Slide Topper as add on to sale

[elsique]

Do you feel a Carefree Slide Topper is a worthy $600. add on to the cost of a new TT? I have a slide topper on current TT we will be trading and feel it is worth the cost but wanted feedback from others to confirm.
Thoughts?

[gaymeadowsman]

I told our dealer that our purchase had to include the slide topper at no charge. Our Avenger has a 16'x42" slide. Dealership owner is our salesman, and it was no problem for him. In his service bay there is an entire wall with cases of slide toppers of all sizes either Black or White.
We got a very good sale price as quoted on the trailer and the topper price was not worked into the the total price.
And they didn't try to swap the TV for the topper as another local dealer tried to do.

[campigloo]

I don’t know anything about the price. I’ve had them on all of mine and haven’t paid for one yet. I always made it a condition of the sale. Hasn’t failed me yet. It’s always been worth the price.

[mikakuja]

IMO the slide topper is worth every penny, even if it seems like too much initially... If nothing else, it reduces the chance of leaks in an area that is notorious for leaking....
As I use our trailer during the winter it stops the buildup of snow directly on the slide roof. This makes it a ton easier to bring the slide in without having to worry about cleaning the roof first. Also keeps the roof dry in rainy weather, which means I don't have to crawl on top of it to dry it off once the slide is in.
And ScottG, we do the same with the broom. One of us brings in the slide and the other brooms off any leaves or **** that is stuck to the topper as it rolls in.

[ScottG]

BtW, while my DW retracts the slides I just use a long broom from the ground to break loose anything that doesn't fall off (which most of it does).
Much easier than climbing on the roof to get tree stuff off a bare s/o roof.

[SoundGuy]

Our current trailer is the first we've ever owned with a slide and although using a ladder to reach the slide top to sweep it off works well ...



... I do find it annoying to have to drag a ladder along with us just for this one purpose. 😞 However, what would be more annoying is investing in a slide topper only to find I still had to clear it of wet debris sticking to it, just as it does to the awning. The awning I can reach from the ground with my brush but a slide topper would still require the use of a ladder - and THAT for me would be really annoying. 😉

[ScottG]

There is a line that Carefree sells that is super cheap for the OEM. You cannot buy this model or even get parts for it. The tube is so small that it bends when the slide goes out and the material is super thin. It sags terribly and rain puddles until it collapses.
For two S/O's, I paid $450 for this junk model which was about half price.
It wasn't worth it. I would have rather paid twice as much and installed Carefree's cheapest model myself. It's way better quality than this OEM Carefree model.

This is what the cheapo looks like. I would not buy it for any price or even take it for free. Someday I'll have to replace them and deal with all the holes left by these junkers.



Don't get me wrong, a topper is well worth having when camping under trees or to keep the sun off the roof of the slide.
But these aren't worth having.

Oh and yes, they stretch a lot.

[downtheroad]

We camp a lot (in the Northwest) under lots of trees. For us, slide toppers are more than worth it.

[tomman58]

We go all over the US and never had a use for a topper. We stay in Fl. for 5 months in winter and with the live oaks people that have do get those small leaves and debris under the m. I vote for a 6 foot ladder and my leaf blower. Once or twice during our stay blow off everything takes about 10 minutes.

[bobndot]

Slide toppers don't stretch. Even if they did, the spring would just tighten it back up

Depending on the mfg. they can stretch. The spring or set of springs (some toppers have 2 springs) can sometimes not roll it back up tight enough. The springs can also malfunction and not work as well as new.
springs suffer from wear and corrosion being exposed to the elements.

fabric stretch in slide toppers

"just close the slide and the topper will eject the snow, leaves, birds, etc. over the edge as the slide goes in"

Sometimes with no wind when snow falls straight down, it will shed by the topper.
However, sometimes not and was often the case. I was a seasonal for 17 years and everyone eventually got rid of the toppers that camped during the winter months due to snow being blown under the topper by the wind. The snow got trapped under the fabric then turned to ice as it began to melt. It would freeze as nighttime temps dropped. Many of us closed our slides at night to keep us warmer, so it became a pain to have toppers in snowy conditions. It was just too cold to have to deal with one more thing to do. Everyone switched to a home-made plywood encased topper (complete cover with sides) 🙂

[LarryJM]

pmallonee wrote:
SoundGuy...true that. What I meant to say, but abbreviated for the sake of the forum, is that there's usually enough mark- up in the unit that you can ask for some add-ons. Again, the worst they can do is say no, or possibly lower the price a bit. To cite an example, we got them to take out the plastic toilet and install a Dometic 310 in our last unit. Based upon the mark up on the trailer, it's fair to say they did not "give" us the toilet, but if I hadn't asked, I would have had to purchase and install it on my own dime. Soo It never hurts to ask...but thanks for the lesson in economics. I think that our dealer will stay in business.

Exactly and when we purchased our current trailer as part of the "deal closing" was to have them include a 1.2/12K Equal-i-zer WDH and a topper for our dinette sized slide both installed for $500 total and that was back in 2007. At that time that $500 was a little less than 1/2 of the MSRP for the two items so while not "free" there was a decent discount and IMO close to cost with labor thrown in free.

Larry

[garyemunson]

Slide toppers don't stretch. Even if they did, the spring would just tighten it back up. The reason for a topper is so you don't have to clean off the top of the slide before closing. Unless it is something big (tree branch), just close the slide and the topper will eject the snow, leaves, birds, etc. over the edge as the slide goes in. I wouldn't have a slide without a topper.

[SoundGuy]

pmallonee wrote:
I think that our dealer will stay in business.

And it's to your benefit that he/she does remain in business, as the lowest price on anything isn't necessarily the "best" price. 😉

[roadrat2]

SoundGuy...true that. What I meant to say, but abbreviated for the sake of the forum, is that there's usually enough mark- up in the unit that you can ask for some add-ons. Again, the worst they can do is say no, or possibly lower the price a bit. To cite an example, we got them to take out the plastic toilet and install a Dometic 310 in our last unit. Based upon the mark up on the trailer, it's fair to say they did not "give" us the toilet, but if I hadn't asked, I would have had to purchase and install it on my own dime. Soo It never hurts to ask...but thanks for the lesson in economics. I think that our dealer will stay in business.

[SoundGuy]

pmallonee wrote:
...although I'd ask them to give it to you ..

No dealer that wants to stay in business "gives" anything away - one way or another the customer pays for it. :R My own trailer has a small sofa slide that deploys out just 18" so I didn't bother with a topper and instead carry a small step ladder so I can reach the slide top to clear it of debris before retracting it. If we had a much larger, full depth slide then a slide topper would IMO be worth the additional cost.