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Old 06-10-2014, 04:34 PM   #1
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Wet Caulk?

Newbie RV owner here. Upon inspecting the outside of my slide after putting it out, I noticed a large amount of 'wet' caulk on the front of my slide. At first I thought it was some kind of dirt. When I went to wipe it off, it smeared. Some investigating revealed that there is a bunch of it along the very inward 'seam' on the slide. It is covered by a rubber seal that I assume is there to keep water and dirt out when the slide is extended. I looked on the other side of the slide and found no such caulk. Is this normal? Should I just clean it up? Or is there something wrong with the caulk the factory put in there and that's why it's smearing all over my slide and still feels 'wet'?

Note*

The pictures came out sideways on the preview so I'm assuming they will be that way when I post this. Just crane your necks until it hurts and you should be able to see exactly what I'm looking at .
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Old 06-11-2014, 12:53 AM   #2
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If you can just wipe it off, it likely isn't caulking as that would have cured long ago. Is it sticky? If not, but more greasy I would think it could just be some type of lube they used when putting everything together. If it wipes right off I would just clean it up along the slide seals really well. Shouldn't be an issue but certainly not something I've seen on here before. Someone else may have seen it so hopefully they will chime in.
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Old 06-11-2014, 01:58 PM   #3
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It appears to be putty like in consistency. Almost like that silly putty from back in the day. I can clean it up, just worried that if it is on there, it is supposed to be there just not in the place that it is currently.
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Old 06-11-2014, 02:17 PM   #4
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If you remove it, will it expose any part of the Rv to the elements?? I wonder if it is white butyl tape. That never hardens, it stays soft and pliable. They use it under the windows when they are installed and maybe this is what squeezed out. I would clean it up. I would try WD 40 to clean it up with. Sounds crazy but it usually works.
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Old 06-11-2014, 02:29 PM   #5
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No, it won't expose anything. It seems to be originating in the seam. One of the pictures is of that. I will try the WD-40. Any comments on Goof Off or any products like that? I have that stuff as well. Thanks!
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Old 06-11-2014, 02:53 PM   #6
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I think you may be right Mark. I just found this picture online of a guy using Tube Butyl on a boat window and it looks pretty similar to what is on my trailer. BTW, my service tech (bless his heart) has responded to my email much quicker than I expected so hopefully they can provide a solution and some more insight. I will post what they tell me as soon as I hear further. I'm also posting the picture I found so you can compare the two. Thanks a bunch man!
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Old 06-11-2014, 02:54 PM   #7
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grr...here's the link to the pic. http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...ly-evil./page3
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Old 06-11-2014, 02:58 PM   #8
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Nasty looking stuff.
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Old 06-11-2014, 03:16 PM   #9
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It is, and I can't comment yet on how easily removed it is. I will try today once the weather cools down a bit. I just can't for the life of me understand why it would be on the furthermost inside part of the slide which isn't generally exposed to anything because of the rubber seal. Hopefully the tech has some good info for me.

On a side note, everywhere I've read about that stuff says it works really well as a flexible (more flexible than silicone) sealant.
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Old 06-11-2014, 07:08 PM   #10
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Well, I got an email back from my tech, it reads:

"I got a separate opinion on the putty. I'm being told that it's normal on some units to have that happen to it the first few times you run the slides in and out. It is actually access sealant around the window that's breaking down from the heat. You should be able to wipe away that access without any real issues."

So, if anyone else has this issue, you can direct them to this thread. It seems Mark was spot on with his theory. I cleaned it away using both WD-40 and Goof Off. Both seemed to work about the same and quite well. I closed the slide and opened it again to see if it would continue to do it, and to my disappointment, I now have to clean the slide again, but not as much this time. Thanks guys for the help and I hope we all have learned something here for future reference.
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