Opinion sort Brandup IsoTop

[Wogga]

Just a had a rather windy weekend away, t’other half was unhappy with the draughts coming in when the roof is popped, I must admit it was quite chilly on occasion despite the heater doing a Sterling job.
As the title suggests what is the opinion of ISOTop owners …. Worth the expense?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Works for us. Just fit it once & forget.

 

[andyinluton]

We've also found the optional zip in fly screen for the isotop panoramic opening to be fantastic on a hot day.

 

[Scoobz1]

A lot of money - but brilliant ! Warmer and Darker. Essential in my book

 

[JudeT]

Worth every penny

 

[Campingrookie]

It was a game changer for us, highly recommend it!

 

[Dr-Snickers]

I bought mine second hand but I wouldn't hesitate to buy new now, as it has been a brilliant addition.

 

[Borris]

My advice is to stop wondering and get one. You won't regret it.

The Isotop should come as a standard California fitment IMO. They transform the roof area by making it warmer, darker, and ensure it's always completely dry. It also cuts down draughts to the minimum. Yes, they are expensive but they are worth every penny.

Just fit it and forget it.

 

[Wogga]

that looks like a yes then, Mrs best raid her BS accou t then, cheers team.

 

[CampervanTime]

Have you managed to find one in stock anywhere? Both usual suspects for Brandrup in this country now reckon 2022 for delivery…

 

[Twunt]

I purchased mine from here:- https://www.volkswagenshop.be/de/2-...mk-v-ohne-grosse-offnung-am-vorderen-dachzelt

Very easy to deal with but I did get stung with £130 import tax so probably worked out about 50 quid more than UK shop

 

[CampervanTime]

Perfect, thank you

 

[icic]

Just to throw a curve ball into the mix. We have a isotop, it’s great, but we also have just got what seems an upgraded (front comes out)version of the Cali wrap. The front section has Velcro so the whole section completely comes out allowing the whole front to be open, plus it has vents at the side, so lots of air movement. It’s very insulating from heat and cold, love the fact if it’s nice day you just take the front out, yet if it rains everything stays dry by just put the front back on, So we will be using this instead of the isotop

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Just to throw a curve ball into the mix. We have a isotop, it’s great, but we also have just got what seems an upgraded (front comes out)version of the Cali wrap. The front section has Velcro so the whole section completely comes out allowing the whole front to be open, plus it has vents at the side, so lots of air movement. It’s very insulating from heat and cold, love the fact if it’s nice day you just take the front out, yet if it rains everything stays dry by just put the front back on, So we will be using this instead of the isotop

The thing that put me off external toppers was that if you arrived on site when it was raining hard, you will end up getting soaked putting it on & then have wet clothes to deal with in the van. Whereas the Isotop only needed fitting once.

 

[Neilos]

I’d say go internal with the Isotop. Haven’t used external but sounds a faf to me and there’s enough to do already on set up and pack away.

We ended up getting one after some very windy and wet whether, damp beds and it’s not pleasant with cold air dropping and pissing through those vents.

We’ve done one trip with it so far and I do miss the light which pours in through the standard canvas. I find I want to open the windows and let light in during the day.

That said, for kids sleeping it’s excellent. So much darker. Ours slept the best they’ve ever slept on a camping trip. We had dry calm weather so haven’t tested that yet but I’d have it for the extra hour of sleep for the kids each day alone!

Expensive but if you can afford it worth it I reckon.

Having said that did get ours before we shot ourselves in the foot and had to deal with all this import tax nonsense!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[barry]

Expensive and a b****r to fit properly.
But well worth every penny.

Keeps bedroom dry even when putting the lid down in driving rain.
Keeps draughts out but doesn't whack up condensation.
Keeps bedroom much darker.
We've thrown away much of the CaliKit we've bought as useless but this is an essential.

Our brandrup version is one of the first editions (bought a dozen years ago) and we've taken it down and refitted it when we had a tent replaced as part of the VW disgrace. So it's been much used. Refitting was easy and we've improved its 'suspension' a bit. The new tent is barely light-proof so the isotop keeps out the newly-admitted (early morning) sun.

An added bonus is that the the extra bulk of material (between the folded in material of the tent and the tambour door above the drivers head) stops the tambour door in the roof from sliding open all the bloody time.

If it was destroyed beyond repair I'd immediately buy a new one (although the posts above suggest it might not be immediate).

 

[icic]

Expensive and a b****r to fit properly.
But well worth every penny.

Keeps bedroom dry even when putting the lid down in driving rain.
Keeps draughts out but doesn't whack up condensation.
Keeps bedroom much darker.
We've thrown away much of the CaliKit we've bought as useless but this is an essential.

Our brandrup version is one of the first editions (bought a dozen years ago) and we've taken it down and refitted it when we had a tent replaced as part of the VW disgrace. So it's been much used. Refitting was easy and we've improved its 'suspension' a bit. The new tent is barely light-proof so the isotop keeps out the newly-admitted (early morning) sun.

An added bonus is that the the extra bulk of material (between the folded in material of the tent and the tambour door above the drivers head) stops the tambour door in the roof from sliding open all the bloody time.

If it was destroyed beyond repair I'd immediately buy a new one (although the posts above suggest it might not be immediate).

When you refit, can Brandrup supply the Velcro and roof tabs or have you found another solution ?

 

[icic]

The thing that put me off external toppers was that if you arrived on site when it was raining hard, you will end up getting soaked putting it on & then have wet clothes to deal with in the van. Whereas the Isotop only needed fitting once.

Similar reason but in reverse for the caliwrap, if it’s raining when you leave the canvas is dry due to the caliwrap, so no need to dry it after the drive, that’s the main reason for us

 

[andyinluton]

When you refit, can Brandrup supply the Velcro and roof tabs or have you found another solution ?

Yes, there’s a proper kit available that includes all the Velcro and new tabs.

 

[barry]

When you refit, can Brandrup supply the Velcro and roof tabs or have you found another solution ?

Velcro strips/rolls can be bought from any decent diy outlet. Therte's an industrial version I bought online but it turns out to be no different from the council versions in diy shops.
I've suplemented the standard suspension tabs with these twist pins for soft ceiling headlinings that were suggested by WelshGas nearly a couple of years ago! They came from China and took 10 weeks delivery, - cost nearly nothing for at least 50. They have worked perfectly! None have pulled out and they don't seem to have compromised the soft headling anywhere.
I'm sure screw-n fittings would be better but they make me nervous.

Although I can find the seller/go-between for these items and their shop (on ebay- see below ) the items don't seem to be in the shop anymore. I'm sure there must be another (more local) source because they seem to be so useful.

​

​ Hi Barry, your order is being posted!​

​

​ ​ ​ ​ Your order will be sent to: ​ your home ​ Estimated delivery: Fri, 20 Sep - Mon, 21 Oct

​

​ ​ Car Roof Repair Fabric Upholstery Screw Twist Pin For Headliner Soft Ceiling​

​

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Order number: 26-03830-60087 Item number: 302921640343 Item price: £3.67 Seller: idealsgarden (42281)

 

[Borris]

Similar reason but in reverse for the caliwrap, if it’s raining when you leave the canvas is dry due to the caliwrap, so no need to dry it after the drive, that’s the main reason for us

But the roof canvas doesn't need to be dry when you drop the roof to leave the camp site and anyway it doesn't take long to dry out when you get the chance. As long as it is dried out at the earliest opportunity it'll be fine.

On the other hand, the Caliwrap would need drying before stowing and being quite a big thing it's quite a faf.

 

[andyinluton]

The tabs on a VI isotop are used a lot more than on the earlier ones.
Up to V the tabs were used to semi permanently fix the top front of the liner.

On a T6 / T6.1 with a panoramic front
Every time you drop the roof you are supposed to remove the front panel undoing those tabs. They are also used for fixing the fly screen and every time the panoramic front is opened

 

[icic]

But the roof canvas doesn't need to be dry when you drop the roof to leave the camp site and anyway it doesn't take long to dry out when you get the chance. As long as it is dried out at the earliest opportunity it'll be fine.

On the other hand, the Caliwrap would need drying before stowing and being quite a big thing it's quite a faf.

We live on a terraced street so it’s not practical to put the roof up and dry it out, with the Cali wrap we just drape it in the house till it’s dry.

this new version comes apart into 2 sides and a front, so it’s become much more manageable to dry, pack and put on. That’s why I like it, if it was just all one piece it would be much more of a faff

 

[dripster]

We have an external topper which we've used once. We recently went with the Thais internal version, mainly because I'm a tightwad and it's a bit cheaper. You'll get stung for import duty again and mine got 'stuck' at the port waiting for clearance, but I must say I'm very happy with it although only been away once and it didn't rain. At all. In England!!!!!

Pop Top Thermal Insulation - Thais, SL

www.thaissl.fr

 

[Cali Phillip]

Just to throw a curve ball into the mix. We have a isotop, it’s great, but we also have just got what seems an upgraded (front comes out)version of the Cali wrap. The front section has Velcro so the whole section completely comes out allowing the whole front to be open, plus it has vents at the side, so lots of air movement. It’s very insulating from heat and cold, love the fact if it’s nice day you just take the front out, yet if it rains everything stays dry by just put the front back on, So we will be using this instead of the isotop

We live on a terraced street so it’s not practical to put the roof up and dry it out, with the Cali wrap we just drape it in the house till it’s dry.

this new version comes apart into 2 sides and a front, so it’s become much more manageable to dry, pack and put on. That’s why I like it, if it was just all one piece it would be much more of a faff

I ended up with a cali wrap for that reason, here it can rain for days so drying the roof out could be difficult. The wrap negates a wet roof, as there's only 2 of us generally I'd wait till the rain stops and leave the roof down and then apply topper.