Toppers needed?

LeeMedic · 03-20-2013, 07:49 AM

It looks like we will be moving up to a 2013 Montana 3582RL. I asked our salesman about putting slide out toppers on it and he said he did not think the toppers would fit on it and that they are not necessary.

Is this true?

Festus2 · 03-20-2013, 08:03 AM

I haven't heard of anyone who isn't satisfied with their slide toppers (but that doesn't mean that there aren't people out there who don't like them). We're very happy with ours.

The only problem that you might experience is the flapping and resulting noise when it gets very windy. Other than that, I think they provide added protection to your slide, its roof and reduces the likelihood of slide leaks.

Not sure why the salesman said that they wouldn't fit. You can get them in various lengths to suit the length of your slide.

**JRTJH** · 03-20-2013, 08:18 AM

LeeMedic,

The salesman may be concerned that there's not enough clearance between the entry door and the dining slide on the curb side. The awning mounts between the door and the slide and there may not be enough room to mount the awning slide there also. There is another thread concerning this type of issue on an Alpine. Turbopilot51 just had issues with this and posted pictures of the installation of his slide topper. There was some concern whether it would fit as well. Check out his thread to see if that may be what your salesman is concerned about..... http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9653

As for not being necessary, if they were "absolutely necessary" they factory would install them on every RV, so no, they're not "necessary" but they do provide benefits that aren't present without them. As such, yes, for some people, they are a nice option that they wouldn't want to be without. For others, they would prefer to spend the money on other things they feel are more important. So, I'd say, not necessary, but nice to have if you think you need them. Hmmmm, that just got confusing even to me LOL

rclark · 03-20-2013, 08:47 AM

Toppers do help prevent foreign objects (leaves, twigs etc) and protect the roofing material on the slide from the elements. We put them on our Everest, but probably wont put them on our new Alpine.

To me benefits do not outweigh the costs. Lot factors get involved, like how much do you have the slides out. If you are a full timer and the slides are out most of the time, it is something I would think about. If you camp in the woods and there are lots of leaves, fir needles etc you might want them.

Otherwise there maybe other items to spend your money on. My 2 cents. Enjoy your upgrade to the Montana.

byrdr1 · 03-20-2013, 10:38 AM

I am one of those in the boat of glad I got them.
We have camped in the woods at local state parks and in spring and fall debris gets on the slideouts. It is getting hard for me to get it off before closing the slide in on the one slide on the TT. So with the toppers I have eliminated that factor. also on a 12 foot high camper getting the 3 slides clean would be a major problem. Worth the extra 900.00 I paid for all 3 installed.
JMHO
randy

LeeMedic · 03-20-2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

LeeMedic,

The salesman may be concerned that there's not enough clearance between the entry door and the dining slide on the curb side. The awning mounts between the door and the slide and there may not be enough room to mount the awning slide there also. There is another thread concerning this type of issue on an Alpine. Turbopilot51 just had issues with this and posted pictures of the installation of his slide topper. There was some concern whether it would fit as well. Check out his thread to see if that may be what your salesman is concerned about..... http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9653

As for not being necessary, if they were "absolutely necessary" they factory would install them on every RV, so no, they're not "necessary" but they do provide benefits that aren't present without them. As such, yes, for some people, they are a nice option that they wouldn't want to be without. For others, they would prefer to spend the money on other things they feel are more important. So, I'd say, not necessary, but nice to have if you think you need them. Hmmmm, that just got confusing even to me LOL

The concern of the salesman was that the slides are so tall now, that there would not be enough distance between the top of the slider and the roof. I looked at the photos of the Alpine, and it did look close at one point, but it was workable. My salesman is going to check into it again tomorrow.

Hopefully we will accept delivery next Friday.

geo · 03-20-2013, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeMedic

The concern of the salesman was that the slides are so tall now, that there would not be enough distance between the top of the slider and the roof. I looked at the photos of the Alpine, and it did look close at one point, but it was workable. My salesman is going to check into it again tomorrow.

Hopefully we will accept delivery next Friday.

Leemedic -
We had toppers factory installed on our Alpine and were very pleased with them. We also had them installed on our new fiver which has taller slides than the Alpine, and again are very happy. Sounds like a lazy salesman.

Ron

Terry W. · 03-20-2013, 02:31 PM

Well LeeMedic we also moved up from a 300KBS to a fiver. We got a Avalance with 4 slides and had the toppers put on as part of the deal, saved sales tax that way. I feel there are needed. no cleaning of the slide before closing the slides and the extra protection during rain.

fredetteb · 03-21-2013, 07:23 AM

We've owned 3 different 5ers and have and toppers on all 3. Our latest, a 2009 Raptor 3602, did not come with them. We added them when we bought the unit last year. I can't imagine having a camper with slide rooms and not having some type of cover over them. They keep debris and rain off the slide room, and in turn out of the camper when you close the rooms.

I cannot address the fitment issue though I would think that the proper sized topper would fit your unit.

raytronx · 03-21-2013, 03:06 PM

I only have one slide and can climb pretty well so it's not an issue to clean off the slide, so far there hasn't been any abnormal wear or leaks without them.

I've talked to a few folks who lost all there toppers when a big wind came up in the desert so that's something to consider if you think you may be camping in windy areas. Also they could be noisy flapping in the wind.

I'm sure they are nice if camped under trees a lot.

Ray

LeeMedic · 03-21-2013, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry W.

Well LeeMedic we also moved up from a 300KBS to a fiver. We got a Avalance with 4 slides and had the toppers put on as part of the deal, saved sales tax that way. I feel there are needed. no cleaning of the slide before closing the slides and the extra protection during rain.

We loved our 300 KBS, but decided we needed to get further off the ground! LOL

Just purchased a 2006 Ford F350 diesel dually that already had a Curt 20K 5th wheel hitch installed.

So found a 2013 Montana we really liked and got a pretty good deal on it so we jumped. Our delivery will be next weekend.

Our salesman got back to us today and said the the toppers would work and gave a quote of $1800 for the 3 sliders.

**JRTJH** · 03-21-2013, 08:30 PM

If the toppers he's quoting are the standard "vinyl" wrapped toppers, $1800 sounds a bit high. You might want to just check CW's catalog for pricing, just to make sure. If they are the "aluminum" wrapped toppers, then that price is at the very high end of what I've seen for installed pricing.

Festus2 · 03-21-2013, 08:56 PM

I agree with JRTJH that $1800 seems quite high for 3 toppers. Might be an idea to get some other quotes if you have other dealerships in the area or go online to CW or some other RV retailer and cost them out there.

byrdr1 · 03-22-2013, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by byrdr1

Worth the extra $900.00 I paid for all 3 installed.
JMHO
randy

$1800 installed...

REPOSTING THIS PRICE for my toppers installed and they are the Carefree slide awnings/covers. two are over or at least 12 foot long and then the queen bed slide out topper.

turbopilot51 · 03-22-2013, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

LeeMedic,

The salesman may be concerned that there's not enough clearance between the entry door and the dining slide on the curb side. The awning mounts between the door and the slide and there may not be enough room to mount the awning slide there also. There is another thread concerning this type of issue on an Alpine. Turbopilot51 just had issues with this and posted pictures of the installation of his slide topper. There was some concern whether it would fit as well. Check out his thread to see if that may be what your salesman is concerned about..... http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9653

As for not being necessary, if they were "absolutely necessary" they factory would install them on every RV, so no, they're not "necessary" but they do provide benefits that aren't present without them. As such, yes, for some people, they are a nice option that they wouldn't want to be without. For others, they would prefer to spend the money on other things they feel are more important. So, I'd say, not necessary, but nice to have if you think you need them. Hmmmm, that just got confusing even to me LOL

I would talk to the service manager and not the salesman. Our service manager confirmed that the toppers would fit on the curbside even if they had to modify the topper. Our Alpine came with the rails already mounted above the slides so all that was needed was to mount the toppers. We are taking our rv out this weekend for the first time this year and looking forward to not climbing on the roof to brush off four slides!

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