Slide Toppers

imchud · Oct 5, 2009

Over this past week when we pulled in our main slide we had a fair amount of water get into the camper

.. It went unnoticed until we showed up again this past weekend and let the slide out and the carper under the slide was soaked. So i think we are going to install slide toppers on all 3 of our slides, my questions -- does anybody know where to get a good price on toppers??? I called C/W and they were about $ 1000,00 for all 3 not including install or delivery

... My slides are 53" - 103" & 154" long... thanks...

Tommy

jmgratz · Oct 5, 2009

I would check with reliable dealers in your area. Most dealers can handle this type of installations. They will all be in the same ballpark as camping world.

2010augusta · Oct 5, 2009

$1,000 sounds about right for three slide toppers, Heartland's MSRP for the triple slide topper option is $1,232. We got ours as a factory option and would not be without them.

mrcomer · Oct 5, 2009

Tom,
That sounds like an installed price at other places. In my opinion CW is a bit pricey anyway but if it comes to convenience then maybe it is alright. Not sure where you are in Ohio but Holman RV in Batavia is a good size dealer ship but I have no first hand experience with them. Couch's in Hamilton is another but again no personal experience here. Ideally I would make the journey to Elkhart and have RV Capital Service do it. I am sure you will get great service and friendly service. My 2-cents

Good luck,
Mark

beasleyrl · Oct 5, 2009

I was quoted $1,200-1,400 by my dealer depending upon brand and type. Also, do some research before you buy. There are definitely some options that are worth having and some are not very expensive (ex. covers for the toppers).

PSF513 · Oct 5, 2009

When we bought our Big Country in August, we had 3 toppers installed and the price was less than $700 (but we just bought the new camper). I suspect your local dealer can come close to $1,000 or so. Our local Heartland dealer, Chesapeake RV, will usually match any CW price including the discounts for Presidents Club, etc.

TXBobcat · Oct 5, 2009

Are you sure toppers will fix the problem?? I don't have toppers and have never had water come in. The rubber seals are suppose to rake the water off. However I have gone up on the roof to clean leaves and twigs off before bringing in the slide.

A friend of mine has toppers on his 5er. We stayed for dinner one evening in Wylie TX and the wind was high. This made the toppers slap and pop on top of the slides. The noise was very disturbing. My friend said he would never get the toppers if he had to do it over again.

FWIW
BC

Jim-n-Leslie · Oct 5, 2009

We bought the slide toppers at the suggestion of full time camper friends of ours, and I can tell you they do keep stuff off the top of the slides. The gaskets also do their job, as they rake off all of the moisture when the slides are drawn in. After a wet storm the night before we headed out, the slides came in dry.

About that noise, it depends upon your orientation to the wind direction. We had the wind on the back side, and when it blew under the slide topper to the bed slide-out, it made some noise. I sleep like a rock. I had no issue. Leslie sleeps much lighter, so she was not too happy. Someone told us the slide toppers can be tightened. I have not explored that one yet. The jury is still out on this one.

lhetsler · Oct 5, 2009

Slide toppers

I don't get all the complaints about noisy slide toppers. We use our rig 12 weeks a year in all kinds of weather and I have yet to have flapping slide covers. I suppose it may happen to me one day, but I would not be without slide covers, they are such benifit for keeping pounding rain from coming in and all the gunk that get on top of the slides.

imchud · Oct 6, 2009

TXBobcat said:
Are you sure toppers will fix the problem?? I don't have toppers and have never had water come in. The rubber seals are suppose to rake the water off. However I have gone up on the roof to clean leaves and twigs off before bringing in the slide.

A friend of mine has toppers on his 5er. We stayed for dinner one evening in Wylie TX and the wind was high. This made the toppers slap and pop on top of the slides. The noise was very disturbing. My friend said he would never get the toppers if he had to do it over again.

FWIW
BC

No.... Not a 100% but we had some pretty hard rains shortly before we closed it up for the week. When we returned the next weekend we let the slide out just to notice the carpet under the slide was soaked. There is no pluming it that area so it wasn't a water leak for a fitting. The only other thing i could think of was when the slide was closed water got behind the flange seal and wormed around and into the camper??? When I got home that next day I took a hose and soaked that corner of the slide (while it was closed) and there was no signs of water?? So the only other thing i could think of was when we pulled in the slide we had water (a lot) run off inside the unit??

Tommy

kakampers · Oct 6, 2009

lhetsler said:
I don't get all the complaints about noisy slide toppers. We use our rig 12 weeks a year in all kinds of weather and I have yet to have flapping slide covers. I suppose it may happen to me one day, but I would not be without slide covers, they are such benifit for keeping pounding rain from coming in and all the gunk that get on top of the slides.

We've had toppers for many years, and the ONLY time we have a noise issue is in the Rio Grande Valley, where the wind blows often. We just made a "support" which raises the topper and tightens it up to eliminate the noise...works for us...

trdeal · Oct 7, 2009

We have had slide toppers on all of our campers.The wind has to blow really hard before they flap loud enough to hear them.A couple weeks ago when we were at Camp Hatteras,a storm came in on Saturday night.Our site was next to the Sound.Let me tell you,the toppers were doing some flapping!But all was well.I think the toppers are a must especially if you camp under trees.

laffman · Oct 7, 2009

I paid $1200 for my 3 toppers, so $1000 sounds like a good deal.

I had my 5ver on a seasonal campsite all summer at Silver Lake, MI. This is right off Lake Michigan. The campground is basically an open field, so high winds are common. 30-50 mph gusts are not uncommon. I never had any noise from my toppers all summer, they were tight the whole time.

Now the awning was a different story. That had to secured to the ground with straps. And boy was it noisy. I saw an awning get blown off a camper this summer. Not pretty.

cashb · Nov 19, 2009

We have had an ongoing issue with a wet carpet around the slides (not a Heartland) and it is from traveling down wet roads that cause water to spray up into the gap where the slide is. I know most Heartlands are sealed underneath but have you looked under the vehicle to see if that could be the problem?

Ray LeTourneau · Nov 19, 2009

cashb said:
We have had an ongoing issue with a wet carpet around the slides (not a Heartland) and it is from traveling down wet roads that cause water to spray up into the gap where the slide is. I know most Heartlands are sealed underneath but have you looked under the vehicle to see if that could be the problem?

cashb, I think the trailer in the original post is set up in a seasonal park. Your thoughts are right on the money for our earlier Heartland products that had water invasion under the slides when traveling in rain. Heartland addressed the problem with an additional seal under the length of the slide and block foam seals in the corners. It has helped quite a bit. Our corner blocks have loosened a bit and will need to be repaired soon. It's an easy fix though.

John T Bettencourt · Nov 19, 2009

I had custom made toppers made for my landmark augusta. They slide in a track and snap over the top edge of the slide. The stay nice and tite and do not hold water. Great for me as I camp on the Cape Cod canal all summer long. Might be a pain if you moved offen. To have them made and have a custom storage under the 5th wheel hitch was about 1000 dallors.

JohnDar · Nov 19, 2009

We had toppers put on all four slides as part of the purchase. We left the slides out all summer while parked on our seasonal site and did not have any problems. Even on windy days, no flapping or noise noticed. I did make a PVC support for the long living room slide topper to prevent pooling of water. That worked great.

charliehorse · Nov 19, 2009

water leak in slide out

Camped in the rain, brought in the slide during the rain, and drove home in the rain, and put the slide back out in the rain on my home pad. today I started some fall cleaning, pulled the sofa away from the wall - carpet was very wet , just short of soaked. I have no idea if this is a new leak or one from the get-go. I do not have a topper . no other water anywhere in the trailer. Please give me some pointers on where to look for the leak. Or do you think this was just a function of water coming in with the slide? thanks in advance for you suggestions .

Delaine and Lindy · Nov 19, 2009

Slide toppers ????

We had slide toppers on the first three 5th wheels we owned. We haven't had them on the last three. The wind noise and the water pooling was our issue. If the rubber seals are working properly you shouldn't have water issues. During Hurricane Ida it rained on us for almost 30 hours an over 7" of rain and no water issues. Trees are a problem, if leafs or pine needles are falling. I have a electric leaf blower ($49.00) and if we happen to be around trees, which we try very hard not to be under trees, just before we close slides I take the Leaf blower and blow off the top and slides. We use Camping World for our service, don't have much faith in dealerships. And much better warranty at CW. As for price quote, on a Landmark (Augusta) was $1,500 installed, that was a dealership quote, Good Luck with your choice. My guess is you water issue is from a leaking seal and not water on top of the slide. GBY...

jmgratz · Nov 20, 2009

Under the slide there is a seam which should have been caulked. I used some Butaul (sic) caulk tape and sealed the seam. No more water intrusion.

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