How do Carefree slide toppers fasten to the track?

[Stan Simpson]

Arrived in The Land Between the Lakes Kentucky yesterday afternoon after going through a huge storm south of Evansville. Wind gusts 50 to 55 mph. Discovered the awning bracket for the bedroom slide was hanging on the side of the coach, and the slide topper was rolled up inside the tube, but no longer connected to the track. This morning, I got on the ladder and was able to fasten the bracket back in position. I looked at the other bedroom topper to see how the fabric was fastened and it appears there is a row of rivets along the top of the track. To re-fasten the topper fabric, do I have to remove the old rivets? Or is there some kind of hook on them inside the track? This looks like a 2 man job in any case,

Thoughts or suggestions?

Stan

[Neal E Weinmann]

You'll likely need to remove the cover to rescue the topper fabric. Hopefully it's still serviceable. The track should not have to be detached. The slide topper has a sleeve sewn into the fixed edge that gets inserted in a continuous slot along the bottom of the track riveted onto the coach body. Then, a solid plastic "welting" is fed into the sleeve from one end and pushed through until it comes out the other end to retain the topper in the track. The welting is anchored to the track at each end to prevent it from coming out. Carefree has pretty good manuals online showing the procedure.

If this is a topper that also extends further to function as a window shade, on the brackets there is a slider lock that needs to be pulled down and locked for travel. When I got my coach, all were frozen and had to be worked free with the aid of silicone spray. If those are not locked, wind as you describe could possibly allow the topper to be sucked open at speed and perhaps pull the topper from the track.

Good luck.

[Stan Simpson]

Thank you, Neil. Closer inspection after we got home reveals the topper fabric is gone. I sure hope it didn't damage someone else's property when it flew off. The awning fabric is still rolled up in the tube. I'm exploring how to get new slide topper fabric. What do you mean by welting? Is it a solid 'stick' made of plastic or heavy wire or wood (like a dowel rod) that goes in to the track that is attached to the coach?

Stan

[Neal E Weinmann]

Carefree's term for the welting is "polyrod", indeed a continuous piece of plastic.

Just guessing here from your description, but if you have a dual function/combination slide topper, like the Omega II (which you'll find in the list of discontinued literature  link below), you'll note that the fabric for the topper and the awning is one in the same.  I have talked with the folks at Carefree once and was not terribly encouraged by their product knowledge and there seemed to be no availability of sundry parts that are wear items on discontinued models. I would think that the polyrod would be a more generic thing that is used in other Carefree models and so may be available. If you haven't taken the cover off yet and assessed the fabric condition, that seems to be your next step in solving your riddle.  Hope the above info and the links below help.

PS - Your awning and topper model info should be on your coach info list that is usually glued to the wall of the closet or perhaps the back of a vanity door.  That should help you find the manufacturer's info online in the links below.  You might also check your literature box - there may be info on the assemblies in there!  Good luck!

Carefree Literature: https://www.e-carefree.com/ecarefree30/product-library

Carefree Discontinued Literature: http://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/services/discontinued-products.html

[David T. Richelderfer]

This youtube video shows how a typical awning is attached to an RV.  I post this for general reference only.  It shows the "welting" and how the welting is typically slid into position.  It's a 15 minute video.  The pertinent poop for this discussion (re: what is the welting?) starts in the 5 to 6 minute area of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hECkXdaEyv8&feature=youtu.be

I had two Carefree awning topper/window shade awnings (Omegas) replaced in 2014.  In my case, the technicians had to slide the welting on both edges at the same time while the slides were out.  The old awnings were slid out.  The new awnings were slid in (as seen in the video).