slide air bag seals? - Luxury Coach Lifestyles
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 03-24-2012, 09:27 PM   #1
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default slide air bag seals?

hi all,

i have taken the slide area apart up front. to fix the sliding side window shade....thats another post...

i noticed that on the top corners on both ends of the slide when the airbag airs up to seal there is a small area on the corner where the bag seems to be kinked and there is a small gap.

i attached a not so good picture i took with my phone. i am perplexed on what to do about it. only think i could think of was to increase the air pressure to the bags. but i have no idea even what air pressure should be on them. and how high you could go.

thoughts?

tomClick image for larger version

Name:	2012-03-24 13.23.31.jpg
Views:	151
Size:	75.9 KB
ID:	2051
__________________

__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-24-2012, 11:12 PM   #2
rheavn
Senior Member
 
rheavn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 433
Default

Tom,
This is one of those issues I would call Newell. They have a lot of slide seal experience. Every time I have been at Newell there has been at least one coach having a slide seal issue addressed. Try to talk with a tech who works on them.
__________________

__________________
Steve
Newell
rheavn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 12:55 AM   #3
tuga
Senior Member
 
tuga's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
Default

Tom,

Try to find the air pressure gauge that shows the air pressure on your slide gasket. The one for the front slide is located in one of the driver's side bays on my 1999 Newell. I believe it is in the same bay that the inverter is in on my coach. When I was installing a new floor in my bedroom I found the air pressure gauge for the bedroom slide; I think it was around 22 psi.

Like Steve B said, call Newell to make sure. My guess is you have an air leak somewhere. When my air seals are inflated I can not see any daylight in the corners. On my coach the 12v auxillary air pump keeps the slides seals inflated. You could ask Newell if your coach is designed that way or not.
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
tuga is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 01:19 AM   #4
davidmbrady
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
Default

It's the nature of the air seal that Newell used in your coach. Clamping the seal to the coach body cutout and expanding inward toward the slide body is called 'radial-in' expansion. When working with air seals radial-in is the most difficult for exactly the reason you discovered - kinking or buckling in the corners. The Seal Masters S-1 seal used in your coach is spec-ed to expand about 0.25" to 0.3" (max) in corner of radii of 3" to 3.5" before it buckles. This is called the 'stroke'. If your corner gaps are larger than 0.25" then buckling is all but inevitable. About all you can do is attempt to bring the slide body closer to the corner. If the slide body isn't centered maybe you can reduce corner gaps by adjusting the slide position. Another potential solution is to add shoulder pads to your slide corners. Shoulder pads can be extruded out of EPDM or some other flexible weather resistant rubber and adhered to the slide body. Yet one more option is to design your own seal and have it extruded. This is what we did on the Wanderlodge forum:

http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.co...ad.php?t=10696
http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.co...ad.php?t=12300
http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.co...ad.php?t=12171

David Brady
'02 Blue Bird, Wanderlodge, LXi, Living room slide
NC
davidmbrady is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 01:52 PM   #5
lbrachfe
Senior Member
 
lbrachfe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Home base is Palm Beach, Florida
Posts: 449
Default

Tom,
This is a common problem and Newell calls them "Wrinkles". I was getting water in through them on both slides and thought I would need to replace them , but the fix is easy and I did it with a single tube of clear silicone at Newells instruction. First deflate the seals ,then apply about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch of silicone on the slide in each of the 2 wrinkles on each corner. The amount and location are key and not easy to reach, but you can do it over when not right on target. After drying inflate and make sure they line up. I used Q-Tips since my fingers would not fit and you need to make a little peak to fit like a wedge in the wrinkle. Next open the slides and do the same thing in the open position so in the end you will have two little silicone peaks on each corner, one for slide in and one for slide out. I did mine a year ago and they are still perfect. If you want to know more detail you can call me 727-254-0057 and I will fill you in. My coach is in storage and so far away or I would post photos. It should be easy for you to complete this and I'm glad to give you a verbal narrative.
__________________
Larry & Hedy Brachfeld
2003 Double Slide, Detroit 60
Coach # 646
lbrachfe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 01:53 PM   #6
lbrachfe
Senior Member
 
lbrachfe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Home base is Palm Beach, Florida
Posts: 449
Default

Tom,
The silicone goes on the slide of course and not on the rubber seal.
__________________
Larry & Hedy Brachfeld
2003 Double Slide, Detroit 60
Coach # 646
lbrachfe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 03:04 PM   #7
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

larry, thanks a ton. that is so simple and less engineering oriented than i would have thought. i was in my mind figuring out how to take the slide out to replace the seal and get custom seals made like david has done.

since so many of us have slide seal replacement issues, maybe we should consider having some of the better ones made like david did for his BB?

tom
__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 03:31 PM   #8
davidmbrady
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
Default

Tom,

Don't get me wrong, I have a great fondness for the air seal used by Newell. The Seal Masters S-1 seal is a very good piece, probably second to none in the industry. It's just that the coach and slide manufacturers need to work within the seal's stroke limitations. It's very difficult for manufacturers like Newell to ensure that their slide bodies are within 1/4" of the seal for the entire circumference of the slide. Having space for the slide to extend and retract is a good thing. If there should ever be a mishap where the slide becomes skewed or binds on its bearings then we'll all be very thankful for the extra clearance.

The only thing I see about the Seal Masters seal that I would change is the fabric reinforcement. EPDM has a shelf life of around 10 years whether it's fabric reinforced or not. Fabric reinforcement is great technology for high psi applications. IMPO, at the pressures we work with in our slide applications, approximately 8 to 10 psi, fabric reinforcement isn't necessary.

The reason I'd eliminate the fabric is because of the buckling. I've found, in the course of the air seal development for the Wanderlodge, that that EPDM can accomplish quite a bit of stroke in a corner at the radii we work with, but it's the fabric that can't. The fabric reinforcement leads to what I would consider premature buckling in the corners.

David Brady
'02 Wanderlodge, LXi
NC
davidmbrady is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-25-2012, 03:37 PM   #9
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

hi david, you are amazing in your approach to things.

if the slide seal was the only thing i needed to work on, i would likely be doing what you did. i am not afraid to tackle it myself and may at some point.

i have so many other things to fix and get done that if i can seal it for now with a few dobs of silicone, that is what i will do till it becomes my main task to do.

i would love to talk to you so if you feel so inclined, PM me your phone number.

regards,

tom
__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 01:50 AM   #10
davidmbrady
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
Default

Hi Tom,

PM sent!

David Brady
'02 Blue Bird, LXi
NC
davidmbrady is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 07:00 PM   #11
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

hi all,

i had a nice chat with larry yesterday. ends up he bought hsi 03 just a few miles from my house.

he stepped me through the putting of silicone on the slide to seal it up.

i had some other questions so i asked newell service today and he said they do it on new ones and all of them.

thanks to all of you

tom
__________________

__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Newell Coach Corporation or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 08:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×