Solara slide topper installation problem

[RichCarter]

I recently purchased a Solara slide topper awning and did the installation myself. The camper is a sitck-and-tin Jay Flight (24RBS). I had a lot of trouble getting the mounting brackets on the slide installed. The side of the slide-out is aluminum siding. The surface is of course not flat. A bracket slides into the mounting plates. If the surface isn't flat, you can't slide the things in. I ended up grinding the bottom of the brackets to avoid interference with the siding. I'm not sure that this is the right way to handle this but it worked. If anyone is planning on the same upgrade, beware of the problem before starting the install.

[Rustic Eagle]

RichCarter,

Could you post a couple photos of your Solara interference area and modification?

I didn't have any aluminum siding interferences...., but I have a 'Dometic' slide topper on my aluminum sided 24RBS.

Thanks in advance....

Bob

[RichCarter]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

RichCarter,

Could you post a couple photos of your Solara interference area and modification?

I've since covered the camper so I'm unable to take photos until the spring. Rich

[Rustic Eagle]

Rich,

Look forward to seeing the photos in the spring.

Just curious, do you recall if your Solara topper fabric roll was touching the 'face' of the slide flange at any time during operation, or when fully closed/opened?

Bob

[RichCarter]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

Rich,

Look forward to seeing the photos in the spring.

Just curious, do you recall if your Solara topper fabric roll was touching the 'face' of the slide flange at any time during operation, or when fully closed/opened?

Bob

No, it wasn't touching the face. It is installed per the directions. There's a pair of flat plates that screw to the face of the slide in the upper corners. This is on the aluminum siding, which is not flat. This depresses the siding against the slide wall. There is a bracket that slides into these plates. These hit the siding beneath these plates. For me, the fix was to grind the bottom of the brackets so they don't hit the siding.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by RichCarter

No, it wasn't touching the face......

Good to hear.

I wonder if Solara had an optional 'flat plate' or 'bracket' design that would have spaced the assembly further away from the siding (?). I'm still interested in seeing your photo fix this spring......, others may find it helpful as well.

The reason I asked about the frabic touching the flange is....., after my RV dealer installed my 'Dometic' topper on my 24RBS aluminum sided slide I noticed that my fabric roll was touching the flange face surface. Upon further inspection I found that the bottom three screws on each of the two mounting plates were pulling away from the slide wall.

Looking at the vertical slide flange you can see how the bottom of the mounting plate is 'bowing' outward...:



The mounting plates weren't located per Dometic documents, instead the plates were not located 'snug' (there was a gap) against the top horizontal aluminum siding trim. The top two screws landed into the slide wood framing, the bottom three missed.

I decided to make the fix myself and the RV dealer supplied the material..., didn't have confidence in a dealer fix.

Bob

[RichCarter]

I followed the instructions to the letter. Its hard to tell from your photo but yours appear to be mounted lower on the slide wall. I have the same camper. As you can see from your photo, if you mounted it higher, the bracket would be in a "valley just above the aluminum siding ridge. The sliding piece would hit this ridge if you tried to slide it in. As an afterthought, it would have been simple to make a shim to raise the bracket a half-inch or so. I already had the base plates mounted so it was simpler to shave a bit off the sliding piece to clear the siding. I wonder if the interference issue is why your dealer moved them down.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by RichCarter

snip.... I wonder if the interference issue is why your dealer moved them down.

Not in my case with the Dometic topper design..., there wouldn't have been any fabric contact issue as long as the mounting plates were installed and held "flat", thus the fabric roll wouldn't have tilted against the horizontal slide flange as it did due to the bottom three screws missing the wood framing.

Bob

[muckinfuss]

I'm late to this thread, but I installed the Solera to my trailer this past summer. It's an FRP sided unit so my expectation was that all would be copacetic and relatively easy. Wrong. As the awning roll takes up the fabric, it begins to press the top edge of the slide and the last foot or two rub during take up. I have yet to figure out an acceptable solution. The problem is that the slide out trim is wider than Lippert anticipated in their design. The result is that the mounting, even when put to the high setting is still too low to avoid the interferance.

I understand these things are 'universal fit' but I'm not a fan of cutting things to make the fit perfect. My first thought was to bush out the mount plate half an inch, but that actually would make the problem worse, so I did nothing....so far.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by muckinfuss

snip......I understand these things are 'universal fit' .......snip

The following JOF thread touched on the same fabric rubbing condition your experiencing:

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...n-74838-3.html

Bob

[muckinfuss]

Thanks. I've been toying with one of the solutions in that thread...the one where the poster made spacer plates from alum. and use them as the base to push the mounting plates higher. My trim doesn't have any support behind it as some posts indicate different trailers or years do, so the 2x4 can only be attached to through the siding. I hesitated doing anything last summer since the rake of the awning when extended is already shallow and a good rain pools water as it is. Raising the mount would only accentuate that I fear. Typical....damned if you do, damned if you don't.