When we first got our 5th wheel the slides had no toppers. I bought an 18 volt blower to blow water and debris off them before bringing them into the camper. This meant climbing up the ladder with the blower in hand everytime we wanted to break camp. When we took the camper back to the factory for some service we had the toppers put on. I will always have them on anything with a slide. There is an added benefit as it shades the slide from the direct heat of the sun. Really made a difference when it came to the A/C keeping up.