A&E Slide Topper Fabric

[erpa]

How many with A&E slide toppers have had their fabric just shred apart after only 3 1/2 years or less.

[erpa]

How many with A&E slide toppers have had their fabric just shred apart after only 3 1/2 years or less.

[NeilV]

Eric,

No experience with slide toppers but plenty with South Central Florida sun. If they we left out for extended periods I would take anything over two years as a blessing. The closer you are to an airport or industrial fallout the more drastic effect the sun would have.

Regards,

Neil

[Don Renouf]

Just replaced my A&E slide topper due to delamination.

Don
2002 Itasca Horizon

[edgray]

The three ply fabric on both my slide toppers delaminated (opened up on the end seams) which allowed water to accumulate in between the plies. When retracting the topper, the water could not "flow" out from between the plies fast enough, and therefore holes were blown in the outer ply as it rolled up. This allowed more water to enter whenever the topper was rained on.

A&E paid CW to replace the fabric (only), under warranty at no cost to me (other than the two trips to CW). ED

[Doc Mark]

I have 2 so far.

[chasfm11]

We bought our MH in 2004 when it was 4 years old and the slide topper fabric was splitting about 2-3" from the slide where it fastens to the side of the MH. I ordered new fabric from A&E and installed it in May of that year. Now, I can see pin holes starting to form - less than 2 years later.

I've been meaning to call A&E about this problem. Now, I'll wait to see what comes out in this thread. Maybe I'm not as alone on this as I thought I was.

[RV Wizard]

We have been full timing for four years now and the coach is six years old in June. The topper is still in good condition. I do try to keep it washed (couple time a year) and treat it with "No Wet" about once a year. I think the UV inhibitors in the No Wet has helped; at least it sounds like it. We spent one full year in Fl. and Az each. One summer in Tn. winter in Fl. and a year in Ga. Room stays out 24/7.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Our toppers are over 4 years old and just starting to show signs of delaminating at the edge in a couple places. One seam looks like it is weakening too. Feel sure they will last another year or two, though. The rig is always outside, either at our Florida home all winter or somewheer in the USA the rest of the year.

[erpa]

Everyone, thanks for the replies.

NeilV.
Know what you mean about the Florida sun. Our rig has about 30K miles on it and most (99%) of that is outside the state of FL. The only time slides are extended is when we are at campsites.

[Fossilhog]

I just ordered the fabric to replace my toppers. I hope its something I can do myself. I've replaced awning fabric and end caps before. Have any of you guys done this job yourself?

[Gary RVRoamer]

I was about to do it and studied up on it, but then we traded the rig and I never followed through. I've manually unwound my toppers to get a look at mechanism and see how tough it would be and it's not bad to get that far. Have to be really careful though - there is a lot of spring tension and a slip could cause some real hurt!

[Fossilhog]

Yup, I know all about the tension, I've replaced end caps on my 18' awning and on previous RV's as well as helped other campers do theirs. What I'm looking for is the scale with the amount of turns they require. The end cap kits have that listed by color of the spring.

[rotts4u]

My 2003 motorhome slide toppers started cracking and delaminating in about 2-3 years. I only get to use the motorhome a few times a year and its covered the rest of the time.

Don