Slide Toppers

[Festus2]

We are considering buying a slide topper for our 5th wheel. After doing some research on the web, there are some pros and cons with having one. I am looking for some input from you folks who have them on your unit. Specifically, I am interested in finding out:

1) if, in windy conditions, do they flap about and billow causing considerable noise?
2) when there is substantial rain, does water form large pools in the middle and cause it to sag?
3) over time, does the fabric stretch and the spring tension lessen causing it to sag?
4) have you encountered any problems with the brackets and fasteners pulling away from the slideout or the unit because of the spring tension?
5) what about brands...... A&E/Dometic? or Carefree?
6) would you install another one if you were going to do it again?

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks

[Jim W]

When my DW and I bought our first 5er in 07, they were on the 5er by the first owner. Have gone thought Tornado's with them on and heavy rain storms. They did flap a little on the one slide in the tornado but not objectionable. That is another story in itself.
Now to your questions:
1. No, not to us.
2. Yes, they will sag a little in heavy rain. If this is objectionable place a small beach ball under the slider topper. Do not stand next to a slide when they are pulled in, you will get a shower.
3. No, not in the 3 years that we owned the Summit Ridge.
4. No, I did have one middle screw come loose on the topper cover on the side, refasten with no issue.
5.The one on the Summit Ridge was a Carefree of Colorado.
6. Yes, we had the dealer install three of them in the deal. This was after the price was agreed to in order to close the deal on the new 2010 Cougar. I believe these are Dometic. The paper work is in the camper and the 5er is out at the storage lot.

Would not buy and type of camper with a slide without toppers on them. These have been the best way to keep water and debris out of the inside in the 5er.
Jim

[antiqfreq]

We installed our slide toppers ourself back in Nov of 2009. We ordered them from Camping World (No instructions came with them). Ours are the A/E Dometic brand.

Wind can make them flap some, but we are in Arizona now with 'real' winds
and they are fine - noise not annoying to us when we do hear it.
Rain can make the water pool some, but when you close them it pours off and
the 'stretch' resolves itself with the sun shrinking it back up.

No problems installing and all parts are still there.

We would certainly get them again - keeps the 'crud' from getting inside when you close them. Lots of time (since fulltiming 2 months now and seeing LOTS of snow) it keeps the snow/ice from coming inside when you close the slide. --glad we got them-- Otherwise you gotta get up on the roof and clean the snow/ice off before you close the slide. This way you don't!

Good luck,

Jo

[Bob Vaughn]

I have a blow up Air Wedge that I put under mine if I am going to be parked for an extended amount of time to prevent pooling of water...One time I did not and it rained then the water froze. It was still frozen when we put the slide in and the ice took the top layer of the fabric off so we had to get new fabric...:eek:

[camper 2010]

We are staying on the Outter Banks of NC for the winter. The winds here gotten very strong several times. We are using the expandable shower curton rods you twist to install. We have one on each side of the slideout, and just regular awning clamps you would use on any other awning. This keeps it from making any noise even in strong wind. PS. Do not forget to remove the rods before sliding in.

[Seann]

I just installed a Carefree on mine... no flapping yet in the 3 months I have had it (snow bird so I am living in it for the winter) in rain it dumps most of the water but after a storm I just slide in the slideout to dump the rest.. then put it back out...

[jje1960]

I have a blow up Air Wedge that I put under mine if I am going to be parked for an extended amount of time to prevent pooling of water...One time I did not and it rained then the water froze. It was still frozen when we put the slide in and the ice took the top layer of the fabric off so we had to get new fabric...:eek:

Awesome tip here with the wedge. It's looked like a great addition considering all the problems we have had without them. Think this will be the next project before starting the camping year.

[Wolfwalker]

We have them on all three slides on our 5ver. They were there when we bought the trailer. Personally, I like them and would always have them. Main reason is for helping to keep debris off the slides. We have heavy snows and wind most times about 15-35mph with gusts up to 54mph (that's just wyoming). Currently two of them are full of snow and ice and are sagging with weight. However, when it melts they always seem to pop right back up. Sorry, don't know the brand.

[Maxzd]

I have a blow up Air Wedge that I put under mine if I am going to be parked for an extended amount of time to prevent pooling of water...One time I did not and it rained then the water froze. It was still frozen when we put the slide in and the ice took the top layer of the fabric off so we had to get new fabric...:eek:

Interesting Idea, I'm guessing you just found some type of swimming pool air mattress that works or is there a company who makes one specifically for this purpose?

I put two slide awnings on my Cougar 325SRX. One is 156" over the superslide and one on the wardrobe (which I think was 60"). The wardrobe slide I bought at a local dealer, same matching fabric, but it was mis-measured for a custom order. So I got it for less than half of new. Just had to modify the length a little smaller. Almost a waste of an awning for how small the wardrobe actually is but at least I don't have to clean off everytime we are stop and go..

On the big slide I had a similar issue when it rained, water pooled and froze a few days later. I was lucky no issue with the fabric. It snowed a few weeks later so I just decided to give up and put the slide back in. (Just in storage while I upgrade it anyway...)

[Bob Vaughn]

The name of the company is AIR WEDGE and it works great....

[Maxzd]

The name of the company is AIR WEDGE and it works great....

Thanks Bob. Here is their website for people interested.

www.awningairwedge.com

[tocools]

Awsome I guess we will be getting one for our super slideout and a air wedge

[Maxzd]

The name of the company is AIR WEDGE and it works great....

Cool thanks Bob. Found the link to their website for those interested..

https://ssl.perfora.net/www.awningairwedge.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=154d4b950c126fa/shopdata/index.shopscript

[EarlJr]

Bob - can you point me to a source for the blow up Air Wedge you mention?

I have a blow up Air Wedge that I put under mine if I am going to be parked for an extended amount of time to prevent pooling of water...One time I did not and it rained then the water froze. It was still frozen when we put the slide in and the ice took the top layer of the fabric off so we had to get new fabric...:eek:

[KanTC]

EarlJr,

You can order from the Air Wedge website - www.awningairwedge.com - as also posted by Maxzd. ;) I don't know whether or not it's available in retail stores, but hopefully someone else might know.

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot :)

[Bugle Boy]

A couple milk jugs with a string attached works great.

[FlyingBelle]

So I've got a question along the same lines...

We picked up our Bullet 298BHS about a month ago and are taking it out for the maiden voyage this weekend! When we picked it up, we had the dealer install covers on the two slides.

When we got home we noticed that on one of the slide covers, the fabric is bunched a bit. DH assumes this is from the wind going down the highway?

We've opened and closed the slide a few times at our storage area and tried to straighten it out a bit. But it still bunches (on the side closest to the TV)

Anyone else have this issue? Anything we should be concerned about?

[Jim W]

I would take the camper back to the dealer and have them tighten up the toppers and the spring in the unit. The spring is a torsion spring and needs to be adjusted by someone that has worked on a torsion spring unit in the past. Since the topper and camper are new the dealer should fix this for you.

Just my $0.02

Jim W.

[Rusty]

Personally I do not like them as with the spring tension it will eventually pull the bolts out on the brackets attached to the slide.

That has been my own experience with them.

[Shogunles]

I have the Dometic Toppers, and they work great. Better to have them then for me to climb up a ladder to get everything that fell onto the top of the slides before I retract them. Water will pool more if you have a long slide. But never an issue. And I haven't had any noticeable issues with wind.

The issues I have with them is; in order to clean the top of your slide roof with the appropriate amount of elbow grease, you have to remove the topper from one side to expose the roof. I am not about to do that. The toppers do a pretty good job of keeping the roof clean. But you still get mildew. They do protect the roof from UV Rays, which is a plus. Smaller slides, you can simply use a truck brush to clean the roof and get some pressure to get out the tough stains. Longer slides, it is a little but of a challenge.

The other issue is inability to treat the slide's rubber gasket under the topper. I typically use Baby Powder to treat the gasket. Again, to adequately treat it under the topper, you have to remove it. So I just use a Swifter type duster and wipe the powder on with that. It doesn't get it totally treated, but it is better than nothing. And the gasket is not exposed directly to the Sun. IMO, I would not own another TT or 5'er without them. I am happy with them. Hope this helps. Be well!