Replacing weatherstripping in sliding windows

[Melody beachcomber]

Help! Have any of you replaced the pile weather stripping around your sliding windows? I think I have the correct weather stripping 🤞🏽but clueless how to begin.... and end. Do the windows pop out so I can work on it? Everything is original on mine so the windows aren’t sliding well. Would also like to do the window on the door which is bad, haven’t been able to open it.

I have a 77 beachcomber.

Thanks!

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Melody beachcomber

Help! Have any of you replaced the pile weather stripping around your sliding windows? I think I have the correct weather stripping ����but clueless how to begin.... and end. Do the windows pop out so I can work on it? Everything is original on mine so the windows aren’t sliding well. Would also like to do the window on the door which is bad, haven’t been able to open it.

I have a 77 beachcomber.

Thanks!

Are you talking about the channel weather stripping that the glass pane slides inside of? That material has its own name that it is know by ...flexible glass run channel. If so then theoretically you can pull the old piece out and slide in the new piece, but that is just in theory, all bets are off when you have to do it on a vintage RV.


.....If only it had been that simple on my circa 1971 Campster sliding windows. The original seal was fuzzy stuff over a wound wire core. The wire was badly rusted and the fuzz stuff had hardened. The glass would not even move one inch backwards or forwards. I took the window out of the RV, I soaked it in the tub overnight and could finally move the glass but could not get out the old channel felt. The only way to remove it was to take the window apart. So I laid it flat on a table that was padded with towels. next I took off the center bars. Then I drilled the rivets out of the frame that joined the ends of the frame together. Next I used a spreader bar clamp to gently pry the frame open just enough so that I could remove the glass panes. You have to be careful not to deform the frame, go slow, take it easy when spreading the frame apart, it likely only needs to move a couple of inches apart at the join. Once the glass was out I scraped out the old channel material and scrubbed and cleaned and scraped for what seemed like hours to get it all out of there. Then you can put the new material into the track. Put the panes back in. Then I reversed the head on the bar clamp so that it could pull the frame back together. The hardest part was getting new rivets installed. I had to put set a metal spacer onto the nose of the rivet puller so it became narrow enough to reach into the area of the frame so that it could pull a rivet tight. After pulling it the tail of the rivet was a little too long so I carefully trimmed it back using a Dremel motor leaving just enough bulge so that it was still securing the pieces together. Put the vertical center bars back on using new clear silicone seals on those bars to keep out water, dust bugs, etc. Then put the window back into the hole using butyl putty tape. The next window was much easier as I had by then figured out a method of getting the job done.

The original seal on the exterior vertical center bars that seals the gap between the glass panes was no longer available. I found a silicone seal meant to be a wiper at the botttom of a shower door. It was just the right size for the job. I also put it on the interior vertical center bar instead of the original fuzzy felt seal. You need these seals to keep out rain, dirt, bugs, etc. This is what I purchased from Amazon for those seal strips, $6.00, free shipping. I had to get two pieces as each of the 4 vertical bar seal pieces was just fractionally over 16" long on my trailer windows.
CRL Translucent Shower Door Vinyl "T" Seal and Sweep for 7/16" Maximum Gap - 32-5/8 in long

This is the 24" spreader clamp I used to gently pry the frame apart and then pull it back together. You don't need the exact same brand. https://www.doitbest.com/products/317963

[mary and bob]

Some Uhaul camper owners have found that they could slide out the old channel liner and slide in the new without removing the glass.However nobody has yet found a direct replacement for the channel liner for the Uhaul windows. The closest part available has to be trimmed at the bottom edges. I believe it is CR Laurence that has a sample ring of channel liners and as I recall it has at least a few dozen variations.

[Melody beachcomber]

Ugh! Nothing is simple! Lol

I can’t imagine sliding out current pile strip and sliding in new stuff with the windows in place. Especially by myself.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Melody beachcomber

Ugh! Nothing is simple! Lol

I can’t imagine sliding out current pile strip and sliding in new stuff with the windows in place. Especially by myself.

Because your windows are stuck you will not be able to slide the seal out at present, you have to open the sliding side to do that. So the first thing you have to do is get the pane to slide back and forth. Then you could try removing the old seal and sliding in a new one. You really don't need two people to slide those seals in and out, it can be managed by one woman...if they are in good enough condition to slide out.


You could try and do this job but it does not have to be a DIY project . You could take the windows out and take them to a window glass repair company and let them replace the seal. ....Or even take the trailer to them and let them deal with it all. Have them replace all the various seals including removing the windows and putting in new butyl mounting tape. That way your windows will be less likely to develop leaks for a lot more years. Since they might need to order parts it could be there a few days. With that choice you won't have to hunt down the parts yourself. Getting the windows well sealed is a worthwhile investment and an essential one.


So make your choice...DIY or outside help.

[Melody beachcomber]

Originally Posted by k corbin

Because your windows are stuck you will not be able to slide the seal out at present, you have to open the sliding side to do that. So the first thing you have to do is get the pane to slide back and forth. Then you could try removing the old seal and sliding in a new one. You really don't need two people to slide those seals in and out, it can be managed by one woman...if they are in good enough condition to slide out.


You could try and do this job but it does not have to be a DIY project . You could take the windows out and take them to a window glass repair company and let them replace the seal. ....Or even take the trailer to them and let them deal with it all. Have them replace all the various seals including removing the windows and putting in new butyl mounting tape. That way your windows will be less likely to develop leaks for a lot more years. Since they might need to order parts it could be there a few days. With that choice you won't have to hunt down the parts yourself. Getting the windows well sealed is a worthwhile investment and an essential one.


So make your choice...DIY or outside help.

Thank you!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=WZRliDdzfMM

Does the above link work? Think this is what I’d need to do.

Unfortunately, my trailer is stored at a lake resort village 3.5 hrs away. No plans to drive it to a large enough Centre to have work done in the next year.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Melody beachcomber

Thank you!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=WZRliDdzfMM

Does the above link work? Think this is what I’d need to do.

Unfortunately, my trailer is stored at a lake resort village 3.5 hrs away. No plans to drive it to a large enough Centre to have work done in the next year.

Yes that is the method. Unfortunately he is showing it being done with fresh new seals on a relatively new windows. No way will it come close to being that easy with old seals.



One suggestion, the way I freed up my sliding windows was to use spray on shower wall cleaner, saturating the seals and then let it sit for a few days. The shower cleaner helps break up the hard water mineral residue that is contributing to your windows being bound up. It is worth a try as a first effort. Some others on this forum used it at my suggestion and also got their windows to slide in the channel. But I still had to replace the seals as they were beyond hope.

[Melody beachcomber]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll try it.

The only window that won’t slide is on the door. The side windows work. Thanks for letting me know the name of what I’m actually looking for to replace. My beachcomber channels are skinny. Maybe 3/8” would work. Tried looking on Amazon. Think I’ll be better off going to RV supply store first go round to better make sure I’ve got the best match.

[Melody beachcomber]

Rv suppliers in my area are no help. Bought 3/8 from Amazon and it’s huge. Unfortunately it came after my trip to trailer last week.