Slide Toppers and Wind

[traveler of california]

We have been in some strong winds all spring and I was wondering if anyone has an idea as to how much wind is acceptable before pulling in the slides. Recently, we have been pulling them in whenever winds begin to exceed 25 mph. What do you folks do.

This spring/summer seems to be windier than usual.

Nick

[tvman44]

Never had to pull ours in yet, my intentions are if ever they get to flapping too much I will throw a small rope over the topper and around the slide and put just enough tension to pull it down a little to stop the flapping.

[GG1]

Use common sense they are only vinyl its a lot cheaper to press a button and bring in the slides than to have them replaced. If they flap around in wind perhaps they need to have more tension on them.

[WheelingIt]

We go by feel and look. We've had alot of wind here in NM this spring and we've pulled in the slides whenever it looked like it was too much and they were billowing. When the wind is moderate we tie a rope around to flatten them down.

[Wayne M]

Consider this: Take a piece of paper and fold it over. Place a thin string between the folds. Have some one hold the paper in place and pull on both ends of the string, against the paper. It will cut it like a knife.

If you have to, and I have, get a flat 3" or more piece of fabric (I used burlap strip) cut it long enough to fit across the topper and down each end a couple feet. You can pick up tarp. grommets at any camping store. Fold the ends of the flat piece into a triangle over itself and put a grommet in each end. Now put your rope through the grommet and anchor it to the ground with a spring mechanism. You can place enough taught on the hold down rope to deter the flapping.

Happy trails.

[RickO]

For the first three years we had our coach we never saw anything to cause us concern but two winters ago a Northern California storm pulled out one of our toppers like it was a parachute and it wouldn't retract. $300 for the mobile guy to fix it in the middle of the storm. It was reported that the winds had gusted to 55mph that night. IMHO 25mph sound really light to have to react to.

Good luck...
rick

[Gary RVRoamer]

They get awful noisy but I don't worry much about it unless the coach starts rockin' in the wind. Then I pull the slide(s) in to cut down on the wind cross-section.

My toppers have enough extra material wound on the rollers to act as a shock absorber. The topper billows up and pulls against the torsion spring, cushioning the strain, but also making a lot of noise doing so.

[tvman44]

Great idea Wayne, gave me the idea of using one of the ratchet straps as I always carry a few of those in 1" width and a couple of the 3" width. Thanks for the idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne M Consider this: Take a piece of paper and fold it over. Place a thin string between the folds. Have some one hold the paper in place and pull on both ends of the string, against the paper. It will cut it like a knife. If you have to, and I have, get a flat 3" or more piece of fabric (I used burlap strip) cut it long enough to fit across the topper and down each end a couple feet. You can pick up tarp. grommets at any camping store. Fold the ends of the flat piece into a triangle over itself and put a grommet in each end. Now put your rope through the grommet and anchor it to the ground with a spring mechanism. You can place enough taught on the hold down rope to deter the flapping. Happy trails.

[EasyDoesIt]

I find that the winds from the side are the worst as they blow up the side and billow it up. Those that have Shields to prevent this have much less problem. My 32' slide is the worst! I have not tried it yet but I have bought foam pipe insulation to tie up to fill the gap with s hooks and shoe laces. Going to spend winter in Palm Springs area. Should be a good test!