Referring now to the drawings, mobile living quarters, such as the fifth wheel recreational vehicle generally indicated at 10, includes side walls 12 and a ceiling wall 14. The mobile living quarters 10 is mounted on wheels 16 for transport. An aperture 18 is provided in one of the side walls 14 and slidably receives a slide-out room 20. The side walls 12 and ceiling wall 14 cooperate to define a main living area generally indicated by the numeral 22. The slide-out room includes side walls 24, a ceiling wall 26, and a front wall 28. As known to those skilled in the art, the slide-out room 20 is mounted for movement through the aperture 18, so that it may be retracted into the main living quarters 22 when the unit is transported, but can be extended from the main living quarters when the unit is parked for use, thereby providing auxiliary living space. The slide-out room 20 includes a flange 30 extending around the side walls 24 and ceiling wall 26 at the front wall 28 and another flange 32 extending around the side walls 24 and ceiling wall 26 at the ends thereof opposite the ends joined to the front wall 28. The side walls 24, ceiling wall 26 and front wall 28 cooperate to define an auxiliary living area 34, which is available for use when the unit is parked and the slide-out room 20 is moved to the extended position.
It is necessary to assure that moisture, dirt, debris, etc. be prevented from entering the living quarters. Accordingly, bulb seals are mounted around the aperture on the exterior surface and the interior surface of the side wall 12 adjacent the aperture 20, and a wiper seal engages the side walls 24 and ceiling wall 26 of the slide out room to wipe against the walls as the slide out room extends and retracts. Preferably, the seal is made continuously, so that an appropriate length can be cut off and installed.
The seal assembly generally indicated by the numeral 35 includes a pair of longitudinal attachment members 36, 38, which are connected by a longitudinal connecting member 40, which extends over the transverse edge 42 of the sidewall 12. Bulb seals 44, 46 are manufactured separately and attached to their corresponding attachment members 36 and 38, as will be hereinafter described. To facilitate installation of the seal assembly 35 on the unit 10, a strip of double sided adhesive tape 48, one side of which is adhesively connected to the side of attachment member 38 which lies against the outside surface 50 of the wall 12, and is sufficient to loosely position attachment member 36 against the inside surface 52 of the wall 12 and the connecting member 40 over the transverse edge 42. The outside of the tape 48 is covered with a paper backing, which is stripped away to expose the adhesive just before the attachment member 38 is applied against the outside surface 50 to thereby hold the seal assembly 35 in place.
The seal assembly 35 is later firmly attached to the corresponding inside and outside surfaces 52 and 50 by appropriate fasteners, such as screws or nails, after the bulb seals 44, 46 are installed on the attachment members 36 and 38, such that the fasteners are driven through the bulb seals 44 and 46, the corresponding attachment members 36 and 38, and into the wall 14. Wiper seals 54 extend from the connecting portion 40 and are adapted to flex against the side walls 24 and ceiling wall 26 of the slide-out room 20 during extension and retraction of the latter.
Different manufacturers of mobile living quarters manufacture the sidewalls thereof from different materials and thus the sidewalls of different manufacturers are of different thicknesses. However, it is clearly desirable that the number of different variations of the seal assembly 35 that must be manufactured be minimized. Accordingly, an accordion pleat 56 extends along the length of the connecting member 40 to permit the width of the connecting member 40 to be adjusted, to thereby accommodate walls of varying thicknesses, as illustrated in
In
Each of the attachment members 36, 38 are provided with a pair of longitudinal, parallel rails 64, 66 which cooperate with the body of the body of the corresponding attachment member 36 or 38 to define a corresponding pair of grooves 68, 70. Each of the bulb seals are formed with a pair of longitudinal, parallel, inwardly projecting tabs 72, 74 that project toward one another and are received within a corresponding one of the grooves 68 or 70 when the bulb seals 44, 46 are installed on the attachment members 36 and 38. The bulb seals are sufficiently flexible that they may be flexed during installation on the attachment member to cause the tabs 72, 74 to be received within their corresponding grooves 68 or 70. Alternatively, the bulb seals may be installed upon the attachment members by sliding the bulb seals over the ends of the rails 64, 66 and then sliding the bulb seals along the rails. After the bulb seals are properly positioned on their corresponding attachment member, fasteners (not shown), such as screws or nails, may be driven through the bulb seals and their corresponding attachment members and then into the side wall 12. It will be remembered that prior to installation of the fasteners, the seal assembly 35 is temporarily loosely secured by the tape 48.