I recently bought a 2002 Great West Vans Class B with a soft-walled slide out. It apparently had been left to the elements and the rubber material has developed cracks. Cracks led to leaks and a wet bunk. I've been researching ways of repairing (my local RV guy has no clue). Spray seal protectant? RV rubber roof repair tape? I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Here are photos. I've had some suggestions from another site about spray weatherproofing like for boats or tents (the material is a rubberized canvas), along with others gearing towards completely replacing. I've decided to go the most inexpensive route first.
Unfortunately, the photos aren't close enough to really tell what that material is... is it the same kind of vinyl that is used for upholstery in boats?
If so, it really wouldn't be expensive to take the panels to a boat upholstery shop and just have new ones made. I think that's probably your best bet is just to replace them.
I doubt that there's going to be much you can do to effect permanent repairs on that kind of material. The only recommendation I have would be to get scrap pieces of Sunbrella and glue it over any cracks you have using auto door gasket cement. I made some permanent repairs to holes in an old tent trailer canvas made of similar material that way years ago.
I'm not sure how patches would work as far as the slide operating without the patches catching on the side of the van in and out though.
I would remove the sections and take a trip to the upholstery shop.
I agree with this. A proper upholstery shop will be able to do this for you. They usually do automotive and marine interiors so they should be able to order a material close to what you currently have.
I used to use a product to paint on camping tents in the past. It was Thompson's water seal (originally designed for wood floors, fences, etc.). Just paint it on the nylon or canvas.
Leaking Soft-Walled Slide Out
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