Installing slideout toppers - Montana Owners Club

prndl · 05-30-2017, 01:33 PM

When installing slide toppers, do you remove the drip rail or mount the awning above or below the drip rail?

waynemoore · 05-30-2017, 05:53 PM

On mine it in below as the roof is above the drip rail. The drip rail stays on.

WeBeFulltime · 05-31-2017, 05:36 AM

Drip rail stays on.

Twopetes · 05-31-2017, 08:49 AM

Interesting as I am looking at slide covers and my drip rail looks like the cover mount. The rail for the cover looks exactly the same. But I will have to see when I actually get to the project - hopefully this summer

WeBeFulltime · 05-31-2017, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeBeFulltime

Drip rail stays on.

Just checked mine and they are below the drip rail (gutter).

cw3jason · 06-01-2017, 01:16 PM

dealer put mine above instead of using the drip rail, allowing for more pitch in the topper.

prndl · 06-04-2017, 07:41 PM

Thanks for all the replies!
If I had my druthers I would mount the rail just under the drip rail, but, it's not going to give me much slope. I'm going to climb up and take some measurements tomorrow and see what I can do.

The real issue is with the bedroom slide as the top front of the slide flange is already close, by inches, to the downward slope of the roof and with the roof edge+drip rail+awning rail all trying to occupy the same piece of real estate it's tight.

The LR slide is great as at the last moment on extending it drops down so there is a slope even if it was mounted on the same level as the topper on the body it would not matter. The bedroom does not drop on extension.

SRD · 06-14-2017, 06:08 PM

Just ordered slide toppers on Saturday and they were delivered today. I would have thought the drip rail and the slide topper rail were the same. Thanks for these posts, I'll be installing the awning rail separately. I really appreciate the info/feedback on this forum.
thanks
Steve

prndl · 06-14-2017, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SRD

Just ordered slide toppers on Saturday and they were delivered today. I would have thought the drip rail and the slide topper rail were the same. Thanks for these posts, I'll be installing the awning rail separately. I really appreciate the info/feedback on this forum.
thanks
Steve

From the ground, the awning rail and the gutter above the slide look similar. I thought the same thing.

For me, the roof slope, slider gutter, and now the topper rail are going to fight for the same real estate at the front of the bedroom slide. I will post a picture tomorrow.

Loneoak · 06-15-2017, 04:43 AM

We were talking to a tech at a dealer the other day and he gave us a price on slide toppers. He said they are attached to the drip rail. I think that is what you are talking about - the long thing above the slide with the spouts on the ends.

SRD · 06-15-2017, 06:53 AM

Thanks Loneoak. We store our 5th wheel at an indoor storage facility and there are 3 other Montanas stored right next to ours. Two of the Montanas have slide toppers, so I'm going to get on a ladder to see how their slide toppers were installed (if they used the rain gutter rail or a separate awning rail).

Loneoak · 06-15-2017, 07:10 AM

Please let us know the results.

fatcatzzz · 06-15-2017, 07:34 AM

Mine have there own track, not the drip tray or gutter.

prndl · 06-15-2017, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prndl

From the ground, the awning rail and the gutter above the slide look similar. I thought the same thing.

For me, the roof slope, slider gutter, and now the topper rail are going to fight for the same real estate at the front of the bedroom slide. I will post a picture tomorrow.

Picture of crowded location.
I am going to install the awning rail under the gutter just above the flange.

SRD · 06-16-2017, 08:16 AM

I just checked the other two Montanas that are in storage next to our rig that have slide toppers. Neither Montana has a drip/gutter rail above their slides. Also, looked at my drip/gutter rail that are above our slides and it looks different than the awning rail on the schematic/instructions. The drip/gutter rail does not appear to have the bead track for the bead that is on the awning. I have not unpacked my awnings yet so I haven't compared the two rails. I won't be able to get to the installation until the week of 6/26.

Loneoak · 06-16-2017, 09:30 AM

Thanks for checking. I will check ours to see if there is a track.

Loneoak · 06-16-2017, 10:25 AM

Here is a zoomed in picture of the end of the track above one of our slides. That looks like it might have a track in it.

SRD · 06-17-2017, 05:20 PM

Hey Loneoak,
I can't see the end of your rail due to the drip guard, but it looks like you may have the awning rail attached to your camper. My drip/gutter rail is the same as prndl gutter rail. I'm probably going to remove my gutter rail and put my awning rail in the same location as the gutter rail. I'll know for sure how I'm going to install week after next when I do my install.

prndl · 06-22-2017, 01:39 PM

OK, I installed the toppers yesterday.

I put the awning rail under the drip rail. I installed the rail with the flange (where the screws go) on the bottom and butted the rail tight to the bottom of the gutter. I had to remove the spouts at each end of the gutter for a tight fit.

At that location I am within the guidelines for slope. The top of the awning roll is one inch lower than the awning rail when closed. The instructions say 1/4' minimum to 1.5" max.

Install went easier than expected with two people. I did buy a scaffold from harbor freight for this job but I will be using it for waxing the Monte also.
It was cheaper than falling off a ladder

Loneoak, no you do not have an awning rail only a gutter.

SRD, I left the gutter as it is. If you remove the gutter to mount the rail in its place you might find that the differential between the rail and the top of the awning roll will be too much. You will then have to mount the awning higher up on the slide to reduce the differential. Go too high and you're going to be mounting the awning on the flange of the slide.

To anyone doing this, take your time and make a lot of measurements. A mistake will leave you with a lot of holes to patch.

SRD · 06-26-2017, 07:53 PM

Well, I started mine today. I purchased the tall arms with my slide toppers. I took a measurement with a dry fit before I removed the drip rail and I should be within the specs for the top of the awning and the awning rail. I removed two of the drip rails today. Removing the drip rails were fairly easy, but lots of work scraping the silicone off the camper that was applied to the top of the drip rail. I will remove the 3rd (last) drip rail tomorrow. The place where we store the 5th wheel has a scissor lift so I can use it to do the install of the toppers.

PRNDL, good point about the purchase of the scaffold vs falling off the ladder and congrats on your install. Quick question. Did you use butyl tape behind your awning rail? I'm planning on using silicone behind the brackets, but was going to use butyl tape behind the awning rails.

thanks
Steve

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