Slde toppers

[bulbrich]

My 2007 3400rl has 4 A&E slide toppers. When it's windy they flap in the wind which sounds terrible inside.

Without a support arm on the sides, like you do on the awning how can one stabilize the canvas.

I'm searching for idea's on how to stop this.

[skypilot]

Bruce and Kathy: We also have the same problem -- while in Albuquerque last year a fellow camper showed us how he used a long cord and bungee cords stretched over the top and around the slide(s) to stop the flapping. Not very pretty but very effective. Since then I've seen similar setups and CW even sells kits to do the same thing now. (In our case, DW thought it looked so gaudy that we either put up with the noise or pull the slide(s) in -- . )

[Lije Baley]

Great idea, skypilot. We could have used it this past weekend at the coast (CA). We finally put the slides in to sleep....
Mariana

[CmdrDewey]

Take em off and sell them. You don't need them. I haven't swept my slides in five years and I have never gotten water or anything else inside.

I realize I am in the minority here

[SlickWillie]

They're definitely not designed for windy areas. We spent the winter where it was very windy. I stuffed beach rafts, tied ropes around them, and even talked bad to them a few times. I'll never have another unit with slide toppers on it. I'm going to try to build something with 1/2 pvc pipe to slide under them to hold the material taunt this winter. The rope and rafts worked pretty good on the bedroom slide, but on the living/dining slide, the middle material was still loose, and popped like a whip when the wind was parallel with the fiver.

[5ER]

I also think the wind helps to speed up the process of the fabric delaminating. The slide covers only last 4 years if you use your trailer quite a bit. I will be getting mine replaced in the near future. I have been camped under trees in the fall where the slide toppers in my opinion were well worth the money. Just bring in the slides and all the leaves would fall off. I may try putting some of those long floats that kids use for swimming under the toppers and see if this stops the wind noise. I have been trying to think of a way that the ends could be factory made so that the ends of the toppers could be closed up, maybe with velcro?

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by 5ER

I also think the wind helps to speed up the process of the fabric delaminating. The slide covers only last 4 years if you use your trailer quite a bit. I will be getting mine replaced in the near future. I have been camped under trees in the fall where the slide toppers in my opinion were well worth the money. Just bring in the slides and all the leaves would fall off. I may try putting some of those long floats that kids use for swimming under the toppers and see if this stops the wind noise. I have been trying to think of a way that the ends could be factory made so that the ends of the toppers could be closed up, maybe with velcro?

I had the best luck when I aired up the beach rafts, folded them and stuffed them in the end toward the wind. I saw another fiver in the park where we were at and the slide outer walls ended even with the roof on the slide. This allows the seal to push any leaves or debris off the slide roof when it is retracted. Wish Keystone would look at that design. Maybe there are pitfalls I don't know about in this design,but it would sure eliminate the need for the toppers.

[sreigle]

Well, I'll never be without them. We had a few days without them before they were installed. I had to sweep off the acorns from the slide roofs before we could retract the slides. And I sure don't want to be up there chipping ice so we can retract the slides when we're in our winter holiday area with the kids. Or shovel off the 12 inches of snow when we were ready to leave the area winter before last.

As for noise, if it is really bad they may need retensioning. Your dealer can do that. But you will still have some noise in the wind. We got used to that and it doesn't bother us any more. But ours are relatively tight. If you see sag in the toppers when there is no wind, check into having them retensioned. It's a simple procedure but dangerous if you don't know what you're doing (and I don't).

[rickety]

Had em on our 3280 and they about drove us nuts, also the fact that the kitchen topper froze on us in Oregon and almost pulled the slide sideways.
Won't have them again, I'll clean 'em periodically, and make sure they're clear when we put them in. NO PROBLEM!

[noneck]

Ok, I'm gonna go with the Reigle's...got one with old 89 Terry, found it kept lots of "stuff" off. Don't have them on this one, yet I have freaking awnings on all the darn windows? Think it was a Florida rig now its stuck in the Northeast. I have two Toppers in my garage to be installed soon by me. I won't be without 'em.