Slide Topper Advisable?

[JGage]

Good morning fellow happy campers! I am a newbie owner of a FR FS Micro Lite 21DS. My unit did not come equipped with a slide topper from factory. I considered adding one but they are pricey and my salesman said the noise created from wind blowing through this accessory is a drawback for some. Would appreciate feedback from you experienced folks about pros/cons or alternatives to having a slide topper installed now. I've only had the trailer a week so no dirt, junk in there yet.

[Kimber45]

Your sales person is right. ive had 5 campers and my currant has 5 slides and ive never had a topper. Some will say you cant live without and some say a waste of money. Gotta weigh the pros and cons for your style of camping and decide.

[ependydad]

We rarely have wind noise with ours. The times we did, the wind itself was noisy any way. We've been up to 40-50 mph winds. Never had a tear.

For me, I won't be without them.

But like Kimber said, some people will, some won't.

Slide Toppers (aka Awnings) – definitely! | Learn To RV

[bikendan]

In 10 years of ownership, we NEVER had any issues with our slidetopper.
It saved us from a lot of issues that we had before getting one installed.

It cost more because it wasn't installed at the factory.

[5picker]

Welcome to the forum JGage. 3 posts.

This topic has been discussed many times on this forum with the consensus of... those that have them love them... and those that don't... don't want them.

We love ours and wouldn't be without them. They keep the slide drier. They help keep the dirt off. They help the slide roof last longer. They help keep the slide cooler and personally, I just like the way they make the rig look.

I might suggest a forum search of slide toppers and you'll have more opinions than you'll know what to do with.

[GalsofEscape]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Welcome to the forum JGage. 3 posts.

This topic has been discussed many times on this forum with the consensus of... those that have them love them... and those that don't... don't want them.

We love ours and wouldn't be without them. They keep the slide drier. They help keep the dirt off. They help the slide roof last longer. They help keep the slide cooler and personally, I just like the way they make the rig look.

I might suggest a forum search of slide toppers and you'll have more opinions than you'll know what to do with.

We have a slide topper. We like it. I like to see all the pine needles and debris just roll off as it rolls up when we bring in the slide. Have not noticed any wind noise.

[Scrapper]

They come in real handy if your on a seasonal site. Mine stay deployed from mid April to mid October and I never get anything on the slide roof except dust which blows away with a leaf blower when I close up for the season.

[67L48]

Welcome to the forum.

Searching is your friend. This topic has been discussed around the exact questions and considerations you brought up in your post.

Here is one thread, but there are others, too.

I recommend reading through those and if you still have questions, please feel free to ask those. Sometimes threads are too general and don't get into the specific area that you care about. Search, read, and ask away!

Good luck.

[kdp1897]

We were in the same boat as you. Had the dealer install them on both slides before we took delivery. We love them. It's nice after a long trip to retract the slides and watch the leaves, twigs, small branches, etc. roll off harmlessly. No damage to any of the seals.

[fella10]

our Micro Lite 21DS came with a slide topper, ... no wind noise ever, ... our present Micro Lite 25KS, did not come with one, so I immediately installed one myself, ... again, no wind noise ever, ... to me, the slide topper advantages far outweigh any disadvantages, and as for that, I can't list a single disadvantage that they've ever presented, ... I intend to always have toppers over any slide-outs on any other RV's we ever own, ... if not factory installed, I'll install them myself, ...

[itat]

Based on I’ll the discussion I’ve read, they are great if you camp in wooded campgrounds and area likely to have things fall on the top of your slideout - leaves, pine needles, twigs, etc. That’s our situation so I won’t be without them.

If you live in the prairies or never park it anywhere other than a wide open RV resort (virtually no trees), then they aren’t necessary. I can only see wind being a problem if you are camping in areas that regularly get very high winds. If the tension on the topper gets sloppy you’d need to bring in the slide in high winds.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by itat

Based on I’ll the discussion I’ve read, they are great if you camp in wooded campgrounds and area likely to have things fall on the top of your slideout - leaves, pine needles, twigs, etc. That’s our situation so I won’t be without them.

If you live in the prairies or never park it anywhere other than a wide open RV resort (virtually no trees), then they aren’t necessary. I can only see wind being a problem if you are camping in areas that regularly get very high winds. If the tension on the topper gets sloppy you’d need to bring in the slide in high winds.

As I mentioned earlier... they do a great job keeping the slide out cooler, ESPECIALLY in wide open, direct sun. Necessary? No but certainly helpful in taking some of the load off the cooling system.

[5er_tom]

Sure glad I have them. Don't know what I would have done in Myrtle Beach this past New Years when we got 3" of snow after 2" of ice. I would have had to extend my stay by several days to let the 2" of ice melt off the tops of the slides as it was only in the low 40's and two of the slides never saw the sun. As it was the ice just cracked and fell off as the slides were retracted.

[andymil]

We just got a 2015 Keystone Sprinter. It doesn’t have slide toppers. The top seals on the slides are cracked and deteriorating and need to be replaced. I can’t say all slide seals will go this fast without toppers, but I will be installing toppers after replacing the seals. Not having toppers makes it easier to treat the seals, but the previous owner obviously didn’t treat them.

Our two previous trailers had them and we think the pros outweigh the cons. We never had a noise issue even at the beach and we do think keeping the sun off of the slides makes cooling easier.

[rskeans]

The only disadvantage for me is trying to pull in the slide after a snow. The snow weighs down the topper not letting it wind up. For temporary adverse conditions, just pull in the slide until it clears up.

[spock123]

We have three slides with toppers and we like them. 99% of the time the stuff on top of the toppers come off when the slides come in. We got snowed on one night in Haines Junction and it was wet snow and it didn’t slide off when the slides cane in

[JohnD10]

After twice being in campgrounds where the wind ripped and shredded every single slide topper in the park...I don't want them!

Now, if some slide topper manufacturer came out with a topper that you can disconnect from the slide whenever you wanted (ie.- keep them rolled up when not needed), then I would consider them to keep the heat of the southwestern desert out!

Here is my neighbor's slide topper back in Denver three weeks ago (wind ripped the whole thing off and was completely destroyed):

[doc73]

Had two campers w/o them and I did not miss them. What I did need to do is get a small ladder (neither had one mounted) to get onto the roof or mostly near the slide's top to clear it of leaves and sticks. If it rained we would need to dry the top of the slide of pooling water as well to keep it from getting the inside wet. While that sounds like a pain, it was just part of the break down.

But now we have three toppers on the three slides of our Artic Wolf. No more climbing on the roof to clear debris, it just falls off when the slide goes in. When it rain the water no longer gets onto the slide's top (hurricane rain aside). I will say it will add to the process of lubing my upper seals. I used a paint pole with a sponge taped on the end...

We have not camped a ton yet in our new unit but for Easter we were in OCMD and had 40mph gust. I did hear some noise once in a while. But the whole camper was also making noise. In lower winds I did not hear a thing.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

After twice being in campgrounds where the wind ripped and shredded every single slide topper in the park...I don't want them!

Mmmmhmmm. I think your claims are a bit over the top.

In my first 3 years of RVing, I camped for 200 nights. In the past almost 3 years, I've been fulltiming. I've been coast to coast and in 30-50mph winds.

I've yet to be in a situation where "the wind ripped and shredded every single slide topper in the park". Yes, I've seen a few rip + shred but typically they were aged and were starting to have other issues first.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Mmmmhmmm. I think your claims are a bit over the top.

In my first 3 years of RVing, I camped for 200 nights. In the past almost 3 years, I've been fulltiming. I've been coast to coast and in 30-50mph winds.

I've yet to be in a situation where "the wind ripped and shredded every single slide topper in the park". Yes, I've seen a few rip + shred but typically they were aged and were starting to have other issues first.

Why is it that you think you are the only one on this earth who has any real life experiences?

OK...there may have been one or two toppers I missed...