Pop top install! help please?

[maicoletta]

Alright peeps, I've got a fairly chunky winter project- putting a poptop in!

Now there's a coupla special things to note:

1) Its a LWB beddie
2) the poptop came from a SWB (thanks Thrils )  correct size to suit a beddie, not a random hole in the roof


I don't mind losing the extra height of the jumbo roof, so cutting down to leave enough for the pop to sit on is the go.

Because it's a bit shorter, i was gonna take an old SWB roof front section (possibly courtesy of BeerBeddy (was that you in Geelong i was in touch with over ebay??), and weld that in.


Am i right in saying roofs are same dimensions etc? My engineer said will need to brace around roof seam with some 30mm square tubing, to account for removing roof crossbeams.

Any one else here had to do this or similar? any "exciting problems" to be wary of/look out for??

Does anyone in Melbourne have a poptop i could have a nosey around in the back of sometime??

cheers in advance, Al

[BusyKiwi]

You shouldn't need to brace the roof section as the pop top base becomes the brace/support

Not all pop tops are created equal (size/length), but I not long ago sold a pop top to a guy who was putting it in a lwb, when he came to pick it up (in his lwb) I didn't think it would fit inside the van, but it fitted in the back on the floor (between the rear wheel tubs) nicely

[BeerBeddy]

i was gonna take an old SWB roof front section (possibly courtesy of BeerBeddy (was that you in Geelong i was in touch with over ebay??),

Yep that was I!

My Beddy is an Auto Camper conversion. There is no extra bracing in my roof apart from the timber sections that make up the actual pop top. Does yours have canvass like the Kombis or is it like mine? You are more than welcome to take the drive down to Geelong and have a look at my camper roof.

I would have thought even a shorty wheelbase pop top would be able to be fitted to a LWB although you wouldn't be able to stand up everywhere in the van. Ever considered lengthening the pop top?

Dallas

[maicoletta]

Mine's a canvas lined thing, needs a bit of love but will be fine!

Never thought about lengthening it, i suppose a possibility, but as the interior is at the mo, the cab i kind of separated from the back, which i kind of like, not fussed about extra head room in the cab. (wouldn't mind lowering the seat tho, i'm 6'2", could do with better visibility!!)

But in any case, i've got a bit of brown bubbly paint that needs dealing with above the passenger side of windscreen, so need to repair that anyway, prob with a cut out section. Maybe i will take you up on that offer and take a drive round the other side of the bay, whenever i get a free day!!

In the meantime, anyone closer!!??

[Sundownernz]

Haven't had much to do with pop tops so not sure if this would work but could be worth a thought.

Why not keep the LWB roof up front and fit the pop top down behind it behind the front seats. You'd need to fabricate a drop down section to take the higher roof line at the front down to the SWB height but if done right you could have the higher roof line at the front providing a better air flow with the front of the pop top tucked down behind it when travelling. The pop top would still lift to full height etc when needed, and wouldn't have the flat front end creating drag when your travelling.

Garry. 

[Poochimama]

Ironic...I just bought a bargain of a life time great condition white Pop top roof with canvas&cross bar spring action type..was from a combie,now we are scratchn our heads on how to convert it too the flat roof swb Beddys??Im removing my box shape roof for this one but as the base curves to fit the combie we are thinkn of removing the part completely...Bought it for..Drum rollllll...$1.04 on Ebay 2wks ago and the bloke was spewing,so i said id pay him$150 to deliver it to soften the blow as thr hard to find 2nd hand pop tops hey?!!
So yep...we are now in the same boat kinda,workn out how to customize to ffit my Bedsta??
Any suggestions are welcome too!
Cheers
Poochi

[maicoletta]

Hmmmn, Garry, I like your thinking with leaving the front 'dome' up there to cut down on drag, might be a better alternative to the swb lower roof.

Poochi, bloody hell, whatever you spend on making it work you'll still be winning, with only a $1!!! (plus $149 shipping....    )

Eventually when i get the thing fitted, i also wanna figure out a system with actuators so i can pop the roof automatically "at the flick of a switch"

anyone know which direction i should look for this sort of hardware?

[Poochimama]

Maybe our darling Marty on here can help,hes got Poptop im sure he put inn..Ill ask him and see if he can help us?

[Marishka]

 , hi poochie,
Ive got the poptop but i never fitted it.

If i were fitting a different vehicle poptop to my van
I would mark out the roof a foot bigger than the base of the poptop with masking tape, then mask off the outer rest of the roof.
And mask off the inner part of the roof (that would be cut out).

Mould release wax the section between the 2 masked off sections.
And Make a fiberglass mould of this section .
Then graft this onto  the bottom of the poptop to be fitted to the van.

Also as previously stated if fitting to a Lwb, id lenghen the whole poptop first.

It sounds hard but its really easy if you understand the dynamics of fiberglassing...
 
Hope this helps,
Cheers marty

[rossie]

A job for Ben, or someone else with the knowledge and equipment