Are they required?  Will the slideouts leak water if you remove them?  I'm thinking of removing mine,  get tired of hearing them flap in the wind...

Just remember that without them you have to clean the tops of the slideouts before pulling them in, including any water.  The slide gaskets will not squeegee off the water.

-- Edited by bjoyce at 09:19, 2009-02-15

We have never had any on our 5ers. Specifically because wwe go to windy places. Many of our friends have to bring the slides in when the wind starts. I have never had to dry the tops.....but you do have to occasionally sweep them off if you are under trees for awhile. Generally I have to do nothing, but it depends on where you stay.

I have to agree with Jack on this. We don't have them and have never had a problem with either water or leaves coming in the coach. I have read somewhere though, that the Carriage products may be slightly different than others in the fact that they employ a double seal on the slides. We also have friends that are always disturbed when there is a high wind flapping the toppers. I've only had to go up on the roof once in 3 years to sweep off the slides, but that's probably because we hardly ever park under trees due to the MotoSat dish on the front of the coach.

Two other topper options:

1) Although by no means inexpensive, consider top-of-line toppers like those from Girard. I've never had a flap and I park in some mighty blustery and snow load places.

2) You can also insert topper supports like these inflatables from www.awningairwedge.com

I emailed awning air wedge some questions on their product. I checked out Girard but I don't see how they would help eliminate the wind problem. If anything, they leave a larger opening for the wind then I have now, and, they probably cost a small fortune. At any rate it would be an expensive undertaking to see if they would help or not. The airwedge looks like it could work if they will fit the opening tight enough so the wind doesn't blow them farther down the slideout or out the other end and across town. I have seen coaches with cargo straps wrapped around the entire slideout and awning to hold the toppers down in the wind and I don't want to do that as I think it would lead to tearing. Bringing in the slides is one solution but I wanted to see what other folks are doing and get some ideas.

The primary purpose of slide out awnings is to limit the quantity of debree that gets on top of the slide out.  Debree on top of the slide out could cause the slide to not come in all the way and thus not seal.  Were this to happen the chances of a leak are greatly increased.  Slide out awnings also tend to limit the amount of water and/or snow and ice, that gets on top of the slide while it is out, however, it is quite obvious that some water will still get on top of the slide so stopping water is not their primary purpose.  As long as you remember that debree can build up on top of the slide outs while they are out and you take appropriate measures to remove any debree before bringing the slide out in, you should have no problem.  Before you remove them, a quick call to the manufacturer of your particular RV for advice on the matter would be in order. 

Yes I plan on contacting Monaco to get their take on the subject.

Having lived in a RV park for the last three years I have witnessed many slide awning covers. Most of these covers get stretched out and torn long before the RV shows signs of age. I am sure that they serve well but for how long would be my question. One neighbor of mine had an awning so stretched out that it just laid on top of his slide and would flop in the lightess breeze. Another had a nest of squirrells under theirs. When the wind blows the acorns off the trees they are blown up under the slide awning and then have to be raked or swept out one side or the other. I have yet to see an awning that prevented debris from getting on top of the slide. I do know that they hamper getting the debris out. The awnings I have on my Carri-lite rolls up like a patio awning. Now when the wind blows I can roll them up and they don't flap and the slides can stay out. The only thing they are good for is keeping some water off and some debris....I say some. At least with this type of awning you can roll it up and clean the slide without pushing the debris out one side or the other. My suggestion...for what it is worth is get the roll up awnings.. Joe

Never had covers, never had any problem with water or debris getting into the RV. If I park under trees, I will go up and sweep off the slides before retracting them.

Getting water in with no cover depends on the slide. I know multiple motorhome owners who have gotten wet when they hit the brakes and the water comes off the slide top onto the driver.

Bill is correct. The slide seals will not squeegee the water off the slide as it comes in.

Everyone should clean their slides off before they put them in. Branches and debris can cut and tear your roofing on the slides if it is not cleaned off before the slide is brought in. Also the seals can be damaged by the same debris if not removed. Joe

To get the slide-out automatic squeegee action all you need to do is to upgrade your rig to a Marathon coach. You know, the campers that START at $1.5mm. If you get a chance to see one of these engineering marvels in action at your local campground, by all means, check it out. A blast of air is used to clear the slide-out top before and as it is brought in. No need for a topper. Talk about smooth as silk and slicker than STP, these slide-outs are marvels! Cost like marvels too!

Sherri....what account do you want me to write that check out of???....Dude has a deal!! Thanks Dude.... Speedy

Sherri - remember, I am just the MESSENGER!
Love ya guys!

The Newell slides are pretty slick, too. Take a look sometime. Especially at the flush floor method. Of course, they are also in the 1.4M and up range. Much nicer than ANY Prevost conversion, in my opinion.

For anyone interested, I contacted www.awningairwedge.com as the website did not provide much information. They told me: The air wedge comes in one size only, 8 feet long, 2 feet wide, 6 inches at rear and 2 inches at front. One Airwedge will give sufficient support for topper awnings up to 14 feet long. The Airwedge only comes in this one size but can be used on toppers from 8 feet long up to 14 feet long. I have 3 slides on the coach, 6 foot in the bedroom, 14 foot for the kitchen, and 31 foot superslide. However, all of my toppers are more than 6" where the topper meets the coach and more than 2" on the other end. And they are all more than 2 feet in depth. As a general rule I do not spend money on a product unless I convince myself it will work. Unfortunately this product does not pass my muster. The one size fits all rule does not appeal to me. I could use 2 air wedges on my superslide and one on the kitchen slide, but they would not be in contact with the toppers and would require the lanyard kit to ensure they don't blow away. One other problem is the topper on the superslide has a support rod in the middle...I don't know if it would cut the air wedge or not. The bedroom slide, also the deepest slide, would have about a foot of the air wedge hanging out both ends, probably not a good idea. Now instead of the topper flapping I have this air wedge slapping the wall of the slideout. While I like the product they need to allow size changes. The problem I am trying to eliminate is the topper flapping in high wind conditions. To cure this, and, prevent damage to the topper, you have to eliminate the wind getting under the topper. The air wedge would need to completely cover any opening to prevent wind from getting under the topper. It would require a depth of more than 2 feet to cover any of my slideout openings. And, having one of these air wedges under an topper that is longer than 8' and centered will expose each end to possible wind damage. What do you guys think?

-- Edited by NorCal Dan at 10:20, 2009-02-20

Let me be my normal pain in the butt self (as my wife and Linda would say), and suggest that if you are going to all the trouble of using "contraptions" on your awing slides then why not just remove them (or the material). The few times you have to actively do something to clean stuff off the roof is far easier than putting up something every time you stop.....

Like Jack I have not used slide awnings on my 4 slide trailer and have no intention on getting any unless I become unable to climb a ladder. I have not had to bring in slides in on windy days. I carry a foldup ladder that I use to clean off slides if I am setup under trees and I don't have to get on top of the RV. I use the ladder for many other reasons, I didn't buy it just for this. The awnings just sound like they are more expense and problems than they are worth.

On the same subject, my slide out awing came out of the track in the middle as both ends are held tight by screws. Any suggestuion on how to re-insert??

-- Edited by FlyFish1 on Sunday 17th of May 2009 12:37:03 PM

I had to redo on once and in doing so had to pull the entire awning out of the track and re thread it back in. The track was puckered out and allowed the awning to come out. I had to tap the track back in and then re thread the awning back in the track. The ends have to come off and the spring reset...If I had to do it again it would go to the shop...too many busted knuckels and bad words was the results of saving a few bucks...LOL Speedy