Newbie questions

[Leeburn]

Hi again everyone.

The 25RKS we just bought will have many more features than the pop-up. Need to learn all about the water and sewer connection process, winterizing and many other things. I will spend the day with my owners manual and my dealer will be giving us a walk through when we pick it up. Couple of questions though. Just like when I have bought a car, the dealer is suggesting some addtional things and I wanted to get others advice/opinions on them.

1 - This is our first trailer with a slide-out. The dealer is suggesting a "slide topper" awning to keep leaves, dirt etc.. off the top of the slide - makes sense. I took a drive through an RV park and it seems like most people have these. I am leaning to yes. Is this something folks would recommend?

2 - Extended warranty. For $1500, I can get an additional 6 years on top of the 2 that comes standard. Not sure what typically could go wrong, but the price seems reasonable for 8 years worth of coverage (I will most likely trade up in 5-6 years).

3 - An exterior protection/sealant application. This trailer has an aluminum skin and I am not sure if this is required. Experience with fiberglass (mainly boats) suggest it might make sense for that type of exterior- although waxing it also works - aluminum should be OK without it. I am not interested in waxing a 25 foot trailer 4-5 times a year as the dealer suggests without the protection. (I bought the trailer to go relax and enjoy the outdoors, not climb all over it every 4 weeks!!!!).

Any advice would be welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks everyone

[Denise]

Our experience:

-I wouldn't mind having the topper as when the times we park under a tree, I do worry about us having leaves, etc on the top of the slide. As of yet we haven't had to clean anything off, but I don't always rememember to check before bringing the slide in. (Maybe we should add that to our check list when leaving the campground!). Anyway, it could be a nice addition.

-From what we learned at other forums, the consensus is NOT to buy the warranty for a tt. Jayco has the two year warranty and supposedly anything major that can fail (that we aren't responsible for happening) would probably do so within that time. Just be good about checking/cleaning roof once a year, etc etc etc). We opted not to buy the warranty. BTW, some research on line may help you find possibly the same warranty as your dealer for about $1000. Dealers like to add huge markups.

-Once again, consensus with aluminum siding at other forums and from respected dealers.... just wax once a year. We paid a guy $125 to wash and wax our tt back in November. He was one of these mobile wash guys at a campground we went to who you could ****er around with the price.

Of course, that was just our experience...

[McMonk]

We, too were offered an extended warranty for $1500 and turned it down.

Until recently, we had a 2000 21' Aerolite which I washed often and waxed twice per year. When I traded it in it looked brand new, except for the trim around the window's which turned a bit 'pink'. Usually took a couple of hours to do with a few breaks for some 'wobbly-pops'. Waxing also gave me a chance to get up close and personal with all the seal, so I could say I inspected everything as I went.

My folks own a Class C with three slide-outs, have owned a couple of 5th wheels with slide outs and swear by the slide topper for a couple of reasons - leaves etc & keeping as much water off the slide as possible. They wouldn't do without!

Good luck!

[Gone Camping]

Its Better than getting on the roof with a broom.

[f00d30]

Hi Leeburn,

We don't have the slide topper and had to brush snow off the slide out when we hitched up for our first trip. Haven't made a decision on whether to add one or not. My biggest concern was wind. Not sure if they are as prone to wind damage as awnings are.

Doug and Cheri