Best slide out toppers

[wesaysoracing]

I’m thinking about putting Slide toppers on, looking to find out the pros and cons of the different brands out there,

[chuckster57]

IMO, carefree are the best. The brackets don’t bend, and if money isn’t a factor the “ascent” series is top notch.

[JRTJH]

You may have some issues with installing a slide cover on the curbside slide. That slide has a small awning already mounted on the upper part of the slide that sits where the slide cover mounts will be installed. Then, the main awning (over the entry door) rear arm rides "right next to that slide". As such, there's not enough room to install a slide cover and still keep the clearance to extend the main awning.

There are some "work-around installations" that can "sort of work OK". But, there is not a "straight forward easy solution" to put three objects in the same place at the same time.....

Do some "critical assessments" before you order $1500 worth of slide covers and then your dealer (or whoever is going to install them) gives you a call saying, "Hey, could you stop by, we need to discuss a small problem with you"....

[wesaysoracing]

Is this the problem you’re talking about

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by wesaysoracing

Is this the problem you’re talking about

A topper can be mounted on that slide but they will have to be PRECISE about placement and when they mount the brackets they might hit the wiring for the awning...Ask me how I know

[wesaysoracing]

Let me guess you found some wiring, will come on out and I will let you put mine on for me, I might even hold the umbrella to keep the freezing rain sleet and snow off of you today

[chuckster57]

Thanks for the offer

I think Ill stay here in the 40 degree foggy weather.

[wesaysoracing]

Is this the precise alignment you were talking about

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by wesaysoracing

Is this the precise alignment you were talking about

Thats part of it. The wiring is the other part. IF you get lucky and dont hit any wiring, then you have to shift the topper to clear the awning arm and it may not cover the slide box. BTDT too.

[jasin1]

This is what I have …you can see the dinette awning doesn’t leave a whole lot of room to attach the topper arms but most importantly….the entrance door awning is so close to the dinette slide that you can’t have the usual 4” overhang on the dinette slide closest to the entry door.
Etrailer recommends buying the next size smaller slide topper and keeping it flush on the entrance door side and overhang the opposite side.

This doesn’t fully protect the dinette slide.
I also read where this requires the topper bracket on the door side to be placed inside of its usual recommended location and that the topper would not be fully over the bracket rod but should be enough..this prevents the bracket from hitting the door awning…or maybe it was that the topper itself would be moved over and the bracket in same location…either way the topper would be offset on the roller bracket

At least that’s what I can remember

[chuckster57]

If you look you can see the slide awning arm is higher than where the topper bracket would go. We would mount the bracket on the flange and use the slideroom framing as the backer, again lots of manufacturers use the hollow of the frame for the awning wiring.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wesaysoracing

Is this the precise alignment you were talking about

And this is what it would look like from your picture…flush with that slide out but this was doesn’t have a dinette awning…pic#8

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Thats part of it. The wiring is the other part. IF you get lucky and dont hit any wiring, then you have to shift the topper to clear the awning arm and it may not cover the slide box. BTDT too.

I’m probably gonna get them this year…I figure the shade protection alone on the dinette slide is worth it even if it doesn’t protect against rain as much on the door side

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

If you look you can see the slide awning arm is higher than where the topper bracket would go. We would mount the bracket on the flange and use the slideroom framing as the backer, again lots of manufacturers use the hollow of the frame for the awning wiring.

Do you guys use silicone or epoxy on the bracket screws?

[chuckster57]

nothing on the screws. Butyl tape on the bracket.

[77cruiser]

If you have them shipped to you , hope you have better luck than I did.


This was the the best out of 3.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

nothing on the screws. Butyl tape on the bracket.

Got it …thanks

[chuckster57]

Previous dealership used Sika Flex on the back side of the brackets.

[JRTJH]

I used SikaFlex one time as a sealant. It's just a tad bit "too permanent" for me. When I needed to remove the tail lights that I used them on, it literally pulled the fibers out of the FILON rear wall. It became an event where I was using a razor blade to cut the SikaFlex to keep from pulling chips of FILON off the wall.

That was my last time with SikaFlex as a sealant... It's more a "permanent adhesive" and works well for that, but if you think you might ever need to remove or adjust the parts, don't install them with SikaFlex !!!!!

Butyl putty tape gives the "best of both worlds"... It seals to keep the area waterproof, but if you do have to take things apart, it's not going to force you to destroy things to get them separated.....

[stevencina]

I installed a Solara topper on my 2020 cougar 30rls on the slide out with an awning, It worked fine no problems, Also added Solara toppers to the other 2 slideouts.