And so it goes

[garyde]

I have been slowly working thru a fix-it list on my Coach the last few weeks. I had only a few things left . While walking thru the Coach this Saturday morning the air compressor I noticed was running and I heard a loud hissing sound coming from the bedroom slide.
The air seal had blown on the bedroom slide. Now, this is the second air seal to go bad on me in less than 15 months. And the 4th air seal installed on this Prevost, that I am aware of, since Liberty built it in 2003.
Needless to say, I am POed. Tomorrow I am going to speak with both Liberty and Prevost and attempt to find out just what the heck is wrong with this bedroom seal. Either the vendor of the seal has an issue, or there is something in its design which does not work with the coach.
Stand by for a report.:mad:

[Jim_Scoggins]

Gary:

Have all the issues been with just one slide?
I had the inflatable seals in an 04 Bluebird. Went through 2 in about 18 months. In that installation there was often a problem of the seals being overinflated. That is, an overly enthusiastic tech would be thinking more is better--35-40 psi when 10 was desired. It was a goofy arrangement in that the front slide was air actuated while the rear one was driven by an electric motor. All the issues were with the front air actuated (driven). There were two gauges and two valves: One gauge and valve for the air actuator pressure and another gage and valve for the air bladder pressure. Unlabeled. You can guess the rest.

Some folks say those seals should be lubricated and the lack of doing so causes the failures. When the seal is left in one position for a long time it tends to "stick" to the coach and then is punctures when the slide moves.

More trivia: Many of those seals are repaired with regular old super glue.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Gary........Chase this rumor down, or approach this as fact and see if you can get this taken care of gratis.

I have been led to understand that Prevost changed suppliers of the slide gaskets. Apparently the gaskets from the new supplier have a problem with failure caused by splitting along a seam or a ridge line.

If that is the case, and your gasket is one from the new supplier I think you at least are entitled to a new replacement.

However......it is also my understanding that gasket replacement is considered routine maintenance, and that three year gasket life is considered normal. Good luck.

[merle&louise]

Gary,

My front gasket is going on 10 years old; no problems.

I will try to find out what company Newell buys their replacement gaskets from. When my bedroom gasket was replaced in Feb. 2006 I kept the old gasket. It may have a company name on it.

Below is a picture of the gasket changing process, very simple; it took about an hour to remove the old gasket and install the new one.

[merle&louise]

Gary,

Sealmaster Corporation makes a replacement gasket for RV slide-outs. Their web address is: www.sealmaster.com

I spoke to a customer representatvie at Sealmaster, and he informed me that they do not sell directly to the public. They will sell to Liberty or Prevost however.

Hope some of this info helps.:)

P.S. Is your front slide gasket the original one that came from Prevost?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

What is involved in replacing that seal, you did say every 2 years?

How many hours labor would you think to do that job.

Tuga you keep those comparisons comin. Ya think prevo might read and get some good ideas from the home grown. We can only hope.

[garyde]

Troy at Liberty said today the Prevost folks have been having issues, and have sourced out to another manufacturer for their seals. He did not have an exact Life for a seal but thought 5 years would be the norm, but he said he has had them fail on one coach several times in a matter of months.
Another issue is the air pressure. It should be no more than 6-7 lbs. I believe mine is higher.
The air seal for the living room is on a seperate solonoid but there is only one air regulator for both.
The sequence for opening and closing the slide begins with the air being sucked out of the seal to collapse the seal. I can't believe air temp nor the heat of the sun should be the issue since these seals are engineered for aviation and other critical applications.
I spoke with Prevost today as well and they are going to order a seal, I will find out who the manufacturer would be.
The time frame for replacing a bedroom seal is about 6 hours and a 2 hour wait afterwards for a sealant to dry before sliding the slide in. The Prevost slide has to be crancked into the coach 2 inches in order to access the seal. The seal costs approx. $1600.00 and the labor is approx.$670.00.

[m stuller]

Gary: I am not sure if the following idea has any benfit to pro-longing the life of the blatters but it is simple and i think logical. When opening or closeing a slide there is a tremendous amount of air volume that needs to escape or enter the coach . I open my driver side window to allow air flow to avoid undue pressure on the blatters. It is amazing to feel the volume of air through the window and would have to think it may help protect the blatters.

If any of you think the theory is bad please dont tell me as i am now in the habit and dont need change old habits

[rmboies]

Gary: I open my driver side window to allow air flow to avoid undue pressure on the blatters. It is amazing to feel the volume of air through the window and would have to think it may help protect the blatters. If any of you think the theory is bad please dont tell me as i am now in the habit and dont need change old habits

Matthew, we were instructed by Millennium to leave a window or the passenger door open when we close our salon slide. Evidently the suction when the slide comes back in has a tremendous suction effect. So, you are way ahead of the game by opening your window! You won't hear us asking you to change your ways:D

[garyde]

Gary: I am not sure if the following idea has any benfit to pro-longing the life of the blatters but it is simple and i think logical. When opening or closeing a slide there is a tremendous amount of air volume that needs to escape or enter the coach . I open my driver side window to allow air flow to avoid undue pressure on the blatters. It is amazing to feel the volume of air through the window and would have to think it may help protect the blatters.

If any of you think the theory is bad please dont tell me as i am now in the habit and dont need change old habits

Your absolutely correct and Liberty has this posted next to the slide switch. I always have a window or door open when opening or closing my slides.