Slide Seal Alternative

[cmillsap]

I’d be interested in a discussion on the viability (or not) of abandoning the inflatable rubber seal that surrounds the slide on my LXi. My inflatable seal is in good working order presently but I’m sure that sometime in the future it will need to be replaced. This is a fairly large and expensive job.

The HWH slide is fitted with a brush wiper attached to the walls of the slide opening. It is located about an inch inside the slide opening behind the corner trim piece. This brush wiper circumnavigates the slide and is designed to clear debris off the outer walls of the slide particularly during the retraction process.

There is also a hard vinyl trim piece that is fitted to the corner of the slide opening. It also circumnavigates the entire slide opening.

Since I have not had the opportunity to view these two parts without the slide being present, it’s difficult to determine if they are attached to each other, one complete piece or are two separate pieces. At any rate, why could not the brush portion be replaced with a solid silicone rubber wiper/seal? This wiper/seal would be attached in the same manner as the current brush seal and sized so the leading edge or edges would contact the slide walls and act as a seal. Made of soft silicone rubber, it shouldn’t damage the painted surface of the slide during movement.

This may not provide an absolute water seal as well as the current inflatable seal but designed correctly it should suffice to keep water out and air noise to a minimum due to it being located so close to the outside vertical sidewalls of the bus.

Comments welcome………….