Bellows bungee

[2CV67]

Also is it a 2 person job?

If you tie a long peice of string to the free end of the bungee, you can easily feed that round the bellows single-handed then gently pull the free end to join the other end which you fixed to the scissors first...

 

[Georgiegirl]

Thanks everyone. I feel better prepared to give it a go now

 

[Tomatoman65]

What is the new bellows design then? Ours was replaced last month at Heritage and is identical to the one they removed. I am still using a bungee. Have some people got a new design then?

We had our front panel and roof repaired at Heritage in Oct 2014 and a new canvas was fitted. The new one has nylon folding battens sewn in that prevent any billowing out of the canvas on closing the roof so we have dispensed with our old bungee as everything works perfectly without.

 

[Hotel California]

Don't think thats new... Does it look like this ? ( but not ripped open....)

 

[Tactical]

I think there has been a change of design fairly recently (within the last year perhaps).

Our Cali, which was built in June 2014, originally had folding battens located at the mid-point of the panels, i.e sitting over the mesh windows. The battens weren't sewn for their full length to allow the zips to be undone and the semi-circular canvas over the mesh to be pulled down. However, this allowed billowing of the canvas during closing.

After a workshop error at the the VW dealer's, which resulted in a tear in the canvas, the dealer fitted new bellows in March 2015. These have two battens either side of the semi-circular panels and these are sewn for their full length (like your pictures above). This is a much better design and hopefully will eliminate billowing.

Unlike Tomtomman65 (above) I still keep my bungee on because IMO it helps make a neater job of folding in the front part of the canvas above the sliding roof panel.

 

[reserves]

I think there has been a change of design fairly recently (within the last year perhaps).

Our Cali, which was built in June 2014, originally had folding battens located at the mid-point of the panels, i.e sitting over the mesh windows. The battens weren't sewn for their full length to allow the zips to be undone and the semi-circular canvas over the mesh to be pulled down. However, this allowed billowing of the canvas during closing.

After a workshop error at the the VW dealer's, which resulted in a tear in the canvas, the dealer fitted new bellows in March 2015. These have two battens either side of the semi-circular panels and these are sewn for their full length (like your pictures above). This is a much better design and hopefully will eliminate billowing.

Unlike Tomtomman65 (above) I still keep my bungee on because IMO it helps make a neater job of folding in the front part of the canvas above the sliding roof panel.

Have you got any pics? Trying to work out what you mean exactly

 

[Tactical]

The difference between the older and newer style battens are shown in these pictures.

The older style roof (June 2014 on our Cali) has the batten across the window. Necessarily the batten can be attached to the fabric only below and above the window.




The newer style (fitted March 2015) has the batten forward of the window (not quite visible in this photo). The full length of the batten is sewn to the fabric.

 

[reserves]

The difference between the older and newer style battens are shown in these pictures.

The older style roof (June 2014 on our Cali) has the batten across the window. Necessarily the batten can be attached to the fabric only below and above the window.

View attachment 7556


The newer style (fitted March 2015) has the batten forward of the window (not quite visible in this photo). The full length of the batten is sewn to the fabric.

View attachment 7557

Thanks so much! (off to check...)

 

[reserves]

We have this version

Does that mean I can safely ditch my bellows bungee?

 

[snowy55]

If you've got one you may as well use it, if you took it off and your bellows got cut you'll be kicking yourself.

 

[Kirk]

We have the new type bellows and even though it fold it in slightly better we still use the bungee as it saved our bacon last weekend when it was quite windy

 

[reserves]

Ahh, I'll leave mine on, thanks.

Can't lie, I do get a little gutted every time I see my shiny Cali with it's roof up and see essentially some elastic solving a problem VW couldn't!

 

[2CV67]

I fitted a bellows bungee in April 2014 & was immediately impressed with how much better the front of the bellows folded itself.

Over the season, I was less & less impressed with that...

Today I removed the bungee & measured it.
It is now 6m13 long, whereas it started at 3m72...

Seems like it needs replacing at least annually?

Wonder if I can find something more durable?

 

[calikev]

The very first few bungees we sold had a few problems, but we changed supplier to a better quality one.

We also had reports of the bungee losing its elasticity when used for long periods in hot countries.

If you feel you have a problem please email us with the date of purchase and we can look at getting the cord replaced if need be

 

[Freeley]

Does that mean that those of us that bought the original bungee will get a free replacement seeing as it isn't fit for purpose? !
I probably spend about 2k a year on replacing faulty flooring

 

[Tactical]

I probably spend about 2k a year on replacing faulty flooring

As a new Cali owner I'm puzzled about what this statement implies. What is the flooring fault please?

 

[reserves]

For the price on the bungee and what it saves I'd be happy if it lasts just one year

 

[motacyclist]

I meant to get the bungee when I joined but somehow missed the option of the special offer, then forgot about it.... (dementia?)

Our previous Cali - 2010, for some reason, never had the window in the front and it used to fold up nicely inside the sliding blind. This one - late 2014 - has the front window which is a bit of a nuisance and makes it a bit harder to pack away (keep it simple is better, how much ventilation do you need!); if anyone is using the child safety net I don't know how they would fit it all in. In the short time we've had the new van it had already almost gone inside out at the front, but there doesn't seem to be any problem with the sides.

 

[Freeley]

As a new Cali owner I'm puzzled about what this statement implies. What is the flooring fault please?

Didn't mean to confuse you I was talking about my business as I'm a Flooring contractor.
It was a light hearted remark aimed at getting a free replacement bungee but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears!

 

[vicky]

I have bought one of these because I travel alone and thought it would help it certainly does.I did have to get my friend to help me fit it but as it stays in place I only had to ask her once.

 

[Tomatoman65]

Ahh, I'll leave mine on, thanks.

Can't lie, I do get a little gutted every time I see my shiny Cali with it's roof up and see essentially some elastic solving a problem VW couldn't!

New canvas with new battens still functioning perfectly 8 months after having our roof issue repaired at Heritage. I ditched the home made bellow bungee ( £1.50 off Amazon) when the van came back as I could see the billowing problem was no longer an issue and it hasn't been.

 

[Tomatoman65]

We have this version

Does that mean I can safely ditch my bellows bungee?

In a word yes, we did 8 months ago with exactly the same version as you have.

 

[Fryers!]

We have the new style bellows with new batteons and have a word of caution! when lowering the roof last weekend it got caught in the scissor at the back. For some unknown reason it went outwards at the last minute, luckily it was the seam totally jammed in the mechanism, thankfully not too much damage but just annoying. We decided to put the bellows bungee back on as I am sure it pulls the bellows in better especially when a bit of wind.

 

[CarolS]

The very first few bungees we sold had a few problems, but we changed supplier to a better quality one.

We also had reports of the bungee losing its elasticity when used for long periods in hot countries.

If you feel you have a problem please email us with the date of purchase and we can look at getting the cord replaced if need be

 

[CarolS]

Ours was purchased in March 2014. It has lost its elasticity to the extent that it was referred to by a VW technician as a "piece a string".