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Slide Topper Support

Last Changed 2/1/2009

We really like our slide toppers that keep leaves and branches off of the top of the slides.  That protects the upper slide seals when the slides are retracted.  However, when we are in our Retama Village lot in Mission Texas, the Texas breezes really make the toppers flap.

If we had known when we ordered Tige, we would have ordered our Summit toppers with the lift bar option that would have supported the topper in the center, damping the topper flapping.  Unfortunately, the add-on lit is no longer available.  We can only get the option with a new topper.

We got the idea of using PVC pipe to create a topper support to damping the flapping.  A side benefit water run off but we really never had a problem with that.

We intend to leave the topper support in our coach house when we leave in Spring.

Rear View Camera We built the support with 1-1/4" PVC pipe and fittings.  The support is not glued together.  The friction fit is more than adequate.
Rear View Camera We position the lift bar about a third of the way from the trailer wall. 
click on images to enlarge
Rear View Camera You can see that the topper support has the topper canvas under a sight amount of tension.  It is enough to keep the topper from flapping in the South Texas breezes.
Rear View Camera The idea for the topper support we got from Trailer Life Magazine was built with 3/4" PVC pipe.  Since our slide is 14', we decided to use heavier 1-1/4" pipe.  We also made sure we have Series 40 pipe which has a heavier wall thickness.  From the slight dip in the longitude lift tube, we are glad we used the heavier pipe.
click on images to enlarge

Disclaimer: The information in this site is a collection of data we derived from the vendors and from our personal experiences.  This information is meant as a learning guide for you to  make your own decisions  Best practices and code should always be followed.  The recommendations we make are from our personal experiences and we do not receive any compensation for those recommendations.
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