Jump to content
msms113

Slideout AwningTopper Sticking

Recommended Posts

Has anyone had a problem with a slide topper hanging up when extending their slide?

I have an 2008 Damon Tuscany and the living room A E slide topper rubs on the slide, retarding the travel causing the slide to jump and jerk. I have tried spacing out the brackets with limited results.

Any suggestions?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We've never had a problem with our Carefree of Colorado units. I am not familiar with the A&E design. If it is retarding the slide out movement, it sounds as if something is about to be broken or bent. I would take it to a repair center to have it fixed before the repair becomes much more expensive. Right now it may be a matter of fixing a broken spring or adjusting the tension on the unit. If it isn't fixed you could be buying a new slide topper or perhaps even repairing damage to the slide out mechanism.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi msms113,

Welcome to the FMCA forum. I have not experienced this on my coach. However, I have seen A&E toppers that have broken internal parts and do as described in your post. I agree with Tom. Get the coach to an authorized service center for repair. The bottom line is when parts do break they can jam the topper and cause the bracket holding the topper to the coach to be ripped off when the slide is extended. Before the bracket gets ripped off the slide corner that the bracket mounts to is bent. Slides are very powerful. Not much stops their movement.

The only other remedy is a DIY. When it comes to toppers, if you are not skilled in this, I do not recommend you try it. Think of the spring in a topper roller tube like the spring on a garage door. If you don't know what you are doing, they can hurt or kill very quickly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, we have the very same problem . I have a 2005 Bounder. I was out on the road and the slider seem to slow down and didn't extend all the way out. It wasn't until i retracted it that I heard the pop. When I got home I was able to see that it had bent the hardware and that the it seem to be riding up and over the lip of the slider causing damage to the molding. I will take the topper off and check the spring to see if thats the problem. The cost of a new one is $300 or so hope to figure this one out. If you have fixed yours please let me know how you did it .....thanks much.

See you down the road.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We have a Fleetwood Revolution LE with a full length slide. The awning topper of the slide locked up and stuck. The slide would not retract or extend. We had some emergency fixes to bring the slide in so we could drive. Apparently, there are special considerations and tools that are necessary to align the full length slide.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Has anyone had a problem with a slide topper hanging up when extending their slide? I have an 2008 Damon Tuscany and the living room A E slide topper rubs on the slide, retarding the travel causing the slide to jumb and jerk. I have tried spacing out the brackets with limted results. Any suggestions?

Our '06 Daybreak does the same thing. I haven't fixed it yet but I did spray the slide material with silicon spray where it rubbed on the slide and it works smoothly now. I suspect the brackets will need to be spaced a little differently to alleviate the problem, but the spray seems to be working for now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We had a problem with our bedroom slide topper it would not allow slide to extend . Took it to an rv repair shop they adjusted the topper so it has about 4" space between the slide and the awning. It somehow became tight against the slide, tight enough that the topper would bind and not extend. Funny we had no problems with it over the past couple years. I wonder if maybe one of the windy days while extended might have messed with the adjustment?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have had a similar problem with the topper on my bedroom slide. The slide was extended in the normal manner but when I began to bring the slide in, the topper did not retract. I put the slide back out and took a broom to push up on the topper several times before I felt the normal tension. When I brought the slide back in the topper retracted in the normal manner. I waited until I stopped for the day, brought out a ladder and inspected the topper. No obvious sign of anything binding the roller, no debris, and the problem has not re-occurred. From anyone else's experience should I be concerned or do you think this was one of those flukes that will probably never present itself again? The only thing I can compare it to is a window blind that doesn't retract when you first pull the shade from the bottom but after a couple pulls, the shade retracts as it should.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I drive a 2007 Damon Astoria and had the same problem. It wasn't until I observed it from a step ladder while my wife operated the slide did I realize that the problem was a worn bushing in the end of the awning tube which allowed the awning to rub on the slide on the way out, when it is under most tension. There was no problem on the way in. Problem solved with installation of a new part available from A&E.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...