Slide out awnings yay or nay?

The best way to clean your slideouts is to not park under trees. OK, a bit obtuse, but pine trees especially.

I've never had slideout awnings, but I sure don't wish I had them.

If you have a bedroom slide where your bed slides out, you will want an awning (Slide Topper) for that slide. On our first camping trip with our 5th wheel we were under trees and it rained hard. It sounded like a freight train. Then when the rain stopped, I listened to drip drip drip drip the rest of the night. Since I put the slide topper on, I sleep like a baby. As for the other slides, I agree with 2oldman. Stay away from camping under pine trees or late fall when the leaves drop and you will have little issue.

Doesn’t cost a dime to try out your new RV without awnings. After a while, reevaluate.

I think it depends on how you use your RV. We park under trees a lot and the covers keep junk from geting jambed into seals (guy is wrong about the wiper blade). They also keep direct sun off the thin roof of your slide and cut heat intrusion tremendously.
If you don't care about either one of these issues then there's not much need for them.

I would avoid them if you camp in the wind regularly.

I added one to my last TT and I ordered them with the latest trailer (which BTW, are JUNK).
I would not go without a cover again but I would elect to install them myself so I know what I'm getting. Even the cheapest model you can buy is far superior to the ones manufacurers might install. If you do order them with the new trailer, getting the alumaguard option should ensure you get quality awnings.

I vote for slide out awnings.

It really helps to keep the stuff off the top of your awning. Minimizes any moisture that may enter the RV if it is raining when you retract your awning. I know that you have rubber seals but they are not perfect.

The downside to a slide out awning is if you have high winds you need to retract your slide out. We normally retract the slide out anyway if we have high winds and rain so that is not a problem for us.
Rolin

If you don’t have slide toppers the junk from trees, snow can accumulate and cause issues when you bring them in. It is much better to have them than not.

Wouldn’t be without them.

I wouldn't be without them. We generally are parked under trees, and they keep leaves, twigs, and small branches off the top of the slide. They block direct sun so the slide interior stays cooler. They keep the rainwater outside where it belongs, if you have to bring the slides in while it's raining.

I have read that some trailers have slideouts with no flange to trap stuff. That would lessen the benefits quite a bit.

I didn’t have one on my previous trailer with 1 slideout. Wasn’t too bad, but i always had to make sure there was nothing that n top of it.
I now have 3 slide outs all with awnings and it is very nice to have them. I vote for awnings.

fj12ryder wrote:
I wouldn't be without them. We generally are parked under trees, and they keep leaves, twigs, and small branches off the top of the slide. They block direct sun so the slide interior stays cooler. They keep the rainwater outside where it belongs, if you have to bring the slides in while it's raining.

I have read that some trailers have slideouts with no flange to trap stuff. That would lessen the benefits quite a bit.

same here. but if we typically parked in areas without trees and it didn't rain, then the advantage is almost gone.

pine needles especially area a real PITA w/o a slide topper.