Slide Topper Pro's and Con's

[gmwright]

I just bought a Montana 3150 RL. My Buddy says I need to install slide toppers on it, but I'm not sure. I'd like some comments about this topic.

[H. John Kohl]

My second Montana and second set of toppers. They help keep trash off the slide. Rain, snow and leaves are a few trash items. They keep the slide tops cooler by preventing direct sun light. They help keep the tops of the slides from tipping out when in the transport mode.


The do flap in strong winds 20 plus.

[Art-n-Marge]

Slide toppers may stretch or get weather beaten over time and need replacing. Note where you live and camp and if you are around lots of debris like trees, leaves, wind or stuff that causes stuff to gather on top of your slideouts or wear out your toppers and you'll want them more than not. The majority of times I don't park under concerns like this and would have to measure this against having to sweep off the tops of the slideouts if we camped more often. I had toppers on a prior rig and being more a tightwad than realizing how much work there is if I didn't have them would prefer not to have them.

There are plenty of RVers with them and therefore realize it's very much about what you want to go through.

[bncinwv]

Pros:
Don't have to worry about leaves, sticks, snow, ice, etc. on top of slideouts.
In the event of a leak, you have added protection.
Cons:
Degrade in the sun and will need replaced.
Flap in the wind and do make noise.
Tend to hold water during storms, so avoid retracting slides with wife standing near slide, don't ask how I know this is on the con list!!
Personal choice is always have had them and always will in the future.
Bingo

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep we had them on both our Montana's would not be without them but like was said before, Man they make noise in big winds! but if I,m going to be in a place with high winds I will just put a big Nerf ball under them and that works just DO NOT forget to take them out when you put the slides back in.....HMMMMMMM why would I say that??

[cdaniels]

We don't have them but prior Montana did not either. Don't miss them but u can't miss what you never had. We did price them out thinking they would help with sun on the slides but really expensive and added a 2nd air for half the expense. Our way of thinking was the 2nd air would certainly help more with cooling for less money. We don't camp under many trees etc.

[swanny]

My first unit didn't have toppers. So I installed a topper over the BR slide and I was glad i did. Not as hot with topper and more quiet in the rain. wish I had them on our current unit. I did take the topper off before we traded it in, but, my luck, does fit any of our slides. It is for sale on the forum. Just sayin.

kevin

[subra1228]

HI,
You're going to get answers on both sides of this topic. We debated this as well, but went without slide toppers. We've heard that debris can get caught between the topper and slide, and that can be a pain to get out. Additionally, they can be loud in big winds and eventually will need to be replaced. We're happy with our decision.

One thought - you can always add them, so maybe start without and see how that goes......

[DQDick]

We got a deal on adding them last fall at the Rally. As others have said, they helped with the rain and have really helped with the heat. We also parked under a pine tree for a period of time and they were great at keeping the needles under control.

[WeBeFulltime]

We have them and are happy with the choice. Ours don't make much noise.

[mtheo]

One other thing nobody has mentioned, we we in freezing weather this winter with rain. When we wanted to leave in the morning the ice just slid off the topper. Not sure how it would have been without the topper..

[Bill-N-Donna]

The biggest pro I know of is the fact that it protects the top of your slide, shedding most all of the weather from getting on it. Our first Montana didn’t have them and I had serious water damage from leaks that I didn’t know about.

I haven’t come across any cons to having them yet. However, the large one sags a little and may hold some water. If it freezes it may fall off when closing the slide and scare the devil out of ya. Other than that I don’t see any cons to them. Some say the wind will cause them to flap a lot but I’ve never noticed any problems there.

[dieselguy]

I'm a recreational camper not a full timer ... I personally installed them on my previous Montana. To the plus side they do most of what has been said. I RV in states that always have WIND blowing and short of tying a bungee chord around your entire slide, they make lotsa NOISE when the wind really picks up. Unless you buy the ones with metal covers, the material they are made of won't last more than 4-5 years before they fray. Some on the MOC have had heartache with the metal covers as they can make noise too. I opted not to install them on my 3150 because of the noise, price, and because I do not fulltime. Perhaps our hearing is better than some ... perhaps we're lighter sleepers than others ... perhaps sweeping off the slides once in a while "just ain't no thing".

[Sniperduce]

No real cons thus far with ours.

[maximo]

Did not order them or pay for them but they came on our Big Sky from the factory. Like them very much.

Frank

[1retired06]

We would not be without them.

[Recumbent]

Our new Monty is our second with slide toppers. Have been in gusting high winds and they have kept us awake most of the night, but it has been maybe 3 nights out of 3 years and as I remember they were all in the western US. The water pooling on top is more of an aggravation than the noise has been. We got them installed on the present rig as a part of the trade as they help keep the slide tops from collecting leaves etc.

[rames14]

We have had them on two Montana's. In nine years we lost one awning to a tornado. I never have to check for debris, ice, etc. I am sure the seals last better and we have never had an issue with them otherwise. Personal preference.

[CATCRAW]

We had them installed on our 3150RL, I did not want all the pine needles, dirt and debris coming inside. Nor did I want to have to get the ladder out and clean the top of the slides every time I wanted to bring them in, so they work for us. Our first trip out with our new 3150 was to the Oregon Coast in June and the wind was 30-40 mph with stronger gusts. They did make a lot of noise and a few of the gusts rocked the rig. I was very concerned at first, until a pop-up tent trailer pulled in and parked next to us. I figured if they stayed upright in that , I had nothing to worry about.

[onekla]

We are pro-toppers for previous mentioned and these reasons:
1) We stayed at Sheridan WY one night and it rained a little bit. When we brought the slide in the next morning, about 1/4" of ice had formed on the topper and it rolled right off. The top of the slide was dry.
2) Yes, rain will puddle up on the toppers but when the rain stops, we simply bring the slides in and let the water run off the toppers then put them back out and they dry in no time.
3) The toppers keep pieces of bark, leaves, pine needles and pollen off the top of the slides. Recently, I was at the container store and bought a "casabella microfiber extendable filament duster" for under $20.00. The fluffy duster is washable and it can be shaped to a 90 degree angle or to your preference and the handle extends far enough to reach the topper on top of the bed slide. We haven't tried it yet, but think this will work much better than the broom. It should work nicely between the top of the slide and the topper if necessary.
4) No getting out the ladder to sweep off the top of the slides.
5) The toppers seem to help keep the camper cooler.
6) We were in Amarillo one night and a whopper of a storm blew in on us. The toppers were flopping pretty loudly so we hit the button and brought the slides in, turned out the lights and went back to bed. When we woke up the next morning we put the slides back out.
For us, toppers are a must. We won't be without them.