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  1. #11
    Long Hauler howson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chiefblueman View Post
    My Reflection TT has large holes where the slide passes through the frame near the tires. They got my attention when I pulled the coroplast down and could see the dirt trails showing where water was getting in from the road. I used a flexible rubber material to create seals and also used some spray foam sealant.

    I don't think it's the factory forgetting, they just don't seal these holes.
    Did you document this by any chance, Kim?
    2017 Ford F-350 DRW 6.7L Platinum
    2019 315RLTS (purchased 16 Jul 18 from Campers Inn RV in Byron, GA)

  2. #12
    Big Traveler
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    Quote Originally Posted by howson View Post
    Did you document this by any chance, Kim?
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I only have one photo, this of the spare tire and slide crank attachment points. A few minutes later I rolled over on the driveway with my phone in my pocket. Crunch! My main intent was to keep water from the road and insects out. I'd take photos of the through frame slide mechanisms but my trailer is at the GD factory right now.

  3. #13
    Site Sponsor Gronk1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MickieK View Post
    No, the patch doesn't impede the tube at all. It just seals up the hole. We were wondering if the factory might have forgotten to put some kind of covering around it or something. The hole is so large & being right by the wheel would let in a lot of water, or possibly animals.
    My 310 has the gaps also. I think all Solitudes do. Closed mine up with spare floor mat rubber last year
    Paul, Sue & Wonder Dog Zane
    '18 Solitude 310 GK
    "15 F-350 6.7, DRW, CC

  4. #14
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    Hi everyone! I'm going to chime in on this thread, about sealing up the various holes around the RV rig.
    I have a 2015 Reflection 308bhts unit, and it has been sitting on a Seasonal Site since day one,just after I purchased it. And let me tell you...You will want to seal up every single source of entry, if you want to keep critters & insects from making your home, into their home!
    It truly amazes me how & why the factory doesn't seal up the openings that come through the frames, for the slide out actuators and other devices?
    If you don't seal these up, it's basically a "convenient bridge" for any mice, chipmunks, small squirrels to gain entry into the underbelly of your rig, while the slide is open or closed! I used 1/8" thick black ABS plastic, cut the holes where needed, cut a slice in the plastic plate, from the edge to the hole, so that the plastic could be twisted & installed over the actuator rods to be Gorilla taped in place. These covers don't affect the operation of the slide outs.

    Another HUGE ACCESS is the front nose cap of the travel trailer!! Chipmunks just LOVE this access point! They jump up on the A-frame, walk over where the front cap overhangs the A-frame, and jump up on the rough, unfinished fiberglass interior side of the nose cap, and run straight up to the attic of the RV! Don't ask me how I know this...just take my word for it!
    There is a wide open area that goes the full width of the RV, between the fiberglass nose cap, and the "finished box" of your RV. Why isn't this area sealed off at the factory, is beyond me too?

    ** Grand Design Management, if your reading this post - I ask you how or why do you let these things happen? Especially the lower front nose cap area! The whole nose cap has no barrier to stop small critters from gaining access to the attic!

    Anyways, maybe for air to circulate within the attic would be my first guess? This "Design Flaw" is on ALL Grand Design Travel Trailer Models, not Fifth Wheels. Other TT Mfgs. don't have this huge, wide opening where the nose cap is supposed to meet the finished box areas? That's why I consider this a "Design Flaw" or a HUGE Oversight on Grand Design's behalf! Maybe I'm wrong?
    But if you own a Grand Design TT, I ask that you grab a flashlight and a tarp, and go crawl under the front of your rig - look up under there, and behind the lower area of nose cap, as see for yourself what I'm trying talking about!
    Stick your arm up there, see how far you can go up into that area, before you hit something. I caution you to be careful while sticking your arm up there, as the fiberglass is very rough & unfinished, and could possibly cut or scratch you up!
    But if Grand Design just would've sealed or blocked this area off, and not left it wide open...I wouldn't be telling you about this situation.
    To seal this area off...chicken coop wire fencing (Small opening style), and Gorilla tape is your friend. It can be cut with basic tin snips, to desired widths & lengths, and be easily bent to the desired shapes needed for installation. It takes time & lots of patience to do this. But since I've done this...knock on wood....not one chipmunk has gotten up into the attic on my TT.

    Another opening that critters can gain access - is where the spare tire mounts up, under the RV. Especially if something is stored under that spare tire, like let's say a Waste Tote Wagon for instance.
    The critters (field mice) would get on top of the tote, and they would jump up on to the tire, and then gain access into the underbelly, by going in through the coroplast (sp?) that has a Huge Hole in it for the cable & winch assembly, that holds the spare tire in place.
    For this modification - I cut sections on 3/4" pipe insulation, in half, and about 10" long. Place the pieces around the tires outer diameter, where the tire touches the coroplast, and Gorilla taped the sections in place, all the way around the tires outer diameter. In some areas of the tire to coroplast contact, I believe the the critters could push their way through? Try it. If you can insert your finger(s) in between any the contact areas, they'll get through it!
    And I also cut some chicken coop wire mesh, the diameter of the wheel (rim), and Gorilla taped that into place too.

    So...the moral of this story...Gorilla Tape, Chicken Coop Wire Fencing, ABS Plastic Sheet Panels, and Pipe Insulation are my Best Friends!! Especially the Gorilla Tape!
    Mice & Chipmunks....not so much!!

    But it's a MUST if your rig is on a seasonal site, to go over your RV, and seal off every point of entry that you can find! This includes rigs that in storage lots too.
    Every Grand Design TT in our campground that are Seasonal campers, has had these Modifications done to them. Everyone has learned from my mistakes, and Grand Designs short comings.

    Sorry that I don't have any pictures, as I tried to explain these modifications as clearly as I could.
    I'm a newbie to this site, and as I was just checking out this site, I stumbled upon this thread, about sealing up the holes for the slide-outs. Do it! Take the time to do all of them that you can find!

    Good Luck to all! Happy Camping in 2019!! Our Seasonal site opens in about a month...can't wait!! Hopefully I'm critter-free in 2019?!?!
    I hope some of my tips can help somebody avoid the misery that I've endured, trying to keep the critters on the outside, where they belong!
    Sincerely, Djohn

    * P.S. - One more Tip!! For anybody that has a slide-out on their Rig (Most of us do), go look underneath your slide-out's, and in the 2 corners in each of the slide-out's there is a foam & rubber corner pieces, to seal off the opening.
    Look closely for evidence of chewed marks in the foam! And make sure that they are still even there. As these foam pieces are molded to a plastic plate, and that plate is screwed into the corners of the slide-out.
    If the screws are over torqued (They probably are), it can crack or fatigue the plastic, and they could break off, and you wouldn't even know it...unless you looked for it.
    I took some Sriracha Hot Sauce and a couple of dashes of Ghost Pepper powder, mixed some up in a small bowl, and applied the sauce to the foam corner pieces, and surrounding areas with a Plumber's Flux brush.
    I do this at the start of every camping season now. I haven't noticed any further chewing since then!
    Last edited by djohn178; 03-27-2019 at 04:50 PM.

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