True Topper RV slide toppers

Installing our True Topper RV fabric slide topper replacements.

Fabric RV slide toppers are junk, and I am glad I got rid of them. Unlike most projects on my RV, installing True Topper is not a do-it-yourself project. I needed professional installation of True Toppers on my RV. This isn’t something that I could do in a campground. Picnic tables are not long enough. I don’t carry the scaffolds required to install the fabric slide topper replacements. So this story is about how I watched while surgery was done on my RV.

Our RV slide rooms extended making our RV about 12 feet wide.
Our RV slide rooms extended, making our RV about 12 feet wide. Notice that we still have our fabric slide toppers installed on the top of the slide room.

Don’t DIY this one

Don’t just cut away and throw your slide toppers in the trash. There is more to fixing your fabric RV slide topper problems than removing the fabric. Unless you get True Toppers installed by professionally trained installers, you could do more harm to your RV than good. Fabric slide toppers have a purpose, and I used to recommend them to RVs that didn’t come from the factory with slide toppers. They were junk, but they were slightly better than nothing.

Our RV slide room with fabric slide toppers.
Our RV slide room with fabric slide toppers.

If your RV has slide-out rooms, you need True Toppers installed. Fabric slide toppers are junk; until now, they weren’t a good option. Now that True Toppers are available don’t install or replace fabric slide toppers. Fix it once and be done with it.

Parking our RV in the shop was tight especially because it isn't a pull in and pull out configuration. Once inside the shop they had to make a turn to align the RV with the longer side of the room.
Parking our RV in the shop was tight because it isn’t a pull-in and pull-out configuration. Once inside the shop, they had to make a turn to align the RV with the longer side of the room.

Installed by the teachers

As for me, my True Toppers were installed by the same people who train True Topper installers. I started considering installing True Toppers while in Alaska in 2023. Then, I stopped in Eugene, Oregon, to evaluate the installation process on a Tiffin Zephyr. Watching True Toppers being installed on this Tiffin convinced me I wanted True Toppers on my RV. Here is a link to my initial evaluation of True Toppers, which I wrote last year. Our RV slide toppers are junk and are going into the trash.

After getting through the door it took several adjustments to get the RV in the correct spot to make the True Topper conversion.
After getting through the door, several adjustments were made to position the RV in the correct spot for the True Topper conversion.

I updated the above article as more information became available. It was originally written in March (2024), edited in July (2024), and then again right after I installed my True Toppers. Here is my description of the installation and my first impressions about the True Toppers installed on my RV.

Even though our RV is in the shop we still are not in the exact place because now the scaffolds need to be positioned.
Even though our RV is in the shop, we are still not in the exact place because the scaffolds need to be positioned.

Here are the steps to remove and install True Toppers

  • Cut the fabric slide toppers carefully so as not to allow the spring tension to release and flap around, hurting you or bystanders.
  • Remove all the fabric slide topper hardware and seal all the holes.
  • Cut the top flang off the outside edge of your slide room.
  • Install the ramp at the edge of the slide room that allows the True Topper sweep to ride up and over the slide-out edge.
  • Attach the fixed hinge section to the side of your RV using screws and sealant, and at the same time…
  • Slide the True Topper sweep into the hinge section.
  • Attach the end caps and True Topper sweep locks to the extended section of the sweep.
These scaffolds were installed along both sides of the RV. Every "work station" has all the tools needed to perform the job without getting down from the scaffold.
These scaffolds were installed along both sides of the RV. Every “workstation” has all the tools needed to perform the job without getting down from the scaffold.

My big slide is 16 feet long, meaning the True Topper hinge and sweep need to be about 17 feet long. It was too long for me to install or move without supporting it, so I had the experts do the installation at True Topper.

Initial evaluation after my installation

My initial evaluation is unlike many (most) things I have seen in the RV world; True Toppers perform precisely as they were designed…

Removing the fabric roller and cover requires the scaffolding and is a two person job.
Removing the fabric roller and cover requires scaffolding and is a two-person job.

After a few months of using True Toppers

My True Toppers are working exactly as designed and haven’t changed over the last few months. As expected, they protect my upper slide seals and sweep debris off the slide tops when I close them. We no longer have a massive waterfall from water pooling on the slide tops after it rains.

Once the fabric slide topper material was removed now it is time to take off the fabric roller cover. Some RVs don't have roller covers and the fabric often will balloon while driving destroying the fabric and roller.
Once the fabric slide topper material has been removed, it is time to remove the roller cover. Some RVs don’t have roller covers, and the fabric often balloons while driving, destroying the fabric and roller.

We don’t have any problems when it rains without our fabric slide toppers. Perhaps the sound has changed a little because raindrops are hitting a hard surface rather than on the fabric. I don’t think the rain sounds louder, but it is different.

Once the roller and roller cover is removed the next task is to remove the top lip to allow the True Toppers to work.
Once the roller and roller cover is removed, the top lip is removed to allow the True Toppers to work.

No extreme weather yet

We have driven more than a thousand miles with our True Toppers snug against the sides of our RV. We haven’t noticed any difference while driving with our True Toppers. We haven’t driven in the rain yet or had any wind storms while camping with extended slides.

Here is a video showing wind tearing fabric slide toppers apart this year in Quartzite.

I am waiting for more extreme weather to evaluate my performance while camping. As for snow, I will not seek out camping in the snow to test my True Toppers. I know that camping with snow shouldn’t be a problem because of the flashing design of the True Toppers. If you don’t have True Toppers and only have fabric slide toppers, camping in the snow can be a huge problem.

Preparing to cut off the upper lip of the slide room.
Preparing to cut off the upper lip of the slide room.

Critical points

I have outlined the following minor critical points, and True Topper will watch for these issues in future installations.

Cutting the top lip of the slide room off. Notice the protective tape on the slide room, ready to be cut.
Here we are cutting the top lip of the slide room off. Notice the protective tape on the slide room, which is ready to be cut.

One of the installation steps to install True Toppers and allow the True Topper sweep to remove debris from the tops of the slide rooms is to remove the upper lip of the slide room (where the previous slide toppers were attached). This removes the exterior bulb seal from the top of the slide room. The bulb seals on the flanges on the slides were attached to the bulb seals on the tops of the slide rooms. I had to glue the top of the verticle bulb seals into place because they were getting loose.

This is the way the slide room looks without the fabric slide toppers and upper lip removed.
This is how the slide room looks without the fabric slide toppers and upper lip removed.

The installer list is growing.

I went to the inventors and had my True Toppers installed. Now, there are certified installers in several parts of the country. Getting appointments (even for me) is difficult. It took us two days to get the True Toppers installed. My advice is to call early to schedule an appointment.

Here is a video from a friend who winters in Steamboat Springs with his True Toppers.

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Slide room top with the True Topper system installed.
Slide room top with the True Topper system installed.

As you know, our blog income is zero, which allows us to be independent and tell the truth. We do not get income or commissions. No, we don’t make paid endorsements. We don’t make recommendations; instead, we will tell you what we like (or dislike). The links are only provided as a quick reference to help our readers.

The rear slide on our RV with the True Toppers installed.
The True Toppers are installed on the rear slide of our RV. The slide is retracted, ready to be driven to a new destination.

Links

Go to this link to read the story about our slide topper replacement and why we did it. Our RV slide toppers are junk and go into the trash!

True Topper USA

RV Life article about True Topper

Not a paid endorsement

True Topper didn’t pay for this article, but I hope they like it. They did give me a discount. I talked to True Topper about extending a discount to my readers. They said yes. Please mention that you read both of my True Topper articles and know what you are getting into, and that will probably save them hours of explanation. Don’t waste money replacing fabric slide toppers with more fabric. The first ones didn’t work well; what makes you think the new fabric will be better than the old fabric?

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12 thoughts on “Installing our True Topper RV fabric slide topper replacements.”

    1. Another advantage is that until now, I could never inspect, clean, or seal my slide-out tops because the fabric was in the way. The fabric was also in the way if I wanted to repair or replace my slide-out seals… not that I had to do that…

      I am convinced that RV manufacturers don’t install True Toppers as a standard item because RV buyers don’t know how great they are and don’t demand them.

  1. I installed True Topper on my Tiffin a couple of years ago and love them. The only issue I am trying to find a solution for is getting all the water off the top of the slides before I retract them. Any residual water on top of the slides ends up on the coach floor.

    Great product and great people. First class installation.

    1. We have only had a little rain so far, which hasn’t been an issue. I assume the wiper strip is not contacting the slide top. Is it all the slides or just one?

  2. Hey Scott,
    I found your article interesting, as always. 🙂 I’m curious to know what issues you were having with your fabric slide toppers and why you consider them junk. We’ve had ours for over 10 years without any problems at all. Only one complaint: one slide topper tended to flap in a strong wind, but then again, everything shakes in an RV in a strong wind, lol.
    Burt

    1. Our biggest slide topper stored a few gallons of water on the top if it rained even a little bit. This is because the fabric wasn’t under enough tension, and the roller bowed, allowing the puddle to form. The only way to prevent this was to retract the slide and keep the water off or dump the water after the rain had passed, causing a huge waterfall. The same topper was the cause of the popping noise anytime the wind would blow. Again, we retracted the slides more than once because of the noise. I detail most of this in my previous article. https://foxrvtravel.com/rv-slide-topper/

      1. Sorry, must have missed the previous article…I had issues initially with slideout seals leaking and water intrusion without the toppers, especially if we weren’t precisely level. We would get the puddle as well on occasion, I put a volleyball in a mesh laundry bag and slid it under the topper to tent it enough to keep water from pooling. ( So I guess I did have issues…ha ) anyway, hope the new ones work out for you.

  3. Great article, as always.
    How does the True Topper handle the temperature inside the slide room in high-sun/high-heat environments? Slide toppers act as little awnings, providing an air gap of “insulation” between the topper and the slide.

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