Rotting wood on slide out

[Hnorwood2014]

We just purchased a new to us 2019 cruise lite. After opening the slide out we noticed when we closed it that it made a popping noise. After looking for the issue inside and out, we found wood around one side of the slide out is wet from halfway down to the bottom. The wood is chipped away. When we closed the slide out, it is not flush against the camper. We are waiting for the insurance agent to come and see it. We have a camping trip in less than two weeks and I just wanted to know if anyone had experience with this and if it’d be ok to use for this camping trip? We would only move the slide out once we arrived and back in upon departure. Thanks for any help!

[httntheroad]

Sorry to say I have not heard of any insurance company that will cover water damage.It is usually a maintenance issue.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by httntheroad

Sorry to say I have not heard of any insurance company that will cover water damage.It is usually a maintenance issue.

I've heard of it but it's rare. The worst that can happen is they come out and look and say they won't cover it. Worth a shot I guess.

[phillyg]

If the floor is still firmly attached to the sides, I would use it until having time to repair it.

[Cold Lake Kid]

I suggest you have a VERY careful and close look at all the areas with a seam.
Water migrates, soaks the insulation and never seems to dry out, holding moisture against the wood frames.
With the wood used in our RVs, rot happens very quickly.
I found out the hard way $$$$$$$$$$.

[Daniel.mullins4]

Check the roof of slide, mine was leaking through bad eternabond seal, leaked through wall, didn’t damage floor yet

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by Hnorwood2014

We just purchased a new to us 2019 cruise lite. After opening the slide out we noticed when we closed it that it made a popping noise. After looking for the issue inside and out, we found wood around one side of the slide out is wet from halfway down to the bottom. The wood is chipped away. When we closed the slide out, it is not flush against the camper. We are waiting for the insurance agent to come and see it. We have a camping trip in less than two weeks and I just wanted to know if anyone had experience with this and if it’d be ok to use for this camping trip? We would only move the slide out once we arrived and back in upon departure. Thanks for any help!

If it's like the problem I had on my class A, it's not rare but a common problem. I had to totally replace the plywood floor on one slide and got discoloration on the other two before I found the source of the leakage. A telltale clue is water on the floor when you extract the slide after the rig has been stored for a while.

And the leakage source was not the roof but the sealant joints of the trim panels on the outer walls of the slices. These are sealed with clear sealant that breaks down after months in the elements. These seal joints need to be inspected and resealed periodically. Even the dealers' shops won't tip you off on these joints since they only want to make money sealing the roofs. See attached photo...

[Big Country BBQ]

Insurance qill most likely not cover this issue. I'm going through the same issue now. If the leak was caused by something that hit the slide, then insurance will pay for the repair. But water leaking at a seal falls under maintenance and the insurance company will not cover. Bids I have got to replace the slide floor in the bedroom are running 5K to 6K!!!!

[Eddie2002]

My 2017 Catalina had major water damage and rot on the front of the slide. Apparently when it was built the factory over tightened the screws holding the roof and side trim on and snapped off the screw heads which caused a leak into the wall of the slide. Ended up having the slide rebuilt by the dealer's service department as a warranty repair. First time out after getting it back the slide leaked in a different location. Took a look at the repair and found the dealer used the wrong sealer under the flashing as well as breaking off three or four screw heads just like the factory did. Ended up biting the bullet and resealed the entire slide my self along with replacing all the screws as I went along. Seems that once you buy a unit you're pretty much on you're own for getting repairs done properly. I guess the moral to my story is never trust warranty work done by the dealer and always follow behind checking what was done.
One other thing I found that the service department did was reinstalling the slideout crooked by about eight inches which broke the actuator after about six months. But that's another long story.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by Big Country BBQ

Insurance qill most likely not cover this issue. I'm going through the same issue now. If the leak was caused by something that hit the slide, then insurance will pay for the repair. But water leaking at a seal falls under maintenance and the insurance company will not cover. Bids I have got to replace the slide floor in the bedroom are running 5K to 6K!!!!

Where do you live? I had the plywood floor replaced in my bedroom slide in my 36 foot class A for a little over 3K. The dealer shop took the slide out with a fork life, put a brand new floor in and reinstalled the slide and resealed it. Note that, when they put the trim back on, they applied sealer under the trim strip as well as on the outside joint where it contacts the slide's outer wall. They also installed all new screws.

Screws in slides where even some moister has gotten into the floor, can break off because their shanks get rusted. My two other slides have discoloration in their floors but they wood, thankfully is still solid and are holding up fine since I resealed the trim strips. But the trim strip screws can break off because even a small amount of rust.