New owner...2 Questions

wintertree · 02-05-2019, 01:36 AM

First ....Thankyou you all for your maturity and positive support in this forum....Refreshing to see..
I am still a week away from getting our new (to us) Redwood 38RL...Denise and I are thrilled to have found this trailer....in its condition.....and equipped so well....Thats a tall order for a guy that spent a lot of years as an RV tech (when I was younger)....RV's to me look so flawed / cheap....cheezy.....when I looked at the redwood line I was pleasantly surprised....Now in saying that....I see things that need improvement.......But as far as RV's go we are happy....
Two questions for those experienced owners....One option our unit does not have is slide toppers....we are going to be full timers on Vancouver Island for some time (West coast of Canada)....the winter is rainy....with weeks of wet drizzly weather being the norm....I am thinking that toppers would be a great option.....but would like some feedback.....Second question.....this week lows of 10 - 20 Degrees F are happening over night at the coast....Thats cool for that area....but it does happen...What are owners thoughts on how well these trailers deal with colder temps....any issues ? do I need to do some extra work to our RW to prepare...skirting or ?

Thanks for any help...Regards....Wes

Goat · 02-05-2019, 03:37 AM

We just recently went through a couple of cold spells in ours. Down to 13° with 20mph plus gusts, and a period down to 17° with 30 mph steady winds with gusts over 40. T-stat set at 71, and it stayed fairly nice inside. No skirting, so house shoes are mandatory! Our furniture has been changed out, so the uncomfortable pleather is gone. The water line is buried on our lot, with the risers on both ends have heat trace on them. Our water never froze anywhere. I have details written down for a few cold mornings with furnace run times, etc.

xtasee · 02-05-2019, 04:28 AM

You will get both opinions on the slide toppers. I am in the camp that supports having them. The benefits far out weigh any negatives. I personally would not go without them.

RWJSIM2003 · 02-05-2019, 05:33 PM

We lived in our Trailer fulltime for one year here in Oregon. Weather that winter was down in the low 20's for about 3 weeks and we had no issues. I was amazed at how warm the trailer stayed. We used a heated water hose and did have two ceramic heaters one in Kitchen and one in Bedroom set with thermostats along with fireplace. We did not use the furnace much in that time as the heater worked well and we had unlimited Elec where we stayed.

No Toppers on our slides I do not like the flapping in the wind noise.

XCMARK · 02-06-2019, 12:31 AM

So here is my thoughs!

# 1 the factory slide toppers are 6" to narrow, they don't cover the slide out enough. I think they should be 2" wider on each side then the roof they cover.

# 2 in high winds they do flap around some , this may wake you up at night.

# 3 in the rain they help keep the gaskets on the slide from driving rain pushing water past the seals.

#4 in the rain they help with the noise of heavy rain fall.

#5 prolong roofs on the slide.

just make sure you clean the roof off before you pull the slide in.

travelin' texans · 02-07-2019, 02:33 AM

The toppers just add to the overall looks of the RWs. Yes in windy areas they are/can be a real PITA with the popping/flapping, but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. Also by having them added by someone besides the factory you can be sure they cover the slides completely & possibly add a bit more pitch to them, both were the biggest issues with mine.

rob_fla · 02-07-2019, 03:49 AM

I installed my slide toppers on my 38FL several years ago.
We installed them a little higher than the normal height, they have never held water and maintain good tension.
They will still flap a little in high wind but overall we really enjoy them.
Spending most of our time in the Southeast US we have lots of trees, limbs and debris that will get on top of the slides.
If we were our west when there are less tress and more wind we may have a different opinion.
We also like the heat barrier they provide in the summer from the hot sun beating down on the thinner slide roofs.

atom ant · 02-08-2019, 06:02 PM

I had 2 TTs and 3 5th wheels including a 2013 Redwood 36RL over several decades and none of them had slide toppers and I never missed them. I was entertained and sometimes pitched in helping those overcome the problems associated with them, such as removing them after the wind tore them, or people having to jamb all kinds of gadgets into them to keep them quiet.

I now have them on our MH, and I can say I truly understand all of the complaints and I'm growing to hate them. Ours jamb up in the unigaurd covers with snow on them, sag, need replaced after 7 years, and flap against the roof in the wind. For something I never had to stress about before, I now have to come up with a way to get the snow off of them and stop them from slapping the roof. Unfortunately, the coach is designed so it has to have them, as the roof is metal on top of the slides and not sure it is meant to be fully exposed without a topper.

I confess we live in the west and our experience is mostly high UV, high winds, open range or pines, and more snow than rain. We don't have the type of vegetation and rainfall experienced in the south or eastern seaboard. We are finding as we travel more, the climate of our domicile may not matter much and we need to be prepared for all of it.

ted 95 · 02-10-2019, 03:19 AM

For many reasons i would not go without them even though they flap in high winds. But think of this the first time you have to close camp in a rain storm. no toppers all that water is on the roof of the slide and comes in...

for me that out weighs any reason for not. also if you are in Vancouver and ever plan to go south arrange to go via Elkhart. Lippert and all the manufactures are there and they have shops. best deals best installs. IMO

wintertree · 02-10-2019, 03:35 AM

I had them on our TT (2 slides)....and we live in the wind...they do flap and are more prone to damage in our present location....however we are retiring to the west coast where we will be staying full time.....where we will be living will have much less wind because of the tree cover .....and the rain can happen constantly for 8 months of the year.....I am leaning towards getting the option installed as I don't have any help now....and the trailer is quite high....they are easy to install if you have the man power ...but getting my wife on a ladder is not going to happen....
wes

Elliott & Vicky · 02-16-2019, 05:59 PM

I wouldn't be without slide toppers as we move around a bit. Having to get on the roof and sweep it every time we moved is not something I would want to do. We've had to replace 1 topper as Redwood installed it wrong and it tore after 2 years.

As for cold, we've been camping in it when it has been below freezing and even down to 16 degrees F. When it gets below 28 degrees, we run the furnace as the basement cools down fast if you are using just electric heat in the living space.

bjfdvm · 02-18-2019, 02:01 AM

Just another pro to the topper, if parked under trees without the toppers, and wind and rain occur, you will have to go on top to sweep or blow off the top of the slides, before you bring the slides in. This becomes very old quickly.
Has anyone installed, or know of exact make and model of toppers that can be used on the bedroom slide within the slide on a 2016 38RL

wintertree · 03-08-2019, 05:50 PM

Greetings all....with much thought we have decided NOT to install this option....the split in pros and cons is almost 50/50.....We have had experience with these..our last TT had them (2 slides).....had to repair the fabric on one of them as the wind started a small tear on the leading edge on the windward side....It was fortunate I saw it or I am sure it would have ended up a long rip....I folded clear gorilla tape over that edge tear till we had time to repair it properly......I do have a small one on our single slide truck camper.....(Dinette slide)....never had a trouble with it...its small and when we are using the Truck camper ...we are on the go and the slide is in and out a lot....keeps stuff from coming inside...
Our RW will be parked most of the time as it will be a home base....and its nothing for me to climb up and sweep the slides off and keep an eye on things....The toppers will be just one more thing added to maintenance....I have enough of that in our lives as we own a 43' trawler.....which at this time is still more Interesting fun than work....LOL.....Wes

PunksRedwood · 03-08-2019, 10:31 PM

I had slide toppers on my quad slide diesel pusher and hated them. I did not get them on my 2018 Redwood and have had no issues after full-timing going on two years. Without them I was expecting accumulation of leaves and pine needles but usually don't have anything on the slide out roof when I check. The wind takes care of that.

rob_fla · 03-09-2019, 01:22 PM

I installed 5 Slide Toppers on our 38FL after we had it about 6 months.
I mounted them at a steeper angle than the factory installs them.
In 5 years off fulltime use I have never had water pool on them, no stretching or issues with them.
I will say then in very high winds they will flap a little.
They help during the hot summers in the south with heat and direct sun shinning on the slide roofs as the slide roofs do not have much insulation.
Also since we spend most of our time in the Southeast, we are under trees quite often and they do keep the debris off them, never had to worry about cleaning them off before moving and we move frequently.
Also if it is has just rained or is raining when we are packing up to move, very little or no water on top of the slides when I bring them in.
If we spent most of our time out west where there are fewer trees and more wind, it might be different but I can attest to less heat in the slide area from direct summer sun after installing my toppers.
Also if we were stationary and did not move but once or twice a year, it might affect our decision to install toppers.

mjdcwo · 03-11-2019, 02:53 PM

Ours came without them initially but I had them installed and would not be without them. They protect the top of the slide outs and also provide a layer of "shade" to help keep things cooler in hot weather. If you don't have them, you should climb up and ensure that the top of your slides don't have ant debris (leaves, pine cones, sticks, etc.) on top before you close them. Otherwise you take a chance on tearing the seals.

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