cover over my kitchen slide?

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Gasser

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Posts
173
Location
Ada, Oklahoma
I have a cover over every slide except my kitchen slide.  It normally sits under my large awning but when raining hard I don't have the big one out.  Is there a reason mine did not come with one of the slide covers?  Not enough room?

Should I just extend my electric awning out just enough to cover the slide to keep the water off the top of it.  It does not leak but if I put the slide in when it is still raining I get a little water on the carpet.  Its not much as the seals seem to be doing their job but would like it if it had none at all.  All my others were completly dry on top.

Any suggestions?

Jeff
 
Jeff

What's the make of your coach?  Some coach manufacturers have designed slide outs that do not require an awning, and these are designed with a sloping external roof line to prevent water from entering the coach.  However the water on your carpet when closing the slide suggests there is water remaining on the slide.

Have you seen other models in your brand with a small awning installed? 
 
Steve said:
Jeff

What's the make of your coach?? Some coach manufacturers have designed slide outs that do not require an awning, and these are designed with a sloping external roof line to prevent water from entering the coach.? However the water on your carpet when closing the slide suggests there is water remaining on the slide.

Have you seen other models in your brand with a small awning installed??
Well, you are right.  The top is slanted and water is not a problem at all while it is out.  When I pulled it in it was still raining very hard and I am quite sure there was water still on top as it would not be able to shed fast enough.  I guess when pulling it in while raining I will just have to be carefull and have some towels ready to catch any water present.

Jeff
 
There is no generic reason for not putting a slide-out "topper" over a slide that is under the patio awning.  Same applies to window awnings on that side.  Most likely the reason was simple economics, but you will have to measure to see if there is a clearance problem too.

Since you say your slides are desiagned to be self-draining, I would wonder if there may be some other problem that is allowing water to stay on the top when you bring it in.
 
Adding to Gary's comments, we had a problem with our Monaco; Although the slideouts all have awnings over them, rain/water will still accumulate on the top of the slideouts if the wind blows in the right direction. When we brought the slideouts in, water would stay on top and, after retracting, would run onto the carpet. The problem turned out to be the "wiper" seals around the slideouts were not flipping over when the direction of the slideouts were reversed. (To understand this action, just look at the wiper blades on your car when they're working).

The fix was to put a "grip tape" all around the slideouts. This was a self-adhesive tape approx 1" wide with one surface something like sandpaper. The idea was that the "tape" would cause the wiper seals to flip over and correctly act as wipers to remove the water from the top of the slideouts while they were being retracted. Unfortunately, the "grip" (sandpaper surface) was too rough and wore the wiper seals. While we were at the Monaco factory I had them replace all the seals and install a less agressive grip tape. So now the tape flips the seals but doesn't wear them.
 
When it has rained really hard and we're getting ready to leave a campground, we just bring the slides in a bit, let them drain (sometimes it's a real gusher!), bring it in some more, let it drain some more, and so forth.  By doing it incrementally we've not encountered any problems.

ArdraF
 
Tom,

Slide toppers really aren't designed to keep the water off. They are meant to help keep debris from landing on the roof and damaging the seals when the owner forgets to check for it before bringing in the slide. I've had mine roll up improperly due to water but running it back out and in solved the problem.
 
Jim Dick said:
Slide toppers really aren't designed to keep the water off.

Agreed Jim and I meant to mention that in my message. With or without the awnings, our wiper seals were not wiping and the water remained on the top of the slideout. I had to wipe it off with towels after retracting the awnings.
 
Your coach looks like a Newmar which is what I have (2005 KSDP 3910). I extend the awning out just enough to cover the slide and it keeps the water off just fine. That may not be the intended purpose but it has worked for me.

The wiper seals will get most of the water off but they are not perfect, especially at the corners. I very seldom retract my slides just after a rain anyway.
 
vigibill said:
Your coach looks like a Newmar which is what I have (2005 KSDP 3910). I extend the awning out just enough to cover the slide and it keeps the water off just fine. That may not be the intended purpose but it has worked for me.

The wiper seals will get most of the water off but they are not perfect, especially at the corners. I very seldom retract my slides just after a rain anyway.

Thank you.  I have the exact year and model you have.  It is new to me and it was pouring out side and I decided to put the slides in while it was raining very hard.  A little water ran onto the carpet.  It did not suprise me other than I have an awning over every slide but that one.  I thought about leaving the large awning out over it and I think I will make it my plan from now on just to reduce the water on that paticular slide.  Of course the best plan is to leave them out when raining but sometimes you need to leave and there is no end in sight in the rain.

Nice choice in coaches by the way! ;)

I get to break mine in the second week in July and again the first week in Aug.  Maybe a lake trip to get my feet wet close to home.

Thanks for the advice.

Jeff
 
OK folks, here's probably a really stupid question/solution.

If you have a coach with an air bag leveling/suspension system, is it possible to (for instance) raise the front of the coach up an maximum heigth and lower the back end down as far as possible at the same time? Then, as you retract the slide(s), most of the water should be running off rather than accumulating on top of the slide. Is this possible? Is this logical? Oh well, just my two cents.
 
Bob,

On some air leveling systems you can raise the front or rear independently. However, most slides require the coach to be level before operating or the slide might bind.
 
Bob

>>If you have a coach with an air bag leveling/suspension system, is it possible to (for instance) raise the front of the coach up an maximum heigth and lower the back end down as far as possible at the same time<<

I can do it & also side to side on my Country Coach
 
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