Slide toppers on new 310GK not draining/shedding water

[Second Chance]

We ordered our new Solitude 310GK-R with slide toppers (we are newbies to slide toppers). The inside channels (where the topper attaches to the exterior wall of the RV) were mounted several inches below the roof-line molding, resulting in a very shallow (almost flat) angle of the topper as it runs to the outside flange of the slide(s). Rain collects and pools on the toppers causing the toppers to sag and rest on the tops of the slides. After a rain, I have to either pull in the slides or climb up there and sweep out the water manually. I know people do things like stick an inflated beach ball on top of the slide, but that's Aggie engineering. Installing the inner channels higher or having more spring tension on the out roller(s) would fix the problem. Does anyone know if there's a way to increase the roller spring tension (it's not very tight)? Since it came from the factory this way, do you think I have a recourse through warranty channels or is this just something I'm going to have to live with?

Rob

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Rob,

We had toppers installed by our dealer . . . when we were RV newbies and knew nothing about toppers except that an experienced RV friend said that these were important and we should get them. They are installed to the original drip rail on the sidewall and are almost level. They don't shed the water, they hold the pool as you describe. So, this is now five years experience with these things . . . even though they gather the water, they still keep the tops of the slides dry. I have learned that their most important task is shading the slide tops from sun load (with or without a puddle). The puddle on top stops them from flapping when the wind blows . . . this is a good thing. I used to worry about them not draining properly by themselves, but my experience is that it does not matter. A caution on tightening the rewind tension . . . this will pull the top of the slide in during retracting the slide when it gets near its balance point. This will force the inner edge of the slide floor down onto the main trailer floor . . . you don't want this.

(another) Rob

[howson]

Does anyone know if there's a way to increase the roller spring tension (it's not very tight)?

Given Rob's caution in the post above, the instructions for the Lippert toppers I installed were very specific on how to avoid slack during the install. Whether the toppers on your Solitude are "tight enough" is tough to analyze on a forum.

[Second Chance]

Thanks, guys. I'm going to take Rob's advice and be más relajado about the issue - or as my wife would say, "Tranquilo, mi amor." I'm going to take Howard's advice and have the techs at our dealership look at the toppers when we have it in on the 7th for the washer/dryer installation.

Rob

[ckreef]

I have the same problem and I'm not thrilled with it because the water weight seems like it will stretch the topper fabric over time. In a heavy rain enough water collects where it can take days to evaporate even with warm sunny days.

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, maybe adjust it, or maybe McGiver a solution........

[howson]

I have the same problem and I'm not thrilled with it because the water weight seems like it will stretch the topper fabric over time. In a heavy rain enough water collects where it can take days to evaporate even with warm sunny days.

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, maybe adjust it, or maybe McGiver a solution........

Was your slide topper(s) factory installed?

[Second Chance]

Was your slide topper(s) factory installed?

Yes. (More characters to reach the minimum of ten...)

Rob

[ckreef]

Was your slide topper(s) factory installed?

No, mine was dealer installed. On my imagine there is not enough available height differential to effectively drain. Even if I adjusted it tighter I don't think it would solve the problem. I'm leaning towards the ball idea or something similar.

[phansen]

We had toppers installed at the dealer before we accepted delivery in Oct 2014. Although they don't look new (slightly faded and little dirt stained) they function perfectly. Yes they sag when it's raining, and it can be quite a surprise when a wind comes up and dumps the rain. I've never had water inside near the slides, I don't have to go up and sweep off leaves and other debris before bringing the slide in and that was the main reason we had them installed. (my fat butt doesn't like going up and down and walking on the roof. I don't like heights either). When the salesperson balked about the cost of putting them on, we stood up and that was enough to let her know, it's a deal breaker.

[boyscout]

Second Chance ditto on the no-worries advice above. The issue is most obvious/frequent on the dining slide for some reason but despite it collecting a large lake at times it does its job and nothing seems to be the worse for it.

[swmurray]

We had the dealer install toppers on our 310GK-R. Here is what ours looks like after a heavy rain and several hours to dry out.



I do not know how much of a puddle is acceptable. The BR slide looked great, but the two toppers on the main slide-outs looked like this (view of kitchen side). We flagged it during our extended checkout, but the dealer said this was acceptable and refused to adjust. I haven't figured out how to adjust. So far it has not been an issue with heavy rains. 4" snow, and some small sleet. But we do have to stand out of the way when bringing the slides in as the water runs off right by the door from the dinette slide ;-)

[ckreef]

We had the dealer install toppers on our 310GK-R. Here is what ours looks like after a heavy rain and several hours to dry out.



I do not know how much of a puddle is acceptable. The BR slide looked great, but the two toppers on the main slide-outs looked like this (view of kitchen side). We flagged it during our extended checkout, but the dealer said this was acceptable and refused to adjust. I haven't figured out how to adjust. So far it has not been an issue with heavy rains. 4" snow, and some small sleet. But we do have to stand out of the way when bringing the slides in as the water runs off right by the door from the dinette slide ;-)

My puddle is at least that big and more towards the middle of the length. Definitely have your slide windows closed when retracting with a puddle. Yea I forgot :(

[Paul and Liz]

Same concern with our brand new 310; my solution has been to climb on the roof and push the water off - I use a telescoping pole with a soft brush. Gives me an opportunity to enjoy the view. 😳

[howson]

Same concern with our brand new 310; my solution has been to climb on the roof and push the water off - I use a telescoping pole with a soft brush. Gives me an opportunity to enjoy the view. 😳

Paul and Liz,
Welcome to Grand Design's Technical Forum!

You're not the first to complain about water pooling on a topper. I'm expecting weather to roll through my area so I put in my slides. This is the angle of my toppers with the slides in. I'd be very curious to see what yours (and others) look like with the slide(s) in as a comparison. (I realize the size of the slide makes a difference, but it will be interesting nonetheless.)

Side note--consider filling out your signature line: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/gdrv4li...-to-your-posts

[Cate&Rob]

I'd be very curious to see what yours (and others) look like with the slide(s) in as a comparison.

Our slide toppers are essentially flat. As installed by the dealer to the OE drip rails installed by Grand Design. In fact, the one over the bedroom closet slide actually comes downhill towards the wall. I used to worry about puddles similar to those shown in post 11. After a few years, I stopped climbing on the roof after every rain to brush them off. The puddles actually damp the flapping and make things quieter.

If I had installed these, I would have tried to get a slope as Howard did. (See post 14) This would be more difficult to achieve on a 5th wheel where the fore/aft slope of the roof limits space for the topper rail on the wall to be very far above the slide.

The bottom line . . . after 5 years with these toppers . . . angle and shedding water is not important. Keeping the rain and the sun off the slide top is what is important and this works just fine with level toppers.

Just my experience . . .

Rob