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Thread: Slide topper

  1. #1
    Rolling Along Rgpracer's Avatar
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    Cool Slide topper

    I want to install my own slide toppers from either Carefree or Solera on my (soon to have) 303.....has anyone else done it and if so, tips tricks or advice?

    To have it done from dealer on 3 slides, they are talking near $2500, man, with my mechanical experience, building race cars, wood worker, fighter jet crewdog....I feel that I can do it.

    Thanks
    Msgt Ray (Ret) and Margie Parker
    2022 GD 303RLS w/Gen-Y gooseneck
    2020 Ram 2500 HD Cummins 6.7/3.73 gears

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    Long Hauler geotex1's Avatar
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    Simple task better done DIY if not at the factory. Top rail parallel with slide box and that may or may not be level but parallel is key! Also use mother nature to you advantage to find the header over the slide opening (study my photo closely). Finally, skip the butyl tape and use thick, 3M, exterior rated double-sided tape. Burn holes through the tape with soldering iron or heated 30d nail for the screws to pass cleanly.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Rob & Nikki + Cloverfield
    2020 Grand Design Solitude S-Class 3350RL
    2015 RAM 3500 Longhorn Laramie Crew Cab, Long Bed, 4x4 Dually Cummins/AISIN

    Mountains of Pennsylvania

  3. #3
    Big Traveler
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    My son and I did two Solara toppers on our 5er. No problem. We used Butal tape and did't have any issues. Our 5er came with the rails pre-installed. All we had to do was slide the fabric ends thru them and bolt down the corner guide mounts on the slide outs. Fairly straight forward. In our case, having my son on the roof and me on a ladder to help guide the fabric rolled arms thru the rails and then mounting on the mounts made it alot easier.

    Not having to clean the slide tops off (leaves, water, acorns,etc) each time before retracting them makes them well worth it! Not to mention the added shade from the sun.

    The only issue we found was that they are very prone to flap in windy situations which the noise can be annoying, not to mention the possiblity of tearing free from the rails. We solved this issue by getting some suction cup lifters and some extra long stretch cords from Harbour Freight to hold them down when camping in windy conditions.

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    Fireside Member
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    Well I have found slide toppers to be a mixed bag. They are very good if you camp a lot in the woods with leaves and debris on top of the slides, but they are noisy in the wind and very high maintenance. I have mine on three slides for five years and have replaced all of them once and one of them for the second time. If you get caught in a severe crosswind while in transit they will unroll and destroy themselves, they even have a name for it: billowing. So if you’re headed into winds more than 20-30 mph just stop. It’s cheaper than replacing them. Hopefully someone on this thread knows more than I do because I am sorry I ever put them on.


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    Quote Originally Posted by droundtree View Post
    ........If you get caught in a severe crosswind while in transit they will unroll and destroy themselves, they even have a name for it: billowing. So if you’re headed into winds more than 20-30 mph just stop. It’s cheaper than replacing them. Hopefully someone on this thread knows more than I do because I am sorry I ever put them on.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Im assuming you meant camped during a 20-30 mph wind and not traveling on the highway? If so, we have had those high wind situations multiple times with our Solora's since installing them. As I mentioned in my above post, we placed suction cups on either side of the slide out centered and attached an extra long stretch cord between them over the topper. When doing so, we made sure not to make the stretch cords tight and left some slack so that the edges would not have much downward weight on them when in using the cord. Main purpose was to keep the "flapping" from occurring during the windy days and nights. Been doing this for 3 years now with no issue of tearing or stretching of the Solara topper fabric.

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    While I have also experienced your issue and was happy to see your solution that I will try, I actually meant traveling in a crosswind. The first time it happened we were in New Mexico getting 30-50 MPH crosswinds and two out of three unwound and ripped to pieces, I had to climb on the roof in the same storm and cut them off to keep them from damaging the sides and roof. Second time was coming across Kansas back in May. This time I got it to more or less rewind and got it home so I was at least able to use the coach the rest of the summer, now it is in the shop getting another replacement. The other two have small holes in them by I’m not about to get them replaced this soon.


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    Wow, I cant say I had ever heard or experience that. I have been in some high winds before while traveling with my 5er through KS and SD, but never had any issues. Sorry to hear about that. Were these installed by the factory? Which set of toppers did you have? Mine are wound so tight (by the manufacturer) that the tops of the slides actually start to move after the bottoms begin to extend.

    I wonder if your experiencing some slide movement when traveling? I have had our 20' kitchen slide with topper installed do it once due to having to manuever around a car that cut us off before to get off at an exit. Was so bad that one of our kitchen cabinet doors got stuck open against our hutch on an adjacent wall. Havent happened since, but am still looking at purchasing a slide lock to prevent it from possibly happening again. Might be something for you to consider as well.
    Last edited by trailrydr; 10-05-2021 at 02:56 AM.

  8. #8
    Rolling Along Rgpracer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by droundtree View Post
    Well I have found slide toppers to be a mixed bag. They are very good if you camp a lot in the woods with leaves and debris on top of the slides, but they are noisy in the wind and very high maintenance. I have mine on three slides for five years and have replaced all of them once and one of them for the second time. If you get caught in a severe crosswind while in transit they will unroll and destroy themselves, they even have a name for it: billowing. So if you’re headed into winds more than 20-30 mph just stop. It’s cheaper than replacing them. Hopefully someone on this thread knows more than I do because I am sorry I ever put them on.


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    Thanks droundtree.....never heard of them "unrolling'.
    Thanks for the good advice.
    Ray
    Msgt Ray (Ret) and Margie Parker
    2022 GD 303RLS w/Gen-Y gooseneck
    2020 Ram 2500 HD Cummins 6.7/3.73 gears

  9. #9
    Rolling Along Rgpracer's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for advice. Ray
    Msgt Ray (Ret) and Margie Parker
    2022 GD 303RLS w/Gen-Y gooseneck
    2020 Ram 2500 HD Cummins 6.7/3.73 gears

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    Long Hauler
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    Not a 303, but we intend to install slide toppers on our 351M next year. It just doesn't look hard enough to justify $1000 labor to install. We had them on our last 5th wheel and they are da bomb. Had them over 10 years with absolutely no issues. Some toppers come with the "anti-sail" device to keep them from coming unwound. We simply wouldn't be without them. If you camp when it's warm/hot, they do wonders to keep the heat off the top of the slide. We would have them already, but they were unavailable before we left.
    Howard and Peggy
    2019 Momentum 351M, and 2018 RAM Cummins dually 6-speed.
    His: 1999 Honda Interceptor
    Hers: 2013 Spyder ST-S

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