Slide Canopy Covers

[dnismenace]

I need your opinions. We now own a 2003 Wildcat 27RL with one slide. It is our first camper with a slide, so we had a slide cover installed when it arrived from the factory.
We are looking to replace the camper and I have seen many more slides without covers than with. Do they actually provide a benefit or do they make the owners feel better because they have had them installed? Thanks, dnismenace

[Atom_Ant]

Hey, that sounds like me, at least the first parts :B

[Javi1]

I'm old, fat and lazy, cantankerous and opinionated... I won't own a trailer without them and you can't make me... :B

[Itching2go]

Atom Ant wrote:
No worries - that's why you ask on a forum. If all the answers were the same, wouldn't need to ask :).

Couldn't agree more. While the replies can seem a bit passionate at times, there are very, very few times when when things get seriously mean. Call it a spirited debate. :C

[Atom_Ant]

No worries - that's why you ask on a forum. If all the answers were the same, wouldn't need to ask :).

[fj12ryder]

Harsh words? Shoot, those were just casual disagreements. You'll see some harsh words if you hang around long enough. 🙂

[dnismenace]

As I said in an earlier reply, Thanks to all posters for your feedback. I think I will continue to use slide toppers.

I do appreciate all the input, and all I was requesting was your opinions (which I thought I clearly stated in my original post).

I am very sorry that I caused all the harsh words among you more senior members of the forum and I pray that I did not cause any seriously hard feelings. Thanks,
dnismenace

[wilber1]

Had one on our slide for 12 years and will get them on our next trailer. Sometimes it flaps a bit in the wind which can be a bit irritating and water does pool on it but so what. Just make sure you are not standing beside the slide when it is retracted. We get a lot of crud from trees where we keep our rig and I would much rather see that and snow sitting on the topper than on the slide. Anything on the topper goes overboard when the slide is retracted rather than getting packed up against the seal by the flange on the edge of the slide.

[mountainsam]

shadows4 wrote:

mountainsam wrote:
Just a thought from a 5er newbie. We bought our first 5er in August of last year and only had one occasion to brush off the top of the slide outs. After getting the ladder and finding that very unstable, I took a large bath towel and tied it in the middle of a 30' rope. I toss the rope over the top of the slide out and with wife on one end and me on the other we run the towel back and forth a few times and the top is clean.

You're kidding, right? Why not just get on the roof and sweep the top of the slide that way?

My old body doesn't climb RV ladders well.

[Atom_Ant]

Itching2go wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
when they pool, they stretch in the middle, just like an awning.

Not trying to pick a fight, but so what? As fj12ryder noted and we have experienced, pooling is not a problem as the water either evaporates or rolls off when we bring the slides in. No harm. no foul. While I wouldn't allow that on my awning as the larger size would cause water weight issues there, from our experience, pooling on a slide topper has never caused any damage for us.

We have them and like them. And we've been camping in pretty much every state between Utah and Maine in all kinds of weather except for heavy snow. I'm just sharing my opinion based on my experience. Feel free to flame away if we don't agree.

There you go - so what 🙂 If you don't care, I don't care. I just prefer to not have something rolled up over my slide that looks like a main sail after the center stretches and billows in the middle and wrinkles in the roll.

No flame here, I have my opinion of their benefit and so do you.

The Carefree factory is in my backyard, so if you buy, it boosts my community economy.

[cummins2014]

Itching2go wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
when they pool, they stretch in the middle, just like an awning.

Not trying to pick a fight, but so what? As fj12ryder noted and we have experienced, pooling is not a problem as the water either evaporates or rolls off when we bring the slides in. No harm. no foul. While I wouldn't allow that on my awning as the larger size would cause water weight issues there, from our experience, pooling on a slide topper has never caused any damage for us.

We have them and like them. And we've been camping in pretty much every state between Utah and Maine in all kinds of weather except for heavy snow. I'm just sharing my opinion based on my experience. Feel free to flame away if we don't agree.

I am in the middle between the two or three of you, got four slide toppers, IMO I can take them or leave them, have had just the present fifth wheel with them. Out of the four only one pools water, but as it fills up it drains, so it never comes to a point where it is causing a problem, unless you call happening to be standing near it when it decides to drain, kind of a cold shower. One is a little noisy in the wind, I just ignore it or turn up the TV

Never done any temperature studies, so have no idea how well they help keep the temperature down. It would be interesting how some come to the conclusion they lower the temperature inside the trailer.

[fj12ryder]

50 gallons of water sounds pretty unlikely, unless those are really big slides. 🙂 I can see how pushing a broom under the topper could cause ripping of the topper.

The toppers on my first 5th wheel were only 5 years old so they weren't old enough to have problems with rotting/tearing. But I could see how very old toppers could have issues with that.

[netjam]

Re: pooling of rain. In the past with my vinyl toppers the pooling would stretch them, birds would bath in the pools etc. I used to get up on a ladder and push a long broom handle between the slide and the topper (after the rain stopped) to get the rain to run off. A hassle but doable. After replacing the Carefree Vinyl twice (due to rips and rotting) the last time Shade Pro (El Cahon, CA) recommended acrylic for longer life. That was this past Nov. The first time it rained, the pools were 8" deep pushing the toppers right to the slide roof. The broom handle trick did not work as the acrylic is very light weight. With at least 50 gal of rain water on each slide, I wanted it off. Pulling the slides in slowly got some off but the weighted down acrylic material sucked in on top of the slide as it went in. The only way to get the water off of the toppers is to climb on the roof to sweep it off the toppers. I called Shade Pro about this problem and they explained that this is the way acrylic material is.....its too light for rain. I have tried the commercially available AIRWEDGE with very limited benefit. I have resigned myself to getting on the roof after each rain. In my mind...a hassle.
As far as snow....The problem I have encountered relates to wet snow, the light fluffy kind will fall off as the slide moves in. The wet stuff packs itself on the topper and rolls up with the topper. Before the slide is all the way in, the topper roll is so big it no longer retracts. You must clear the snow from the topper before retracting the slide. The problem is even worse with the Carefree as the roll is covered and clogs up faster than the A&E.

[Itching2go]

Atom Ant wrote:
when they pool, they stretch in the middle, just like an awning.

Not trying to pick a fight, but so what? As fj12ryder noted and we have experienced, pooling is not a problem as the water either evaporates or rolls off when we bring the slides in. No harm. no foul. While I wouldn't allow that on my awning as the larger size would cause water weight issues there, from our experience, pooling on a slide topper has never caused any damage for us.

We have them and like them. And we've been camping in pretty much every state between Utah and Maine in all kinds of weather except for heavy snow. I'm just sharing my opinion based on my experience. Feel free to flame away if we don't agree.

[Atom_Ant]

when they pool, they stretch in the middle, just like an awning.