I know life is full of compromises, but they can sometimes drive a person crazy. I’m always wanting features and items from each of the travel trailers and tow vehicles we’ve owned and put them all together in to one ‘perfect’ rig. Now I’m wanting to take materials and designs from different RV equipment makers and roll them in to one perfect product..

I’ve been replacing a lot of A&E slide toppers lately- just the vinyl fabric, and it made me think about all of the design and material compromises that have to be made…

I really like the mechanism of the A&E slide topper- it uses a good pring, strong hardware, has a good anti-billow device and is fairly easy to install. But….. the white vinyl fabric they use is just… to put it mildly… junk. They tend to delaminate at only a couple of years of age. Carefree of Colorado, on the other hand, uses a high quality vinyl, but for the slide toppers, I really don’t like their design- they use a large aluminum tube for the shaft, with a large plastic bearing surface. I’ve found that it doesn’t take much aluminum corrosion to make this bind up. I guess there is a fairly easy solution to this- after a few years, when the A&E fabric fails, I install Carefree replacement fabric, so my customers have the best of both worlds.

While I’m talking awnings- I much prefer Carfree patio awnings, yet A&E springs tend to be cheaper and more long lived (this is something that cannot be swapped between brands)… always a compromise.

In roof top air conditioners- I would take a Carrier roof unit, hook it to a DuoTherm control box, use a Coleman inside assembly…. and control it all with a good Hunter electronic thermostat. Not too much to ask, I think (well, I would like it if the Carrier units were made in the US, but..).

Other times I recommend products based as much on the company as the product- sometimes the products are missing features, but I would rather be satisfied with the product and support- items like high capacity roof vent fans. Shurflo Comfort Air fans have some very nice features- continuously variable speed, will circulate air even with the dome closed, and some more. But Fantastic Vent has such super, super customer service (not that Shurflo has bad customer service), that I just feel it would be a disservice to recommend anything other than a Fantastic product. I mean- never charging for repair parts- no matter the age of the vent- that’s pretty good.
I guess life is full of compromises- I try to explain the benefits of different products to my customers and let them decide, but I wish I could sometimes offer the best of all worlds.

– Chris