Community Forums

Timay · 01-15-2015, 03:36 PM

Gee whiz! This is my first rig with toppers and I like them! I just went out to check and I have about a 4" rise from the top of the slide to the place on the trailer where it is fastened. They still get full of rain (no problem - just run it in and watch the water run down the side of the slide.) but since I am inside pushing the button I don't get wet. Same with snow - it just falls off. No ice on mine yet...either I have been staying out of that kind of weather or been lucky.

I had no idea others were having problems that make them not like the toppers! I just use them and if they break, I'll fix them. I do like the beach ball idea though. Oh - I have no agenda about in or out. I have left them out all winter and in all winter as well. When I first got it I had a birds nest in the roller while it was in and just cleaned it out and continued on.

Tim

dayle1 · 01-15-2015, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wwenstad1

I bought a new fifth wheel, and when I purchased I asked about putting toppers on and sales said they weren't worth the money. Could in get some advice on this matter?

Did you ask the sales person how many nights they camped last year? With or w/o toppers? Otherwise, you have received lots of good feedback. I like them because they help keep the RV cooler since I do a lot of hot temp camping. Then, I have never had to climb on the roof to sweep the slides clean ( or used other time consuming techniques) and I've never had debris inside the RV and never had a slide out leak in the rain. Rain, snow or ice? Just close the slide out slowly. It may be necessary to close the slide out more frequently to prevent snow or ice buildup but I can do that from inside. With snow or ice buildup w/o toppers you wait til the weather improves (if you can wait), then go outside and tackle the problem. Wind noise may be an issue, depends on your sensitivity, but is not as significant on the smaller bedroom slide out.

FiverBob · 01-16-2015, 07:15 AM

A little tip for the topper owners - - - don't head into the Fundy Bay area of Nova Scotia and camp on the bay front unless you can live comfortably in your rig with the slides in. Well, unless you want to unwrap your rv from the canvas wound around it. That was quite a sight to walk thru the campground after a quite blustery night. Likewise camping in the Florida keys - - makes for a very interesting morning walk after a quick overnight thunderstorm.

If slides are adjusted correctly and the rig was engineered and made well, there is no problem with leaking without toppers. One problem I found was the slide that has a lip of about 3" or so on the outside edge - - that creates a real problem bringing it in without cleaning it off. Luckily, the Carriage and Lifestyle do not have a lip and use a good "U" shaped rubber seal on top and sides that is strong and does a good job of pushing most debris off the roof. If lots up there, I do use the towel and rope system to remove. Just takes a couple minutes to do all three slides.

IC2 · 01-16-2015, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FiverBob

A little tip for the topper owners - - - don't head into the Fundy Bay area of Nova Scotia and camp on the bay front unless you can live comfortably in your rig with the slides in.

I can relate to that one - September 2014 we 'experienced' 70 mph winds in NS and NB and the only time in my very long RV life I have ever worried about winds lifting a 12K 5er's nose and pushing it backwards (yes, I do chock).

Rob_Fla · 01-17-2015, 05:58 AM

We have had slide toppers on our last 3 5th Wheels, and yes this is one of those love / hate items.
We travel in the Southeast for the most part and stay in some parks with lots of trees.
The Toppers do a great job of keeping the debris off and since I installed the toppers on our current rig, I installed them with more pitch / angle than you typically see, we have not had any water pooling at all.
We like the toppers since we typically move every couple of weeks year round.
They also help with the hot summer sun and interior heating by keeping the direct sun off the slide roofs which by design have very little insulation due to the thin roof area of a slide roof.

Ramets · 01-17-2015, 06:09 AM

5yrs. fulltiming w/o toppers and have never wished I had them. I've talked to owners that do have them, and they've complained of having to get up at 2am to bring in the slides because of wind. I've only had to clean the roofs off a handful of times in our 5yrs. Don't see the need for them.