My DW noticed that we had water collection at end of the galley slide. This was after it had been raining for a couple of days so I began investigating it. What was going on?? Well it turned out to be a that the vertical seals were still facing inside allowing the water to drain into the bottom of the slide. So I took a broom and was able to get the seal to face out on both ends of the slide. Well I wasn’t sure if it would solve the issue but it seems like that was the problem. I noticed that the seal flap is not as wide as the other slides. But I will have to remember to force the seal to face out after extending the slide. We have had it rain a few times since then and no problem with water coming in at the end of the slide. I think the seal is just not the proper size for the slide as it will not change direction when the slide is extended and retracted. Do any of you guys have a problem like that?
Thanks Ralph
Hey Ralph, I’ve seen that happen on ours as well. Not sure if it it’s due to the seal size or just time taking its toll on the rubber. I’ve done like you mentioned and use the end of a broom to flip the seal back out. I’ve also noticed it happens more often on un level sites.
I’ve seen a lot of folks recommend using friction tape on the slide that gives the seal something to grab and flip when extending and retracting. I’m looking at doing that on ours.
It is pretty common to have to flip the wipers out after extending. Vanleigh placed plastic pieces on their small schwintek slides to flip the wiper but not on the larger hydraulic slides. I had the dealership add those pieces on my larger slides prior to taking possession but many add the same piece by using a piece of automotive plastic trim adhered to the slide. I do always make sure my wipes are flipped as part of my setup routine and has become habit moving weekly for the past two years.
The slides can be adjusted left / right and up / down so if there is a larger gap on one side than the other adjustments can be made to correct.
One thing to be aware of is if the wiper is contacting more on one portion of the slide than the other. You can spot this easily on Vilano units (due to color) as their is rubber transfer on one portion (top / bottom) and not the other. This is often an indication of loss of camber in the frame. Camber issues on Vanelighs occurred in models with the larger slides like the 365RL, 39GBB, 34RLB and 320GK (list a few) and is where the back of the unit is sagging making the slide appeared angled in the box. The wipers become compressed against the slide on one portion of the box and spaced at the opposite end. Painted units also can be easily detected by paint lines not matching up. I think I have posted detail on camber prior in this forum. I cant recall what model you have.
365 with loss of camber and wipers compressed.
Have the same issue. It’s just been one of the things I check when parking and setting up. I use a boat hook with extendable handle so that I don’t have to get the ladder out.
Thanks guys for the replies! I didn’t realize it was so common with the Vanleigh community. The first time I’ve had a problem with the slide seals. I will have to see about some plastic bars to catch the seals. I will definitely add it to my setup check list. I thought the seals were not wide enough on that particular slide but it seems to be very common in the Vanleigh brand.
The quality is not what I expected.
Thanks for the replies!
Ralph