Slide out toppers....Yes or No

[sjs731]

We recently purchased our 2012 3300CK. I am up in the air as to whether or not to put slide toppers on the slides. Any pros or cons would be appreciated.

 

[2psnapod2]

No water inside your rig when closing the slides. None at least for me.

 

[jpajax]

It really helps keeping what is outside outside and keeps the camper cooler.

 

[cookie]

Yes what the others have said.
Cons are that they can be a bit noisy in the wind and water will pool in them when it rains.
Both situations can be resolved with some home made supports.
I see that you live one mile from my bro, Jaynes rd.

Peace
Dave

 

[jnbhobe]

I wouldn't be without them come h*ll or high water

 

[olcoon]

When we first got our 5er, I wanted them, now I'm not so sure. We are work camping in CO, came here straight from the Goshen Rally. The first week we got here, there was a bad hail storm & the end result was that we had to replace both vent covers as they were destroyed. A few days later I got to thinking about the awning, and extended it & there were 2 slits in it from the hail, and it was rolled up. I just wondered what it would have done to the toppers if we had any? Some of the campers were gone when the storm came & had their awnings out, and they were totally destroyed.

 

[jbeletti]

Steve and Carrie,

I am on my 4th coach with the slide toppers and like some have said, in just the right angle to the wind, they can be annoying. And yes, hail would pelt them to shreds. In practice, I have had wind flapping/noise with them be an issue only a couple times a year. I vote YES and plan to add them to my future coaches too.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[JohnDar]

Yes, and the smaller ones only sag and hold water if they're not installed correctly. My main one sagged some due to its size, but I made a support to slip under it and it does not flap or hold water. My smaller ones are taut and do not make noise. At the rally, I did see several that looked like they could be used for hammocks. That's bad installation.

 

[lwmcguir]

We have been in a couple of bad rain storms with up to 5 inches falling one night. Camper has stayed dry however you do have to get up and get the water off with a very heavy rain and not using supports. We prefer having the awnings for several reasons including the reduction in heat and keeping the sun off the slide seal tops.

 

[Hastey]

Yes, and the smaller ones only sag and hold water if they're not installed correctly. My main one sagged some due to its size, but I made a support to slip under it and it does not flap or hold water. My smaller ones are taut and do not make noise. At the rally, I did see several that looked like they could be used for hammocks. That's bad installation.

John, can you post a pic of your supports? I'd like to see how you engineered them. No hurry.
Thanks

 

[wfwilson]

We have them and yes they can get noisy in a wind but the pros out way the cons. I would get them on future rigs.
Good luck
Regards
Wayne

 

[Jellystone]

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went camping for 3 days on the Northshore (Lake Pontchartrain) during Tropical Storm Lee. In our location we received an average of 4" of rain a day (1' total) and experienced wind gusts up to 40mph. The slide toppers helped to keep the water off the top of the 2 slides. The toppers never collapsed due to pooling of water and they are tight enough to keep "flapping in the wind" down to almost nothing. My dealer did a fantastic job with the installation 2 years ago when I got the 5th wheel. I recommend getting the silde toppers so that you can protect the top of your slides from excess rain or sunlight.

 

[mrcomer]

I have had slide toppers on my last (3) campers and wouldn't be without them. The pros outweigh the cons.

Mark

 

[Duramax1]

We recently purchased our 2012 3300CK. I am up in the air as to whether or not to put slide toppers on the slides. Any pros or cons would be appreciated.

Before you go too far down the road of making a decision, you should check to make sure that they can be installed on your unit. For my Sundance model I was surprised to learn that a topper cannot be installed on the curbside slide as there is not enough clearance.

 

[sjs731]

Thanks everybody for the help and opinions. Our dealer asked if we wanted to have them put on and we said we would think about it. Apparently it is worth the investment. It's great to have a place to come and get some opinions based on experiences.

 

[Nabo]

Great choice. We like the topper if for no other reason but breaking the direct sun from the top of the slide. They help keeping the slide tops cooler.

 

[TandT]

Yes, we have them, like them and highly recommend them. Trace

 

[mlburst1]

Duramax1,

For my Sundance model I was surprised to learn that a topper cannot be installed on the curbside slide as there is not enough clearance.

We have the same model Sundance and our dealer installed slide toppers on all three slides - no problem with the installation and they help keep the refrigerator slide cool.Mike

 

[Willym]

To present the other side...

I've never had a problem with water on my slide roofs in 8 years of owning various trailers. So I've never seen the need for slide toppers and do not care to carry the extra weight of them around, or have the risk of them causing a noise in the wind.

 

[jmgratz]

We have always had slide toppers and would not be without them. Have had no problems with rain ponding and they keep from dragging in leaves, pine needles or other debris when retracting the slide. They also serve to keep direct sunlight from heating up the top of the slide assisting with cooling.