. After that trip I will concentrate on the LED replacement for the flourescent fixtures. Looks like it will be expensive....more research to do.

1nshort
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Old 09-04-2013, 06:40 AM   #11
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If no damage, I will try to get the newer wider bulb seal to replace the small 3/4 inch seal to take care of the "maintenance issue" before it happens.
1nshort
Would appreciate if you would share the details of just what you buy for the seal, cost and method of replacement.

I will be doing this myself, probably next spring. I am considering doing the repaint myself as well since the damage is confined to that narrow strip that surrounds the opening for the slide and is hidden when the slide is closed. I may just clean the area and attempt to repair the paint in a touch up fashion.

On my coach, and yours too I imagine, it is only the small living room slide that is a problem. The other two slides (including that large 1/2 wall curb slide) do not have the problem as the entire set up is done differently and works just fine.

Thanks 1nshort.

Roll
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