Good idea. We have already had one slide topper tear and need to have the fabric replaced on our 1 year old camper. I wish there was a way to retract the topper with the slide out when it gets really windy or to clean the top. Now that we are out of warranty I will probably just remove the toppers going forward when they rip.

To each his own. If I'm going to all that work I soon not have them. Recently seen a neighbor have to close his slide outs to prevent winds from damaging them. Glad we don't have them. just our choice.

Check out http://toughtopawnings.com/ The toppers are easy to replace yourself and Tyler is a great guy to deal with.

If we were consistently in areas with no trees I wouldn’t have them either. My slide room roof isn’t wet when bringing the slides in while raining meaning less water in my rig and also adds a little extra rain leakage protection too. Pros and cons for having them for sure.

Yep for sure

I have slide toppers and would not buy another rig without them. They keep debris off your slide and helps keep it a little cooler in direct sunlight. As far as winds, been in some strong winds with them never worried about pulling in slides. Sure you can hear them flap some in wind it not that noticeable to me.

Excellent idea I may have to try. We are on our second rig with slide toppers, in heavy winds they are quite noisy and annoying. Not sure I am all in on slide toppers, on one hand it seems they provide a sort of insulation barrier over the slide which can be a good thing. But while they keep most debris off the slides, I have found in some conditions, debris can make it's way under the slide topper and on to the slide. So I end up getting on a ladder to check before closing and have had to remove some debris. I also find it worthwhile after rain and before leaving sweeping accumulated water that pools on the toppers. My other concern is if the temps drop below freezing and they get wet and freeze, how that might effect closing the slides.

Having solar panels that I couldn’t sweep under I found it took a long time to sweep the roof and toppers so I bought a small battery operated leaf blower. Job done in just a couple of minutes and I can blow under those solar panels. I’ve had pooling water freeze on my 13’ slide topper and it just rolls off when putting the slide room in.

Colibabas I have been thinking of getting a leaf blower as well as I have solar panels that seem to be magnets for debris. Thanks for confirming the idea of a leaf blower. For the most part it seems the water rolls off when retracting the slides, but there at times can be a lot of water and my concern is some of it can try to make it's way to the slide seals. Whether that is true or not, who knows but it makes me sleep better at night if I sweep the water off the toppers prior to retracting and I suspect a leaf blower might help here also. Having solar panels, I frequently check them and clean as necessary so while up on the roof anyway, no big deal to sweep the toppers.

Steve (Colibabas), thanks for posting this! We intentionally ordered our Lance without a slide topper for just that (flapping) reason, only to have it arrive with one (but no solar panel we ordered, so there you go!) I've heard the 'flapping' report from others and was hoping to avoid it...so your clever dodge at least mitigates things for a while. Full-timing can be the ultimate test of these things, so for many of us these tweaks (which we tend to hear more about from full-timers, I notice) are probably not 'essential'. OTOH you're helping me anticipate what is down the same alley you've already traveled, so I surely do appreciate the post. (Seems like a wee bit of bunny cord in the tie-down line would be helpful).

Best wishes,

Jack in Bozeman MT, which is taking F-A-R too long to turn into a true 'Spring' this year!

Colibabas, great idea! Thank you for sharing.

Bruce, I bought a leaf blower and used it this week on my slide, took care of water, leaves and twigs with ease. Bought a Ryobi battery powered one from Amazon as I already had other tools, batteries and chargers.

If you use ToughTopAwnings be sure to use the RVGeeks discount code at http://www.thervgeeks.com/awnings-and-slide-toppers/dometic-awning-replacement/ it's only 5% but that's something.

Thanks Lisa...that’s exactly what I did a couple of years ago when I replaced my last 3 toppers. Safe travels!

Update: There is a misprint in my original post...I used 1 1/4” PVC pipe, NOT 1”.
Sorry gang!