Bungee benefits?

[Vincent123]

Just a quick question to people who have a roof canvas bungee fitted - are there any negatives? ie. does bungee degrade or damage the canvas in time?
We are getting our Cali from VW Preston and our contact (who has given excellent advise so far) is not a fan of the bungee - it ruins the aesthetics of the van and people can get a bit complacent operating the roof when they have one fitted?

 

[Meoncoast]

it ruins the aesthetics

not as much as a hole cut

 

[Meoncoast]

people can get a bit complacent operating the roof when they have one fitted?

dependant on owner's attituded lower roof "think take care" every time

 

[GrannyJen]

I'm not too sure how it can encourage complacency.

If I'm lowering the roof in a howling gale I'm twitching out of my seat every 5 seconds.

I can't say it's saved my bellows, only that so far no damage.

At the end of the day it's a few quid for a bit of elastic and after paying £50k + for a van to spend a few quid and then decide you don't like it is hardly going to notice.

 

[Zebedee]

I didn't have a bungee until one day we were camping near a beach and it suddenly got really windy and I had to get the roof down because we had to leave in a certain time. It was pretty scary even though I am really careful. I am still ultra careful with the bungee but it adds another layer of security. It does not detract aesthetically, not really noticeable. No problems with the canvas. As they are so cheap I would replace it every few years depending on how much usage it gets.

 

[zoki]

Bungee has saved our bacon on quite a few occasions, you still need to watch it folding in but it does help and does not look out of place, especially now they now use a dark coloured cord.

 

[SimonB]

I was up in N Wales recently and the wind suddenly got up at 3.00am. I needed to lower the roof as fast as possible, it was dark & I was on my own. With the bungee in place I could see that the bellows were coming inwards away from the metalwork, just by looking up. I'm not so sure I would have been happy to lower the roof under those conditions without the bungee on there.
I think it's about £300 if the bellows need replacing plus you loose the van for a while.

 

[Kirk]

I think it's about £300 if the bellows need replacing plus you loose the van for a while.

Our bellows was replaced and cost £700 !! They made a right pigs ear of it so had to go back in again to have another one fitted.

I now use a bungee !!

 

[CYCLOPATH]

I got one, and didn't use it, just watching closely from the inside, I prefer minimal if possible.
Then a really windy lowering on Dartmoor, and I was struggling to get one side to pop in......so I had to deploy it....worked brilliantly.
Also, I am about to get my new calicosy, which sounds amazing , mostly for winter as it is cold and draughty up top, but I gather also cooler in summer
And they strongly recommend using the bungee.
I have also read some VW garages supply them with new vans, after having so many pinched bellows brought back.

 

[Andyclockwise]

Ours came fitted with one from the VW dealership when we had it on demo for the day.

 

[Paul1]

For all year use without faffing about with all the add ons you need I think the Cali roof is not fit for purpose. VW have rested on there laurels too long and it need a complete new design and modern materials. The Merc Marco Polo roof looks very robust in comparison, do they have same problems ??

 

[SimonB]

Our dealer gave me a hand putting ours on and thought it was a really good idea.
I got the impression he had seen a number of damaged bellows.
My figure of £300 was obviously miles out, sorry. £700 does sound a lot more plausible.

 

[Vincent123]

Thanks for the feedback - it seems like a no brainer. My intention is to purchase the Starter pack and get the dealer to fit the bungee on collection.

 

[Martin]

They are very easy to fit, possibly easier if done by two people.. Also as mentioned above they are now all supplied in black.

Great choice in dog BTW

 

[Skylark2.0]

For all year use without faffing about with all the add ons you need I think the Cali roof is not fit for purpose. VW have rested on there laurels too long and it need a complete new design and modern materials. The Merc Marco Polo roof looks very robust in comparison, do they have same problems ??

Ours has three bands near the front which direct the material in. Seems very good apart from in high wind when I have deployed the brush handle to poke fabric in. I'm vertically challenged so can't really reach. Usually leave my six footers to the "watch the canvas" job.

 

[CYCLOPATH]

I fitted my bungee with ease alone
I tied one end to the folding mechanism, standing in the door way, then took it around the roof,
Then untied, joined, pushed it up a little all the way around so it was at the "hinge"mid level
Sorted

 

[WelshGas]

For all year use without faffing about with all the add ons you need I think the Cali roof is not fit for purpose. VW have rested on there laurels too long and it need a complete new design and modern materials. The Merc Marco Polo roof looks very robust in comparison, do they have same problems ??

Sorry but I must disagree. If you look at other Elevating Roofs that use a fabric sidewall you would see that the "Plastic Hinges " used on the VW roof are a very good design feature and in totally calm conditions with the recommended Door being open work virtually 100% of the time to fold the canvas walls inwards as required.
Unfortunately we do not live in the ideal world. It is rare that there is no wind/breeze/gale and it is not unknown for people NOT to read the instructions.
The fitting of a Bungee will help with windy conditions. Unfortunately there is nothing anybody or anything can do to cope with someone who fails to follow simple instructions.
The Bungee is just a simple device to assist the informed user in ensuring the canvas folds correctly in less than ideal conditions.

 

[DavidofHook]

Eriba, who make high quality small pop up caravans use a bungee on their pop tops, presumably to avoid the problems of the canvas getting caught.
A bungy is really a natural for the Cali, I am surprised that they are not fitted as standard.
If you Google 'Eriba' you can see them on the photographs.
They are brilliant caravans by the way (but having a Cali is better!)

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

If you pop your head through the hatch you can gently tug in the sides as you incrementally lower the roof. Works 100%.

There really is no need to check externally.

 

[Hotel California]

If you pop your head through the hatch you can gently tug in the sides as you incrementally lower the roof. Works 100%.

There really is no need to check externally.

I still think looking on the outside is better , and you do need to check externally , specialy when spending time under threes ....there could be small branches , acorns, ...and suff in the roof edges causing a dent if closed ...

All in all for the money a bungee strap costs i find it a big plus...
As for wearing caused by the strap itself , think you have canvaswearing whatever , take a look at older Cali's canvases...

 

[Bellesca]

Agree you have to check in the rails for debris before lowering the roof. As for wear on the canvas from the bungee....we just move it up or down a bit every trip so it doesn't leave a mark.

 

[Paul1]

My point was there are now better materials which could be used for the bellows, and why should you have to buy extras to make it work . The Calli material is wafer thin and too fragile and I could spend half the cost on a convertible car and every fault would be and expected to be covered under warranty . As in earlier post , the Marco Polo seems much more robust and fit for use.

 

[Californiaman]

We've camped in some challenging wind conditions that made closing the roof a bit of a challenge but it is easy enough if you are careful. I've got a few lengths of shock cord in the van that I use for stopping our bicycle cover flapping etc. if I ever end up in a situation where the wind makes it impossible to close the roof, I plan to simply tie a length of the shock cord up there temporarily. Never needed to do it yet but nice to know you have it if you need it.

 

[Rhyddin]

I'll buy a bungee but I'm not sure it will be a permanent fit. Guy, the dealer, also told me that he was not convinced by them. I can see the benefit while putting the roof down in bad conditions and so will have one in a drawer, just in case, but I'll take it back off at the first opportunity.

I'm sure the canvas is durable but constant rubbing by another strong fibre, which the bungee is presumably made off, has to take its toll eventually, surely? Plus, the factory didn't fit one and there has to be a reason.

Of course, I've not tried one, but, if you touched a tent outer with anything in the wet, it causes it to potentially leak - does the bungee make the middle more likely to leak when it's up?

The other factor would have to be how much tension the bungee puts on the canvas when it is down - is it still tight at all, or does it sit slackly inside the roof? If it's slack then I see no harm when down.

As I said, I'll still get one anyway - just in case.

 

[calikev]

The key is to not have it too tight with the roof up you should be able to easily
Get your hand underneath at the corners. When the roof is down the bungee is looser