Did I break my slide?

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by melissaburn

TNow, how do I insulate the area inside the camper where the slide and side-wall meet? There's a bigger gap on one side than the other, so it seems just a little crooked. I hope that's something I can ignore for now and just get it insulated for winter.

Hi Melissa,

Without seeing pics of the slide seal gaps you are referring too, it's hard to say if what you are seeing is normal or not.

As a generic answer, the slide room is "nominally" in the center of the camper slide wall opening. This creates a somewhat "nominal" appears that the gaps on the front and rear ends, and along the top of the slide are similar. Over time the gap can change a small amount and if you measure it, it can change by a small amount every time you open and close the slide room. There is play/excess clearance in the slide drive system to sort of let the slide room float back and forth, front to back.

There are also cases where the main frame rails flex/sag over time. This creates a somewhat parallelogram shape in the camper slide opening in the camper wall. This can create a wedge gap in slide gasket area.

And then there are times when a prior owner tried to adjust the slide room drive mechanism/slide drive, and did not do it correctly creating a wedge gap exists at the slide seals area. And sometimes after a lot of towing, the slide drive system may loosen up and drop down on one side, shifting the adjustment creating a gap difference in the slide seal area.

All that said, the rubber slide seals area forgiving for many mix ups or combinations of things not being exactly right. And there is a limit to where things mechanically bind up and they cannot cover over all things out of alignment. If things are up to 1/4" plus or minus from perfect center, that can be normal. If things are 1/2" or more plus or minus, that usually points to something not right. A 1/4" wedge gap top to bottom can be at the edge of normal. These are generic numbers, not hard and fast but close to what working slide systems have been at in the past.

If the slide seals are sealing up everything, There is not hard mechanical binding or rubbing, and you have the slide out all the time as you are using the camper, then that helps add to, things are usable even if they are not ideally in the nominal area of correct.

How to insulate that area, Sunline slides were not really made to be insulated in the rubber seals area. The rubber flap was the seal. If you are not moving the slide, you can be creative in adding some custom fit pink closed cell insulation board over that area inside the camper. The closed cell foam board is not affected by moisture. Making the fit tight helps on the drafts at the board edges. Something like this board. They make in in different thicknesses and lengths. Thicker insulates more. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Co...88WD/202085958

You can cover the pink foam board maybe with contact paper to not look so bad once you fit it in place.

Hope this helps

John