From what material is the non-slip decking on the ramp doors made?

[theracqueteer]

It has been discussed on a few threads on this forum, and I have been told by owners of other toyhaulers at various campgrounds, the ramp door / decks on these units are not weatherproof. What good is a deck if it is not weatherproof. I contacted Jayco to verify this fact. They would neither admit or deny the fact of the doors being weatherproof. Their answer was "Thank you for contacting Jayco customer service. We advise that these be closed and not left out in the rain". Which basically means they are not weatherproof. We use our deck almost everyday we are using the rig and like the side deck down just for daylight and being able to see out. Putting these doors up and down everyday or each time we leave the campsite, is not as simple as extending and retracting awnings. It seems that the doors get at least 5 lbs heavier every year older I get.


So, I am trying to find out what type material the non-slip deck is made. Is the deck not weatherproof because it is permeable or just due to the fact that it can leak at the edge seams since the sealant does not adhere well to the non-slip deck? If I can find answers to these questions I may be able to find a better sealant or go with a commercial product such as Line-x or similar dyi product to make it weatherproof.


I have contacted Jayco with these questions and they could not supply an answer. They suggested I contact Challenger Door as they are the door manufacturer. I have placed 2 calls and an email to Challenger with no response as of yet. So in the mean time, I am posting these questions here in the hope that someone may have knowledge of this information.

[Jsummit]

Originally Posted by theracqueteer

It has been discussed on a few threads on this forum, and I have been told by owners of other toyhaulers at various campgrounds, the ramp door / decks on these units are not weatherproof. What good is a deck if it is not weatherproof. I contacted Jayco to verify this fact. They would neither admit or deny the fact of the doors being weatherproof. Their answer was "Thank you for contacting Jayco customer service. We advise that these be closed and not left out in the rain". Which basically means they are not weatherproof. We use our deck almost everyday we are using the rig and like the side deck down just for daylight and being able to see out. Putting these doors up and down everyday or each time we leave the campsite, is not as simple as extending and retracting awnings. It seems that the doors get at least 5 lbs heavier every year older I get.


So, I am trying to find out what type material the non-slip deck is made. Is the deck not weatherproof because it is permeable or just due to the fact that it can leak at the edge seams since the sealant does not adhere well to the non-slip deck? If I can find answers to these questions I may be able to find a better sealant or go with a commercial product such as Line-x or similar dyi product to make it weatherproof.


I have contacted Jayco with these questions and they could not supply an answer. They suggested I contact Challenger Door as they are the door manufacturer. I have placed 2 calls and an email to Challenger with no response as of yet. So in the mean time, I am posting these questions here in the hope that someone may have knowledge of this information.

Thank you for your post. I will be following this thread in the hopes you get a response from Challenger Door (or someone else on the forum). I have a 2020, 4113 and bought it for some of the reasons you mentioned, (to use the side patio in the same way). I did read the threads on this forum re this prior to buying but figured I'd be able to "weatherproof" as well. I did reseal the edges with "Lexel" (picked it up at Lowe's), after it cured I washed my side patio and the water "pooled" at the low point edge making it look like the edge was waterproof. I let the pool of water sit for a few minutes and didn't see any absorption from the deck and then squeegeed it off. I'll post a pic of the sealant I used if I can figure out how to do it on here.

[Jsummit]

[theracqueteer]

I did get a reply from challenger door today. The gentleman I talked to basically said that they did make some changes in the way they build them in the last 1 to 1 1/2 years. Not sure what that change is but he also said that the door should be basically weatherproof. There is a good amount of sealant adhesive around the edges and they use a silicone on the edges where the deck meets the frame. The sealant on mine was peeling shortly after I brought it home. I re-sealed with OSI clear and it looked great initially but it started peeling in spots after about 6 months. It still looks better than the original. I may try the exel sealant or Geocel RV sealant.



The non-slip surface is a rubberized product similar to Line-X. He also claims there is nothing in the core that would absorb water.

[Brooksb]

So basically, its water proof, kinda....
U can leave it open, with caution, in weather......
Everything at ur own risk thou.....
Geez, it's like a barbie house.....

[Jsummit]

Thank you for the update. It’s only been 2 months since I put the Lexel on so I can’t say what it will look like in another 6 months but so far it’s holding up well. What product is everyone using to “silicone / calk “ the sidewall seems? There are areas that Jayco missed and I’d rather just do it myself than have the dealer do it. (I may just use the Lexel there as well).

[theracqueteer]

Seems most people here recommend the OSI Quad. My dealer recommended the Geocel RV sealant. I just applied some Geocel to see how it compares to the OSI Quad applied previously.

[Vfoote3]

Great info here! Following for futre reference as we plan to buy a 4113.

[Jsummit]

Originally Posted by theracqueteer

Seems most people here recommend the OSI Quad. My dealer recommended the Geocel RV sealant. I just applied some Geocel to see how it compares to the OSI Quad applied previously.

What’s your opinion on the Geocel now that it’s been some time since you’ve had it applied?

[theracqueteer]

Application was a little easier than OSI Quad but, it hasn't been exposed long enough to tell how well it will hold up.

[Gogrampa]

I have a Octane SL222
Having repaired a hole punched through the ramp door (that’s another story) from the exterior to the Non skid black interior.
Thin fiberglass type sheet material.
Luan plywood
Dense foam type core
Luan plywood
Thin vinyl roll smooth one side nonslip rough floor type mat material
It’s all sandwich type construction ,the access for water imo is from edge which is aluminum wrapped frame. Sealing around the edge inside and out would help but water always wins eventually. It’s water resistant not weather/water proof
Fwiwymmv.

[Vfoote3]

Following. Interested, have same concern.

[Jsummit]

How’s everyone’s side patio holding up at the edges since they’ve re-sealed with their respective product? It’s been about 6 months since I’ve done mine with the Lexel. I would say 3 of the 4 edges still look good and keep the water from entering the seam. (Based on washing the deck and having it pool not absorb at the low points). The 4th edge/side is cracking but I think that is from the original sealant Jayco put on that is underneath the Lexel layer (I was unable to remove 100% of the original sealant).

[Vfoote3]

you had to remove the original sealant first?

[Jsummit]

Just what was already flaking off from the original factory sealant

[Vfoote3]

Could you snap some pics of the caulked areas?

[AZMarine]

I too talked to someone at Challenger Door about this topic, though I was trying to get the ramp steps. (I had recently purchased a 2018 Octane T30F & they did not come with ramp steps from Jayco for the party deck at that time). In short though, I asked the same question as I had been following the thread on this. I was told the party deck ramps are built different from the load only ramps. He stated they are built basically solid and will not absorb water. They are built that way to support the sustained weight on the party deck, vice a load ramp which only sees dispersed weight across it and not for a long period of time. That said, I would still keep up with caulking & sealing where needed and not "invite" problems. Along with the mind set of "water resistant" and not "water proof".

Also, if anyone has the party deck, but it did not come with the deck ramp steps, I was able to get them from Challenger Door (Jayco CS was zero help as they were not available on my model in 2018). I needed the door PN as there are two different party deck ramps made & the difference is the ramp height. We then worked together and came up with a shipment way that cut the cost by ~ $200.00. Originally from them & / or the local dealer the steps w/ hand rail "+" shipping to AZ came to $800.00 give or take $20, depending on purchase location. With redesigned packaging, Challenger Door was able to ship to AZ with total cost (unit, shipping, tax, etc) being $420.00. You can call Challenger Door and ask for the parts manager. He is the one I worked with. Very nice guy & will work with you.

[Vfoote3]

Many thanks for the info !

[Vfoote3]

We will do the same thing with ours. Did you run the sealant all four corners? I read someone also recommended Geocell. Any different?