Are slide toppers necessary

[morrnr]

Have a 2016 Coachmen Chapparel lite 5th wheel and first trip out we had to sweep off slide tops before moving of tree debris. My question is, are slide toppers a good investment. I have been told yes and no--any advice is appreciated.

[Scubanut]

Lots of advantages, two that quickly come to mind is the topper will provide shade so in theory should help the AC in cooling your trailer. The other is to keep the water and dirt out of your slide seals. I think there a good investment. I never sweep the topper off, when I pull in the slide the dirt falls off as it retracts.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0
2012 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[dwhit]

I will get slide toppers for the same reason as you. I live in a forest. I've had my XLR outside for 10 days. I will have to use a rake to get the debris off the top of the slides, and then mop from the roof. I have another RV in my RV garage otherwise I wouldn't have this nasty an issue...but I always appreciated the slide toppers on the 16 year old Damon we're selling. Made closing the slides much easier.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Scubanut

Lots of advantages, two that quickly come to mind is the topper will provide shade so in theory should help the AC in cooling your trailer. The other is to keep the water and dirt out of your slide seals. I think there a good investment. I never sweep the topper off, when I pull in the slide the dirt falls off as it retracts.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0
2012 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

This reason is exactly why i ordered them on our camper.
We are mostly heat of summer campers, so anytime that something will also help with cooling is a win!
Plus the other points you mentioned!

[bikendan]

We had one installed, a year after buying our new trailer and so glad we did.
Wouldn't own another RV without them.

[retiredtechnician]

You’ll get a lot of opinions on this subject. We had slide toppers on our Monaco Diesel Pusher, for the same reason … to keep the top of the slide clean. But we found that when there’s wind and leaves, the leaves end up under the toppers. And when the slide brought a dead bat into the coach, we decided to always clean the top of the slide before putting it in. We went with no topper on our 2016 Flagstaff because it’s a lot easier cleaning the top of the slide without a topper.

You might be interested in this link on the subject:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...per-91564.html

[Stormrider151]

We just finished a trip to FDR campground in Pine Mountain Ga. The leaves and pine straw was falling like crazy. My toppers kept the slides nice and clean. The only problem I have had is water pooling on the main slide. I'm still trying to figure that one out. it's not a huge issue but more of an annoyance than anything. I'll always have toppers on my trailers.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

We just finished a trip to FDR campground in Pine Mountain Ga. The leaves and pine straw was falling like crazy. My toppers kept the slides nice and clean. The only problem I have had is water pooling on the main slide. I'm still trying to figure that one out. it's not a huge issue but more of an annoyance than anything. I'll always have toppers on my trailers.

You can tighten both torsion springs on the slide toppers to eliminate that problem.

[grumpy0374]

Wouldn't be without them. Yes, during a windy day some leaves can blow under the topper, and during a heavy windy rain some water can blow under the topper.
But without one a lot of leaves and pine needles will accumulate on the roof and guess where any that are not swept off by the wiper will end up? Inside. And if your slide out roof has just a slight dip, water will accumulate, and if it's not completely swept off by the rubber wiper, it will end up inside your rig.
Sitting in a campground right now, in Fancy Gap, Va. Leaves coming down like crazy, but on topper, and as soon as I roll the slideout in, off they'll come.
Oh, and those that don't have em and state they climb up on a ladder to clean them off..yeah can just see me doing that in a rain while trying to get ready to leave. Nooooo Waaaay.
Grumpy

[steelpony5555]

Depends on where you live and camp....if you live in the woods then definitely get them to keep the leaves and dirt from trees off. If you live in Texas like I do then they are just a pain. No trees here to speak of and since it's windy here most of the time they are noisy and will most likely shred once they get old and brittle which in our sun won't be long. They don't really make much of a difference in heat and shading either. Actually more of a pain then what they are worth....unless I live where there is lots of trees.......

[retiredtechnician]

Originally Posted by grumpy0374

Oh, and those that don't have em and state they climb up on a ladder to clean them off..yeah can just see me doing that in a rain while trying to get ready to leave. Nooooo Waaaay.
Grumpy

May not work for some people; but really not a problem for us. This just happened when we left Iowa for AZ. While I had my rain coat on to do the hitching and 'picking-up-camp', I just got out our 4-step stepstool and cleaned the slide off.

[BendOrLarry]

I would not have an rv without them. We camp in the snow every winter when we snowmobile. The snow just rolls off as the slide comes in. If the snow is wet and heavy I have had to brush it off before retracting because the snow causes a dip in the awning not allowing it to repel the snow when retracting, but most of the time it just rolls off.

[Oaklevel]

Our dealer talked us out of them Never had them but maybe next time.......

[Timex]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Our dealer talked us out of them Never had them but maybe next time.......

I'm curious, what did he say?

I'd never leave home without them, but that's just me.

[ependydad]

Necessary? Heck no.

Super convenient and possibly beneficial from a heat perspective (my heat ingress issues are my windows- BY FAR).

[Stormrider151]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You can tighten both torsion springs on the slide toppers to eliminate that problem.

I looked at doing that. The edge seams are very tight. The inner material is loose almost like its stretched a bit. I'm wondering if I loosened one side to allow it to drain would it track right when rolling up. Probably not. My hybrid was like that and never held water.

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by Scubanut

Lots of advantages, two that quickly come to mind is the topper will provide shade so in theory should help the AC in cooling your trailer. The other is to keep the water and dirt out of your slide seals. I think there a good investment. I never sweep the topper off, when I pull in the slide the dirt falls off as it retracts.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0
2012 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

I had them on all my other trailers and loved it. My 08 5er, new to me, doesn't have one. I talked to the service manager where I bought this and he told me to figure 4 to 500 to get one installed. Sounds like good insurance to me. Guess what I am having done soon!

As for things getting blown under it, if I noticed anything I would use a high pressure hose nozzle and wash it off. Then let it dry before putting the slide in.

Jim

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

We just finished a trip to FDR campground in Pine Mountain Ga. The leaves and pine straw was falling like crazy. My toppers kept the slides nice and clean. The only problem I have had is water pooling on the main slide. I'm still trying to figure that one out. it's not a huge issue but more of an annoyance than anything. I'll always have toppers on my trailers.

You can adjust the spring tension on it to stop the water pooling. I don't remember how but I am sure someone here can tell you how. Just got to ask.

Jim

[Pierre Allard]

It should be standard on all rv with slide out

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

I looked at doing that. The edge seams are very tight. The inner material is loose almost like its stretched a bit. I'm wondering if I loosened one side to allow it to drain would it track right when rolling up. Probably not. My hybrid was like that and never held water.

Not uncommon on LONGER slide toppers.
The roller tube on most slide toppers is smaller than a roller tube on a main awning. The roller tube flexes more and leaves the center somewhat loose.
If you look down along the tube when the slide is extended you'll probably see it bowed a bit towards the RV. Typical.
Tightening the springs just adds undue pressure to the roller anchor points, fabric and slide frame. In some cases, tightening too much to overcome the sag, will keep the slide from extending into full-out position.

Holding water isn't really a problem. It will make a bit of a mess when the slide is put in but it won't hurt anything. (maybe if it freezes it could come down as a big chunk)

There's lots of discussion about using an inflatable beach ball or making a PVC support. All things you must remember to install and remove.

Dometic does make a slide topper tube support cradle kit which could help should you so desire. (comes in many colors)