Community Forums

David Jay · 06-11-2018, 02:35 PM

I bought two Solera slide toppers for the back side of my Jayco HT (door side will need a different brand as the flange is only 2 inches from awning arm). Nothing in the Solera manual gives a clear indication of where to put the rail. One spot says "3 inches above the flange", but since slide flanges on different vehicles are different heights (i.e. the top of the awning roller varies) that doesn't give me any confidence. Etrailer has a nice install video that explains how to mark for the rail, but now where to mark for the rail.

I know I want some runoff, but I don't know how much. Maybe one inch per foot?

Thoughts? Measurements off of some of your factory toppers?

MSHappyCampers · 06-11-2018, 02:37 PM

I would mount it as high as possible for the best rain run-off!

egwilly · 06-11-2018, 07:50 PM

Rule of thumb is 5-6" above the slide to get the proper runoff.

David Jay · 06-12-2018, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I would mount it as high as possible for the best rain run-off!

In one case, that would be more than a foot above the slide. That would look like a sail going down the road

ALLOY · 06-12-2018, 09:13 PM

Drain pipe in plumbing only needs 1/8" per foot but 1/4" per foot is ideal.

The gutters along the side of the RV roof is level

Bob_C · 06-12-2018, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Jay

In one case, that would be more than a foot above the slide. That would look like a sail going down the road

Only if you travel with the slide out...egwilly is correct, and minimum clearance at the flange is 1/4"....

Cypressloser · 06-12-2018, 09:47 PM

I believe somewhere around 5" is recommended. We are going to put toppers on our slides this year, but with a continuous gutter and the mounting rails already installed at the factory we have barely 2" of slope on the tallest slides.

My advice, more slope is better, any slope is better than no slope and make it consistent.

Yosemite77 · 06-14-2018, 07:49 PM

I am in the middle of the same project. I’m installing 3 of these. The awning rails came preinstalled on our Coachmen Chaparral. I’ll include a pic of the rails with a bracket installed below. With the slide open, the gap between the top of the gasket and bottom of the awning rail is exactly 2 inches. It wouldn’t hurt to go a little more than that, but I wouldn’t put it much further up. [ATTACH]
For sealant I recommend using butyl caulk. The bracket will stick to the trailer which makes for easy drilling since the butyl holds it in place. In my pic you can see the butyl oozing out. I’ll trim off the excess with a plastic scraper in a couple of days.
The Solera Slide Toppers come with lots of self-tapping screws. On Step 15 of the instructions if you predrill the holes into the extension rods, you’ll save a lot of time.
I had trouble getting the first spring clip out. Once you see the shape, it’s not bad. If you pop the curved end out first, the straight section can be pried out without too much trouble. [ATTACH]
Good luck!

Bob_C · 06-15-2018, 08:23 AM

You needed to grasp the roller and roll it by hand a smidge, then the pins are easy to remove.....

Bob_C · 06-15-2018, 08:29 AM

If you ever need to replace at seals that the topper covers, extent the slide almost all the way out, then pin, and then take one bracket loose, and slide topper with roller out of the other bracket and lay on slide roof.....then move it all up onto the roof.....trick is not to open or close the slide till the topper is back in place....

TRNewsom · 06-16-2018, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Jay

I bought two Solera slide toppers for the back side of my Jayco HT (door side will need a different brand as the flange is only 2 inches from awning arm).

I would like to know a solution to the awning rail problem because we have it too and would like a topper on the slide.

David Jay · 06-16-2018, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRNewsom

I would like to know a solution to the awning rail problem because we have it too and would like a topper on the slide.

I plan on purchasing a “Carefree” because it is only 3 inches from the edge of the fabric to the end of the mechanism. My slide flange is 2” from the awning mechanism. If I use 1 1/2” of that space, I end up with the fabric extending about an inch past the edge of the slide-out “box”. My door is right there under the edge of the awning so I can reach the top of the slider from the doorway if there are a few leaves or blossoms under the very edge of the fabric after a windstorm.

Seems like about the best I can do...