Which Slideout Topper to Buy?

[USA in a Chevrolet]

My Select Suites came without toppers for the slideouts. I am going to buy toppers. Have any of you bought the toppers with the metal weather guards or the fully enclosed guards & was it worth spending the extra money for these styles of toppers?

[Motor31]

I won't get a topper for my slides. They flap and make noise when it's windy. They also degrade and fall apart after a while due to exposure. They can get loose and collect stuff or rain water rather than shedding it. Take a look around some RV parks and look at a few rigs that have them. I'd bet you don't like the way they look after a while.

[wingnut60]

Mike,
Why would they degrade sooner than a regular awning--aren't they made of the same vinyl or cloth?
Joe

[rdunk]

We had the regular slide topper awnings on all of our slides. We had the suites for 5 years, and never had any problems with them, and they were in the weather 24x7x365.

If we were to buy anther RV, the slides would absolutely all have awnings on top.

First-off, they do provide some shade to the top of the slide, from the direct sunlight. When in sunny/hot areas of the country, that can help with the inside temperature.

Secondly, they pretty much catch whatever would have fallen onto the top of the slides, from above, such as leaves, tree twigs, snow, and etc.. With the toppers, you don't have to worry about sweeping off the top of the slide, before bringing the slide in.

Thirdly, in my opinion, the toppers offer considerable leak protection during hard rains. At least, with the toppers on the slides, the rain does not hit the top of the slide and associated seals directly.

Yes, they do flap some in the wind, and you can hear the flap on the inside. But we were in many very hard winds, but never had a topper awning failure during those five years.

I would guess that most of the people that don't have slide toppers, didn't want them, just because of the extra expense, which is a real consideration. Our MS was our first RV, so, we included the toppers in our order. We never regretted having them, except for a few of the bigger flaps!!! :D :D

[chevman]

Because we had them on another fifthwheel we will never have them again. MH fella asked me to look at his to see what was the problem and the wind had ripped the connection to the MH so the topper was laying on the slide roof. Money spent for no rewards.
chevman

[Carny Bill]

I have had 3 MS and going for another one this summer or fall. I would not consider one without the slide toppers. jmo for what its worth

[Red Ram]

I have had them on my last two 5th wheel trailers. I have the CareFree of Colorado with the metal covers that enclose the fabric when they are in the closed position. I like them, the only down side for me is when I am in a rare wind storm, then they get a little noisy.

[USA in a Chevrolet]

Back to my original post, I have already decided to have them installed. I have had to sweep off the slideouts every where we have gone & had to sweep off water from the slides yesterday when we left Chattanooga to avoid the tornadoes. Ironically, we stopped in Bristol TN last night & saw one tornado & had 7 others touch down around us. 15 people were killed within a few miles of us.

Has anyone ordered the slides with the metal wrap around material like you see on some awnings?

[Motor31]

Mike,
Why would they degrade sooner than a regular awning--aren't they made of the same vinyl or cloth?
Joe

Yes they are similar but seem to have additional plastic coating. That has been the source of some fragments I have seen in several campgrounds.

They degrade faster than an awning because unlike an awning they are out every time the slide it out. That means more exposure to the elements. Take a look around the campground sometime and see the condition of the toppers. You'll see sagging loose ones, some that are flaking and others that are tearing. Unlike a regular awning, when the wind blows you can't roll up the topper, it stays out with the slide.

There are also lots of instances where folks are looking for a solution for the ones that tend to capture water and debris on top of them, enhancing the sag. in the 10 minute tech section of the magazine Trailer Life, I've seen examples of home made PVC pipe assemblies to help put a peak in the topper to get it to shed what ever falls on it. In addition you have to be careful that debris does not get caught under the topper on top of the slide when you retract it. That means having a broom like tool to sweep under the topper while standing on something like a ladder to let you get it under there. It's one thing to go on the roof to sweep debris like leaves and twigs from the top of the slide roof but with the topper you have to get the stuff that blows under the topper.

I can do without the hassle of the topper thanks. To each their own.

[wingnut60]

Good points, thanks.
Joe

[rdunk]

In five years, I never had to sweep my toppers off! Yes, you do sometimes get leaves, twigs and water on the toppers, but why do you think they need to be swept off?? When you bring the slides in, that stuff goes to the ground - just falls off, as the slide retracts. That is what always happened for me.


FWIW!

[terry and jo]

Robert,

I don't know how the earlier models are, but our 2010 slides all have an upward lip on the outside edge of the slide that would prevent any debris from being swept off the top of the slide as they came in.

We stayed in a state park here in Oklahoma recently and got quite a few twigs on top of the slides. At the SOITC mini-rally in Carthage, MO last October, we had a lot of acorns on top of the slides. None of that debris would be been swept off unless I do it.

When we were researching for the purchase of our Mobile Suites, numerous sources told us that the toppers would be noisy and would tear up easily in some winds.

In fact, the dealership that ordered our Suites long ago quit ordering RV's with slide toppers unless it was a special order for a customer. They told us that the Oklahoma winds just literally tear up toppers, even though many of the units aren't on the dealership's lot for that long. Since we will be living in ours full time here in Oklahoma City, we elected to not have them.

[rdunk]

Quote Terry and Jo - "I don't know how the earlier models are, but our 2010 slides all have an upward lip on the outside edge of the slide that would prevent any debris from being swept off the top of the slide as they came in".
_________________________________
Yes, our slides had the outside lip also. The fact is, the "stuff" doesn't get on top of the slide, (at least very rarely), which would be "under" the topper. The "stuff" gets on top of the topper. Then, when the topper retracts, as the slide goes in, the "stuff" just drops off the outside edge of the topper, to the ground.

Of course, these Suites shouldn't be parked where there is going to be very much "stuff" falling on the top of the RV anyway, Parking under trees is one of the worst things you can do, with so much nasty "stuff" that comes off of some of the trees. We made it a point to not park under trees, but we saw a lot of RV's with real messes on their roofs, from having parked under trees.

[USA in a Chevrolet]

In five years, I never had to sweep my toppers off! Yes, you do sometimes get leaves, twigs and water on the toppers, but why do you think they need to be swept off?? When you bring the slides in, that stuff goes to the ground - just falls off, as the slide retracts. That is what always happened for me.


FWIW!
I find it very interesting that you've never had to sweep off your slides since I've only had this new Select suites since September & I have to sweep it off every time I move. We just came back from a 5000 mile trip & I'm tired of going up on the roof to sweep off the slides. I had my last fiver for 5 years & the slide toppers were still in good shape when I traded it in. My Select has a lip on the edge of the slide & the twigs, etc would get caught between the lip & the side of the trailer if I did not clean off the slide before retracting. That's why I'm getting the toppers. Out of curiosity, did you ever look at the tops of your slides after you retracted them into the trailer?

[The View 5046]

We don't have slide toppers and so for we haven't had any issues... I do have a small electric leaf blower and when we are under trees I sometimes do blow off the slides. However I do everything I can never to park under trees. Tree's are just a Hazzard waiting to happen.... We did have toppers on 4 out of the 6 5th wheels we have owned but none on the two Mobile Suites we have owned... What my problem with the toppers was, noise and water pooling on the toppers and yes I tried pvc pipe air bags and straps and nothing really worked.. And yes they do weather fast..... Much faster than the awnings.... But as said its a choice... Good Luck...

[terry and jo]

USA in a Chevrolet,

You made the same mistake in reading rdunk's post as I did, I missed the key word "Topper." If everything is working right, as the topper rolls back up, the leaves and twigs just fall off because the topper is out over that upper lip.

Where I goofed is missing the fact that he said he never swept off the topper and I presumed that he just meant slide top. Now, knowing that he does have the topper and has no need of sweeping it off (obviously), my next question would be whether he had ever had debris blow in under the topper and onto the top of the slide.

Like View, I plan to carry a small leaf blower for that job from now on.

Terry

[rdunk]

Terry, I might have had a few leaves blow under the toppers, but nothing that was any problem,

FWIW, we spent 4 successive winters in the Texas Rio Grand Valley, with frequent big time winds, and the toppers "weathered" them just fine. Obviously, if the wind gets strong, it can do damage to most anything. We lost the big automatic door-side awning to a major wind gust in north east Texas - it didn't have time to do the automatic thing! The same gust winds were blowing over 18 wheelers on I-30.

When I lost the big awning, I just had an onsite service tech replace the entire system, and if I had lost a topper awning, I would have just replaced it.

It is interesting to note that the wind gust that destroyed my big awning did nothing to my toppers! lol lol

[terry and jo]

Robert,

You are right about winds. One can NEVER tell just what will happen with some of them. I can certainly see why the toppers didn't succumb to the same wind as the big awning, because it would be relative to size. The awning would be like a big parachute compared to the toppers.

One more curiosity thing here. I noticed in your signature that you sold your 2005 DRV Suites coach in January of 2010. Are you currently without any RV's now? Have you quit traveling but just can't quit the people you've met both online and offline?

Terry

[rdunk]

Terry, yes, we are off the road and living in a "stick" place now. I had major surgery early last year, and spent most of last year trying to recover from that. Right now, we are not making plans to start RV'ing again, but we really do miss it.

Yes, I still want to help others, on the basis of our experiences. But what we miss the most is getting to see and visit with all of the wonderful RV-people we met during those years we were full-timing. I can't tell you how many times i I've said, that for us, RV'ing is just all about people!

We do still stay in touch with several, and get to see some of our closest friends every now and then. Just keep at it as long as you can, and as always, "Happy RV'ing"!

[terry and jo]

Well, I sure hate to hear of ill luck for our neighbors. In your case, perhaps closer than thought because we live in Oklahoma. But, perhaps someday you can return to the life, even if only on a part time basis.

So, I guess you now get to live the lfe through the experiences of others. I guess that is one advantage that a person has with a lot of RV'ers writing blogs. Mine isn't so much about traveling (yet) so I would imagine it isn't of interest to most RV'ers.

Those blogs that include pictures would at least let you see some of the country some more.

God bless you, and may your health greatly improve.

Terry

[stanleyz]

OP never did get an answer. I do not have the metal rollups on mine and I am about to order my third set of toppers. I would guess that the metal protectors would help some. I have one on my main awning and it didn't need replacement until the trailer was 12 years old. On the unprotected slide awnings I am ordering my third set at 15 years. Now I know the slide awnings get more exposure to the elements and that hastens their demise. That is worth considering. However I am on a site that will make me all three of 18mil canvas for 500 bucks. The sites with metal covers are way way higher. I didn't do the math but I'm guessing I could buy three without the metal for the price of one with. IE, I could keep them fresher in the long run. But, if you are in the trailer for the long run note that once you have the metal protector you don't replace it with the awning cover, just replace the fabric. Hope thios helps. Oh crap, just saw how old this is. I gotta learn to look, gets me every time.

[Notanlines]

No sweat, Stan! It gave us old farts something to read on rainy day....

[porkchop]

This thread was 8 years old. I am not familiar with any brands of slide toppers that have metal covers on them. Would you supply a name please?

Bill

[MnP]

This thread was 8 years old. I am not familiar with any brands of slide toppers that have metal covers on them. Would you supply a name please?

Bill

Dometic and carefree both supply them. Had Carefree on my Travel Supreme and have Dometic on my MS