Slide Toppers Yes or No

[jrobichaud]

A friend of mine is buying a 2015 365saq. One option my 2014 has and his doesn't are the slide toppers. We go seasonal and have never had toppers on any of our previous coaches. Mine had them on it from the factory. Not sure I would have ordered it that way if given the opportunity. What is the forums opinion? Should he spend the extra $1k or not?

[Rugged Brown]

I think the conventional wisdom here is that those who have them, need them and those who don't have them, don't need them. I have them, I need them.

[ependydad]

I agree with Rugged Brown.

I know of very few people who had them and wouldn't have them again. It happens, but not often.

As well, I have them and will always have them. I've been in high winds with mine and they've never flapped like people report. I don't know if it was just my orientation to the wind or what.

[Ford Idaho]

I do not have them but I am thinking about having on put on the living room/kitchen slide because it is kind of long.
I understand it is cheaper to get them preinstalled rather than after the fact.

So if they are a must have get then from the start.

[jonrjen]

Our Travel Supreme we added them on. As will we be doing on our Wildcat. All it takes is a good rain or even heavy morning due on the morning you are packing up to depart camp to make you understand the desire to have them in place.

Only this time on the door side of the trailer I think rather than do a slide topper I am going to do another awning that will cover the topper and also allow for more shade for sitting out in front of the RV.

[OldCoot]

Can't think of a single situation that they would not be needed. If I were on a permanent site and didn't have them, I'd build semi-permanent covers for the slides.

[kerrlakelover]

Next time you've been parked under some trees, or in the spring after the pollen has fallen, crank in your slides and look at all the crap on top of them that ultimately can get in your camper. I put them on mine. I asked the same question you did a while back jrobichaud.

[Seasonal]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

I think the conventional wisdom here is that those who have them, need them and those who don't have them, don't need them. I have them, I need them.

What a great response....

[jrobichaud]

thanks for the quick replies. I will pass along there is a unanimous vote to get them.

I noticed mine sag and pool rain water. I've seen others with them have built supports that go under the topper and rest on the slide top. Some have built with pvc, which is what I am planning to do... esp for the long slide.

any other ideas?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by jrobichaud

thanks for the quick replies. I will pass along there is a unanimous vote to get them.

I noticed mine sag and pool rain water. I've seen others with them have built supports that go under the topper and rest on the slide top. Some have built with pvc, which is what I am planning to do... esp for the long slide.

any other ideas?

Tighten them by taking a few extra turns on the torsion springs. I did mine @ 4 additional turns at a time. Took 8 total turns over 2 rains to get what I thought was sufficient.

[Wiscampsin]

Originally Posted by jrobichaud

thanks for the quick replies. I will pass along there is a unanimous vote to get them.

I noticed mine sag and pool rain water. I've seen others with them have built supports that go under the topper and rest on the slide top. Some have built with pvc, which is what I am planning to do... esp for the long slide.

any other ideas?

I've seen people putting beach balls under the toppers to help shed water.

[jrobichaud]

OC, is it wasn't to access the torsion spring?

[jrobichaud]

OC. I'm not as illiterate as my last message suggests. The real question was... Is it easy to access the torsion spring? What did you use to adjust it?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by jrobichaud

OC. I'm not as illiterate as my last message suggests. The real question was... Is it easy to access the torsion spring? What did you use to adjust it?

Just takes a good phillips screwdriver. Remove the 3 screws holding the hex shaft (2 in the slide bracket, 1 on the torsion arm), slide the shaft out of the torsion arm, (hold on to the arm) rotate to tighten the no. of turns you want, slide the hex shaft back in the arm and re-install the screws. Do the same on both ends. I did 4 additional turns 2 times to get what I wanted. Takes about 20-30 minutes start to finish. Not a major undertaking, BUT, MAKE SURE YOU KEEP HOLD OF THE TORSION ARM AT ALL TIMES. DROP YOUR SCREWDRIVER OR WHATEVER, HANG ON TO THAT TORSION ARM, otherwise if it un-winds, you have to start from scratch and put in the original no. of turns and possibly hurting yourself. I think if the length is less than 48" the minimum no. of turns is 11, anything over 4' is the length PLUS 7. i.e. if the slide is 10' long, it would be 10+7=17 turns. Any topper over 14' is a max of 21 turns.

[golfmedik]

I've had them on both of my campers and won't have one without them. My FIL, MIL didn't want them on their camper initially, but after seeing how clean and dry our camper stays, they have changed their minds.

[RamblerGuy]

For those who get slide toppers in the future, just remember to close the windows in the slide before you run the slide in. Guess where water from rain or washing the coach will go if you don't?

If you already have slide toppers, you have probably already figured this out.

[lswartz]

Looks like I am the minority here. I bought one of those light Costco step stools from Walmart for about $37 & it is easy to clear the top off. Remember, I have only 1 slide, if it was a 5er with 3 or 4 slides (with one of the slides as long as my whole TT) I would be wanting toppers.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by lswartz

Looks like I am the minority here. I bought one of those light Costco step stools from Walmart for about $37 & it is easy to clear the top off. Remember, I have only 1 slide, if it was a 5er with 3 or 4 slides (with one of the slides as long as my whole TT) I would be wanting toppers.

As you get older you will find that ladders, campgrounds and older folks don't mix well and a slide topper(s) is cheaper than a broken arm/leg.

[Weezer]

Originally Posted by jrobichaud

thanks for the quick replies. I will pass along there is a unanimous vote to get them.

I noticed mine sag and pool rain water. I've seen others with them have built supports that go under the topper and rest on the slide top. Some have built with pvc, which is what I am planning to do... esp for the long slide.

any other ideas?

There are wedge shaped air-up pillows on the market that are slid in between the top of the slide and the topper.

We wouldn't be without our toppers.

We have two awnings, and the rear awning is over the dining/entertainment slide....and that slide also has a topper. Result; slide topper AND awning there. Perfect, since sometimes you don't want or need the awning out.

[OldCoot]

Weezer, have DH increase the tension on the torsion springs. I ended up increasing mine by 8 turns over the factory settings and it works.