Slide Out Wiper Seal Repair Replacement

[danmoore333]

Rear slide out wiper seal failed - sealant failed causing the wiper seal to fail.
The wiper seal pulled away from the top flange and the internal 'fingers' inside the seal had rusted away.

I just replaced the rear slide out wiper seal on my camper. Purchased the seal from Uni-Grip - profile matched perfect - I am pretty sure this is where Jayco get their seals from. Uni-grip sells it in 30-foot lengths for approx. $90 plus shipping. I opened my slide about 18-inches and worked off of a ladder. I removed the old seal - the 'fingers' had rusted out around the top and it had pulled away from the surrounding flange. Removed the old seal - scraped the old adhesive/sealant off with a medium to narrow scraper
(1/2-inch wide) - then used 3M adhesive cleaner remove the remaining sealant and to finish cleaning the surface - it does not affect paint finishes. Take care to protect your roof from both scraping and the adhesive cleaner - I use a piece of plywood to cover my rubber roof. After scraping and cleaning the old adhesive - I began the wiper seal installation at one end and worked it all the way around with my fingers pushing and seating it onto the flange (it will make your hands sore). At the corners - push it up and in as tight as possible - then cut the wiper part of the seal so that you can seat it into the corners. If the slide sides are a little snug use a wooden wedge
(I cut my own) to move the slide one way or the other so you have a little more working room (wedge it between the flange and slide - working it down as needed). After I finished installing the seal I let it set overnight and the next day to make sure the cool and heat would not affect it. The original sealant looked like latex or EDPM compatible sealant which is what had failed causing my wiper seal to fail. I used a clear silicone sealant on the seal this time. Silicone is 100% waterproof. I put a full bead all the way around making sure that the lap covers both the wiper seal and flange - in the corners I made sure the there was plenty of silicone to adhere to the seal and the camper itself. I hope this is beneficial to someone - I had a hard time finding very much information on how to make this repair. It was not very difficult if you are an accomplished do-it-yourselfer.

[Murphie]

Thanks for the info, i'm sure many will benefit from your post. I was wondering what product to use to remove the old stuff. I read in my product info that Jayco wants you to apply a product to the rubber wipers to keep them from wearing. Glad to know there is a direct replacement.