Seneca 37TS slide gasket and motor

[Foster15]

The gasket on the driver side slide out opening has started to fail about 12 inches up from the bottom on the front edge (toward cab) of the slide opening. The rubber has been forced out and the metal "grabber" strip appears to be broken. Any one else had this occur? Solutions?

Also, how do I access the slide out motor on the galley slide out?

Thanks for your help.

[Robbbyr]

I have a '14 TS, no issues with the driver's side slide seals on my unit.

I have had to access the galley slide motor because this past summer my unit did have a problem with that slide. I eventually discovered that a bolt for the forward driveshaft had fallen out so it was not driving the front part of the slide! To access the motor you go into the ceiling of the second outside compartment behind the entry door. There is a small panel you can remove to access the motor. That is where the driveshafts come together and I lost my bolt. Once I sourced a new grade 8 bolt and nut, my galley slide was working fine again.

To manually drive the galley slide you have to have a long 1/2"-drive extension and socket. If you get down in the entry stepwell and look back you should see the manual drive bolt head. To manually move it you do need to disconnect the slideout motor brake. That is accessed (as described above) in that second compartment.

I have attached a page from the slideout service manual showing the galley slide mechanism.

[anav8or]

We've had to replace the "sweeper" seal on the driver side slide on our 2015 36FK twice. In both cases, the tape strip on the top of the slide (looks like eternabond tape) rolled up exposing the adhesive on the underside to the seal. It pulled the seal through the slide opening to the outside.

I watch it like a hawk now and look for any sign of that tape strip rolling up. So far, it looks like they fixed it right this last time.

[rollon52]

I too had my rubber seal come loose. Mine is on the bedroom slide. The metal that holds it down is still there but the gasket has pulled out of it from the bottom to a third of the way up. I first noticed after a hard rain and water leaked inside. I had to pull the gasket out by hand to create the channel to divert the water. I too would like to know who else had this issue and the fix. Thanks.

I have a 2016 37TS and I am currently on the road.

[meyerjohnc]

This has happened several times on our 2016 TS in the same place as yours. I had to reset the entire gasket on that side. I now use a gasket dry lube on the gasket every couple of months and watch it carefully when I operate the slide. I am avoiding replacing the entire gaskets as it looks to be a significant investment in parts and my labor.

[Mnwelsh]

Robber: You wrote " To manually drive the galley slide you get down into the entry stepwell and look back to see the manual drive bolt head". Do you have to remove the carpet on the side of the stair well? I can not find that bolt head. I found the dative motor in the second storage compartment but not the bolt head you need a drive extension to access . Thanks for that post.

[Robbbyr]

It is possible you will have to remove that carpeted board to get to the drive nut if the slide is completely extended.

It seems many details of our coaches are left up to the individual assembly crew, on my rig that carpeted board is somewhat short on the outside wall side and even with the slide all the way extended I can see right to that drive bolt. But if they grabbed a longer board and carpeted it on yours, it might be hidden until you unscrew it. With the slide all the way retracted it should also be visible since the motor stays put but the carpeted board has moved in with the love seat.

Did you also find the manual brake release on the end of the slideout motor? On mine it is covered by a rubber or plastic cover held on with a wire tie. If you raise your rear bed and look at that slideout motor it may give you a better idea of what you need to see since it is totally exposed under the bed. Same motor on my unit galley and bedroom slides.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

I have a '14 TS, no issues with the driver's side slide seals on my unit.

I have had to access the galley slide motor because this past summer my unit did have a problem with that slide. I eventually discovered that a bolt for the forward driveshaft had fallen out so it was not driving the front part of the slide! To access the motor you go into the ceiling of the second outside compartment behind the entry door. There is a small panel you can remove to access the motor. That is where the driveshafts come together and I lost my bolt. Once I sourced a new grade 8 bolt and nut, my galley slide was working fine again.

I have attached a page from the slideout service manual showing the galley slide mechanism.

Wished I had this last week.. We are down in Texas enjoying the warmer weather and had the same thing happen. The bolt that is indexed as the alignment bolt in the adjustment head flat out shearded off. I was lucky to find it before both sides fell out - and found half of the bolt in the bottom of the storage compartment. A trip to Home Depot for a Grade8 replacement went pretty easy and since the other half had not fallen out "YET" it was fairly easy to put a replacement in and bolt it back up.

My opinion is that this is a high stress connection and having a 'low grade" bolt in this critical place is poor workmanship. It is fixed now.

Now... don't get the wrong impression... we are almost three weeks living in our 36FK and we are overall very impressed - having a great time and very satisfied so far.

[rollon52]

Thanks for the tip. I used the dry lube on mine and it doesn't bind anymore. Now I just have to reattach the part that came loose.