Thoughts on slider awnings

I think they are a must have. Leaves and stuff fall off when you close the slide you don't need to climb up and clean them off.

I'm a fan of slidetoppers.
Way cheaper to have them installed at the factory.

They are great when new no need to brush off slides if your under trees with pine needles, pine cones , leafs or acorns however when they get older and stretched out they tend to flap in the wind and become annoying especially on a bedroom slide out . We currently have them because our unit came with them , they do make life easier, used to carry a ladder and brush to clean off all four slide on our last fifth wheel which did not have slide toppers. Now window awnings are very useful keeping the sun off the windows and helping keep cool as well as opening windows in the rain, we don’t have them but someday maybe.

Rain, leaves, bird poop, pine needles, snow.

We wouldn't be without them.

Seriously, I'm not about to try to climb up there somehow to remove leaves or rainwater before I run the slides in.

A

Good points, something I now have to add to my breaking camp list. Glad I asked, didn't even think of the leaves dropping up there and breaking seals.

Thanks, will add to my list of upgrades. I found hardware kits, and fabric rolls, and can pretty much make my own for far less than what the full kits cost, so thats a plus.

Thanks

I had a thin sheet of ice roll off mine when I brought my slide in at Yellowstone. The water from the ice would have ended up inside the trailer had I not had the toppers. If the $350 includes the cost of the topper, then not so bad. If it is an installation fee per slide then it is outrageous. Two men and two ladders could install all four in less than two hours especially since the upper extrusion is already installed. There would be a learning period on the first topper then the others will go up real quick.

One thing many missed is reduced cooling needs, keeping direct sun off a slide roof greatly reduces heat gain.

We wouldn't be without them, but one important thing to remember ONE time. After a rain, have DW stand beside the slide to watch and make sure it rolls up properly. If there is much water on top, you will not need to do it more than once. Make sure you have the door locked from the inside first.

Johno02 wrote:
After a rain, have DW stand beside the slide to watch and make sure it rolls up properly.

Did you mean to have your wife stand in FRONT of the slide to see if water comes off? :)

I guess it depends.

We had slide toppers on our previous 2 trailers and had a time with wasp nests and mildew in places we couldn't reach and the upper seals dry rotted because I couldn't treat them.
We had Colorado brand and they never failed.

Our latest trailer doesn't have toppers and can't say I miss them.
I must admit though that I'm quite anal about cleaning the roof and slides monthly and applying 303 on the seals.

Was actually surprised at the amount of buildup that accumulates under the toppers over time.