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Old 04-08-2020, 01:08 PM   #1
Doug and Rachel
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Adding a slide topper

Hello all! We currently have a 2019 Cougar 26RBS and we are thinking about adding a slide topper. Do you folks have any suggestions on a good slide topper? also since our trailer is in storage I was wondering if anyone knew the length of the slide???
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Old 04-08-2020, 01:20 PM   #2
chuckster57
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Welcome to the forum.

There are lots of choices when it comes to toppers, and there is a wide range of prices. You need to spend some time looking on the WWW, and decide what looks the best to you and the price. If money isn’t an issue, I would Carefree Ascent.
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Old 04-20-2020, 07:50 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug and Rachel View Post
Hello all! We currently have a 2019 Cougar 26RBS and we are thinking about adding a slide topper. Do you folks have any suggestions on a good slide topper? also since our trailer is in storage I was wondering if anyone knew the length of the slide???
Doug

We had a similar model TT and had a Carefree topper installed by ShadePro. Loved the topper. And I don't think this can be overstated... You need to go measure your slide box you want to cover. Check for clearance, and consider adding up to 2 inches overhang to each side (4 inches wider than your box).

Just my 2-cents
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Old 04-21-2020, 12:27 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug and Rachel View Post
Hello all! We currently have a 2019 Cougar 26RBS and we are thinking about adding a slide topper. Do you folks have any suggestions on a good slide topper? also since our trailer is in storage I was wondering if anyone knew the length of the slide???
Mine is right outside the door, so... 35", exterior surface to exterior surface.

EDIT: That's more correctly the depth, I guess. If you're asking about the front to back length, the box is 142.5", with an extra 3.5" lip on each end.

On my last rig, when the topper degraded (2011), I replaced it with a Tough Top Awning because I liked the 5-year warranty. The topper still looked perfect when we sold the rig at the end of 2018. If we decided to add one to our current rig, we would happily consider them again.
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Old 04-27-2020, 04:42 PM   #5
GiantMike
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Proper measurement process?

I liked the tip about +2” overhang add on per side (+4” total)

Question is .. my slide out is 151” outside lip edge to outside lip edge. I should be looking at a 155” or greater topper then?

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Old 04-28-2020, 02:06 AM   #6
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Does your Cougar have the factory installed awning rails above the slides? If so this will determine the width unless you intend on changing them out. The factory installed rails are installed into the aluminum headers above the slide.
A good dealer will customize the width to utilize the full width of the factory awning rail.
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Old 04-28-2020, 05:02 AM   #7
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I put Dometics on our 5er's four slides last year. To order them, dealers will have a guide as to what size fits each slide's dimension. Most of these toppers will extend a small amout past the ends - the brackets that mount on the sldes will give you a bit of leeway but not a lot so they maintain alignment. I cannot recommend any size but what a manufacturer says.

Awning rails were supplied with ours and are fairly easy to install with about ten thousand (or so it seems) screws each. You really need to predrill the holes even though the supplied screws are slf drilling

There are three usual suppliers - Dometic, Carefree of Colorado and Solera (LCI). Pricing - depends on your seller but MSRP is about the same. Quality - probably about the same. We are very happy with the Dometics plus if I need any repair pieces which so far, haven't are easily found
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Old 04-28-2020, 09:01 AM   #8
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There's a "tad more to consider" than just having 2" overhang on each end of the slide box....

First, the awning rail that's installed over the slide, on Cougars, it's also a gutter, sometimes with a slide rail, sometimes without. You can't (shouldn't) install a slide cover that hangs out either end of the awning rail, so if ordering a slide cover longer than the existing awning rail, you'll also need to remove/reinstall a longer awning rail on the side of the trailer.

Second, the "rod attachment brackets" that mount onto the slide wall and the "rods that hold the roller tube to the bracket" usually have a "few inches" of adjustability... Remember that the bracket sits "INSIDE" the top/side molding that's usually 4" (8" total for both ends of the slide). So "adding inches" to the slide fabric also "adds inches" to the bracket rod extension. So, if you already have 8" in "mechanical length" added AND you add 4" in "additional fabric length" you've actually added 12" of overall length "beyond the attachment brackets.

Carefree Awning company has an "online worksheet" in which you select the slide cover model, then insert the slide roof length OR the flange space (from one end of the slide to the other end of the slide) and select bracket height, (tall or short). There is a 7.9" width allowance with either measurement selection (roof width or flange width).

https://www.e-carefree.com/ecarefree...=48&action=cfg

If you want "metal roller covers" the above worksheet will not be the same. You'll need to go to the Carefree Awning website and select the slide cover type that you want.

I'd be concerned that if your slide width (roof or flange) is on the "lower end of the worksheet measurements and you "go up one size, you might be "too long for the bracket rods to fit the roller tube and still engage the brackets.

So, do the worksheet and see what you come up with "BEFORE" adding inches for extra width. Adding that extra 4" of width (to get 2" overhang on each side may mean the awning won't fit the gutter rail and/or the rods won't fit the brackets to hole the roller tube to the slide wall.
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Old 04-28-2020, 09:46 AM   #9
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And don’t forget about the main awning arms. I have installed numerous toppers that end up uneven to clear an awning arm.
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Old 04-28-2020, 09:56 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
And don’t forget about the main awning arms. I have installed numerous toppers that end up uneven to clear an awning arm.
Quite true !!! And, if you've added 4" of extra fabric, upsized to the next length "standard build" AND need to reposition "to clear an awning arm" you may find that one mounting bracket/rod is "all the way in" and the other one won't reach the second hole on the bracket, so it "just wobbles around".... That's when it's time to either "void the warranty and cut the roller tube" or "say oops" and send the whole thing back and order the right size..... BTDT, tee shirt, poster, ball cap and "congratulatory trophy".....
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Old 04-28-2020, 01:27 PM   #11
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Does your Cougar have the factory installed awning rails above the slides? If so this will determine the width unless you intend on changing them out. The factory installed rails are installed into the aluminum headers above the slide.
How is someone supposed to know? Is this a visible thing, or just a beefing up of a mounting point underneath the skin?
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Old 04-28-2020, 05:52 PM   #12
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Well boy. I didn't mean to stir the pot with my suggestion to add 2 inches wider than the slide out roof.

Just to clarify. Mine was installed on a cougar half ton. It did have a factory rain gutter rail. But the care free of Colorado installer installed a rail just below it and slid the fabric into their own rail. It did not interfere with the factory rain drip rail.

Also Carefree does not use rods as mentioned above. At least not the model I chose. Ours was an aluminum can with an aluminum cover. The mounting brackets screwed onto the upper corners of the slide and the can "clipped" into place. Not that you would want to, but the can could stick out 2-feet on either side if you wanted it to, provided you screwed in a rail long enough to account for that.

Remember, it's only a suggestion. If it doesn't fit your needs, then ignore it. I was only trying to be helpful and pass along what a professional installer told me, and did for us.

Mike
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Old 04-28-2020, 06:25 PM   #13
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Mike, now you know how Prison riots get started.
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Old 04-28-2020, 06:26 PM   #14
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Here's the Carefree of Colorado installation instructions: https://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/d...all-Manual.pdf

Photos of two (Lippert Solara and Carefree of Colorado) slideout covers depicting the mounting bars.

While there are "other styles" there is also a significant consideration that not all "just add a few inches" will work for many (maybe even most) RV applications...
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Old 04-28-2020, 07:03 PM   #15
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Mike, now you know how Prison riots get started.

Now that’s a good one!!!!

Off topic and no offense AT ALL taken. I’ve been in the middle of 2. First one was 700 inmates, a can of pepper spray and a whistle...,second one 350 inmates a couple months later. I’ll fight installation of a topper any day!!!
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Old 04-28-2020, 07:50 PM   #16
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Mike, now you know how Prison riots get started.
Well said. 👍
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Old 04-29-2020, 02:54 AM   #17
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How is someone supposed to know? Is this a visible thing, or just a beefing up of a mounting point underneath the skin?
The other morning the dew conditions were just right and I could see the entire aluminum skeleton under the siding. I took special note that the drip/awning rails above the slides were attached high on the aluminum headers. The header above the small slide had a double tube header and the large slides have a triple tube header. I always wished the rails were attached higher to provide more drainage slope, but now I understand why they are attached where they are.

On the right the mornings I often go skeleton looking, the best I have seen is on a Newmar Mountain Air 5th wheel. There are a lot of stud's and most are angle braced at the bottom. When you get to the ultra light's the framing around the windows is missing.
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