Camping in the Rain

My slides have a rubber rain gutter on the sides near the bottom. When the slide is retracted any water will be diverted outside.

SoundGuy wrote:
Our current Coachmen is the first trailer we've owned with a slide but since it's a shallow 18" sofa slide I chose to not install a topper. Instead I carried a 3-step ladder in the back of my Avalanche so I could reach the top of the slide and clear it of any water & accumulated debris. Recently I replaced the Av with a Silverado for towing and because the wheel wells on the latter protrude into the cargo box the ladder doesn't store as nicely as it did in the Avalanche. That drove me to DIY this slide topper broom, which in turn means I no longer need to take along the ladder ... the handle collapses so during travel it's small enough to store out of the way in the shower stall. :)



Alternately, one can buy a commercially available slide out sweep that should work equally as well.

You're one of those guys who knows the location of every item in the Home Depot store aren't you? LOL

Our current Coachmen is the first trailer we've owned with a slide but since it's a shallow 18" sofa slide I chose to not install a topper. Instead I carried a 3-step ladder in the back of my Avalanche so I could reach the top of the slide and clear it of any water & accumulated debris. Recently I replaced the Av with a Silverado for towing and because the wheel wells on the latter protrude into the cargo box the ladder doesn't store as nicely as it did in the Avalanche. That drove me to DIY this slide topper broom, which in turn means I no longer need to take along the ladder ... the handle collapses so during travel it's small enough to store out of the way in the shower stall. :)



Alternately, one can buy a commercially available slide out sweep that should work equally as well.

Fizz wrote:
A quick, cheap way to clear off most of the water is to tie a rope to an old beach towel, throw it over and drag it across. Do it a couple of times, easy peasy

Don't do this! I tried the same thing and ended up with holes in the membrane on the slide due to the knot on the rope dragging on the roof. FYI.

I have no slide toppers and used to live on the coast in the Pacific North Wet. As mentioned, lower or raise the front of your trailer and pooling water will run off quickly. It will still be wet up there, but really, who cares? It never caused a problem for our trailer because, as mentioned, it will dry.

Quite honestly, there were many, many times in the PNW where it was raining when packing up and absolutely no way it would be dry before bringing in the slide. Sideways rain meant slide toppers wouldn't keep the rain off either. It will dry and I wouldn't stress one bit on this.

Without slide toppers you should always check for sticks and leaves on top of the slide.

Our first trailer didn't have them. I had to install a ladder so I could get up there and sweep the slides off. We tried to beat the rain if we could and get the slides in before it poured. We also wiped them dry with a towel after we got the in. Wax helps the water run off and the seals slide over a waxed slide really easy.

I highly recommend slide toppers.

X3. Push the button and drive away...

PackerBacker wrote:
I do nothing different, pull slides in, hitch up and leave; it's just wet, it will dry! :C

LOL @ the subject!

In the PNW, camping in the rain is the norm, and many time it is camping in storms!!
I love the wipe it down, before pulling in, that is hard to get any good results when the wind is blowing 25 to 30 mph, and pouring cat and dogs!!

2X it will dry.

I do nothing different, pull slides in, hitch up and leave; it's just wet, it will dry! :C

I wipe mine down with a couple old towels after I bring in the slide.
This gets real fun when the water turns to an inch of ice on top of the slide ;)