Wind and flapping slide toppers

[Bill Sprague]

I am parked in a windy (and beautiful) spot for a couple of months as a Camp Host.  When the wind picks up the (not so) Carefree slide toppers flap and billow.  Short of pulling the slides in, does anyone have a suggestion or experience with dampening the flapping.  It isn't the noise that bothers me, it is the potential for damage that is the issue.

Thanks.  

[Tom Rogers]

I've heard using beach balls. Also, 1/2 pvc pipe in 6 - 8" lengths filled with water .... caps on each end. Lay them on top of the canvas.

[Gerald Farris]

Damage to your Carefree topper awnings from high winds is a real possibility. When I was at Quartzsite in January after the Quartzsite rally was over, a thunderstorm came up (yes it does rain in Quartzsite) with high (gust to 66 MPH) winds that damaged three of the Carefree topper awnings on a fellow Beaver owner's coach to the extent that they all had to be replaced.

The only way that I know to prevent this problem is to disconnect the awning or put the slides in (not good options).

Gerald

[Joel Ashley]

I agree with Gerald.  And the problem with the beach ball trick or anything that weighs down the material is that it will stretch that material, ultimately making the situation worse in the long run.  It occurs to me that if you still wanted to do it, I reckon you could toss a long rope over the topper and tie a rock to each end near ground level, letting the rock weight dampen the flapping.  I understand that it may be possible to adjust out the slack on the slide topper via the mechanism, but inquiries a few years ago regarding that didn't bring encouraging responses from techs or Carefree, so it may be hard to find a tech who'd try it.

Fall and winter on the Oregon Coast brings high wind situations - frequently 50-70mph.  We simply bring in the slides on the windward side or whichever one(s) seem to be taking a beating.  That time of year we usually choose campsites in the trees for some protection.  I think the extended slides act like wings, just causing the whole coach to rock more anyway;  it's hard to sleep with all the flapping and rocking, so easier just to pull in at least the windward slides at night.

Another problem with anti-flap devices is that if conditions get really super bad, you're going to have to go out in the storm, perhaps on a ladder no less, and remove the things so you can bring in the slides to fully protect them.  Not a good situation to put oneself in.

-Joel

[Tim Bentley Co-Admin]

I saw a coach that had what I thought was a good solution.  He had thrown a rope over the awning from front to back and under the slide to go all the way around. He than tightened the rope to pull the awning down so they were secured.  When he gets ready to travel he just untied the rope at the bottom and pulled it free.

[Ken Sair]

I've seen folks use bungy cord over the awning anchored with tent stakes. Just enough tension to stop the flapping should do.

[Don and Kathy DuCharme]

We recently spent a couple of weeks on Mustang Island near Corpus Cristie, Texas where the wind seemed to blow constantly and rattle the slide-out covers.  We tossed a piece of rope over the cover with a hook on one end which we could secure to the track under the slide-out and a piece of bungy cord connected to the other end of the rope also secured to the track under the slide-out. It worked fine to prevent the noise and did not appear to stretch the cover fabric. It was not necessary to stretch the rope tight and the bungy cord allowed some play.  We plan to improve the esthetics by purchasing some webbing to match the colors of our coach to replace the rope. We have an 07 Contessa.

[Bill Sprague]

Thanks all of you for the replies.  I posted the same question on another forum and the popular answer there was the rope or strap around the entire topper and slide.  I like the idea of a black strap instead of a rope.  It is time to do some shopping!

[Bill Sprague]

Update:  I did the shopping and found strap at Joanne Fabrics.  I bought 9 feet for less than $10.  I bought 3/8" nylon rope at Lowes.  I wanted nylon because it has some elasticity.  I already had a grommet kit.  I cut the strap into 18" lengths and installed a grommet at each end.  Then I measured and cut lengths of rope to fit each of my three slides.  It would have been easier if I did it all with strap, but the strap was too expensive.  

The straps have been installed for about two weeks with no significant wind.  

Last night the wind blew!  We are parked on an exposed point on Puget Sound with no protection from the wind.  The NOAA weather warning suggested the potential of 60 mph.  The nearby Pt. Wilson lighthouse got 50 mph recorded at 8 pm.  

I started this thread the last time we got 50 mph here.  I pulled the slides in because the toppers were in danger!  One would unwind and billow in the gusts.  

This time, with the straps, I left the slides out and enjoyed the wind storm.  The toppers did not appear threatened at all.  The straps kepted the topper ends down far enough to keep the wind from getting under them.  The straps will be a "keeper" in the basement for future wind storms.  

As a side note, the parks lights went out with the 8 pm 50 mph gust.   I was watching TV and listening to the wind.  I had an electric heater plugged in to help out the Hydro-Hot on electric in front and the heat pump on in back.   I keep my Onan set on "auto start".   The first indication that the power was out was the generator starting.  The electric heater had drawn batteries down far enough in 10 minutes to trigger the autostart.  The TV never missed a beat!  As a precaution against power surges I turned off the breaker at the post and "dry camped" until morning.  These Beavers can be pretty amazing sometimes.   Not only did the TV work, but we stayed warm and cozy in a cold windstorm.

[Joel Ashley]

I do have to wonder, though, if left on for significant periods during varying weather conditions, warm to cold, any kind of "hold down" straps or ropes may stretch the fabric;  thus perhaps causing problems ultimately with proper roll-up, or at least requiring installation of the devices at each and every camp, however brief, in order to remove the resulting slack.

[Bill Sprague]

I don't think "Sunbrella" fabric stretchs much, if at all.  In any case, the stretch effect of the straps will be a lot less than the effect of the gigantic lakes that can form on top of the topper.  Besides, the straps don't need to be very tight.