Cali Topper or Pucer?

[Bjohnson]

Hi all,

I know this question has been asked before but having read all the threads I'm still no nearer a decision!

We need a top cover for the Cali so we can continue weekends away during the winter.

I had previously planed to get a pucer screen, simply because it looked as though it would offer the most insulation and therefore the most comfort.

I've discounted the Brandrup internal cover simply on cost alone, which leaves the Cali top and pucer variations.

I like the look of the Cali topper and the fixings look top notch, plus the provision of windows in the top is a nice touch. I also think it packs reasonably well compared to the pucer.

Can anyone offer any more advice from experience and use? Is there likely to be much difference in insulation properties between the two? Will the pucer offer significantly more insulation?

I guess ultimately its down to personal choice, so ill probably have to decide and get something ordered, but if anyone does have some direct experience of both that would be really helpful.

 

[Martin]

Re: Cali top or Pucer?

Hi Brian

It probably won't help much but I have both and will most likely continue to use both of them, maybe even in combination with each other when it is very cold.

Cali Topper

It keeps the entire bellows dry
Easy to fit/remove
it fits in with the chairs in the tail gate
It has windows
It does give 'some' protection against cold weather

Pucer

It does give thermal protection
Easy to fit/remove
It does let water in when it is very windy and there is driving rain
It is double the size of the cali topper
It does not have windows

 

[calikev]

Re: Cali top or Pucer?

I thought about the pucer but only being 5.6 tall I decided a topper would be easier to fit
And so far no problems.

 

[a21daloa]

Re: Cali top or Pucer?

Hi. I know this is probably a really daft question, but I'm new to the California and live in a very wet country, so.... Just how easy is the Cali Topper to fit / remove. I'm 5'11 but can barely see the roof when its down, let alone popped up . So I'm assuming it somehow goes up with the hydraulics, as no way would you want to carry a ladder about right ? Has anyone got a video of themselves fitting / removing this ingenious piece of kit ? Regards from not very often sunny Norway !

 

[calikev]

Hi from Norway. I have a roof cover and fit it without to many problems I am 5ft 6. I raise the roof about 18 inches then with my wife we pull the cover over we do need to stand on the door step
But once you have it over all four corners raise the roof fully and the cover just drops down and then attach using the straps provided. Removal is just the same in reverse. We manage it in a couple of minutes. Easy really. I hope this helps you

 

[Leo K]

Re: Cali top or Pucer?

Has anyone got a video of themselves fitting / removing this ingenious piece of kit ? Regards from not very often sunny Norway !

Hello a21daloa, this video on how to fix the German Mütze might give you the general idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVwGCB-VhIo

 

[eanni]

I'm from Scotland very wet too! I just got the Cali topper - no windows - last weekend, and it was both wet and cold! down to -5c one night and had been wet, so a good test. I'm female and about 5'7" and managed to fit it myself - see the photos on the thread about the Cali topper. I was offered help but declined as I really needed to see if I could manage myself :evil: Raised roof about 12-14" then put it in place and raised the roof the rest of the way. Fitted the thumb screws and used the short bungees to keep it in place. Everything in reverse to take it off. I prefer no windows - gives you more protection and keeps it dark - good for sleeping in Norway in the summer talking from experience - 4 weeks camping in mid summer north of Arctic Circle. Hope this helps?

 

[a21daloa]

Thanks so much for your replies. The video also really helped me make sense of it. I'm going to buy one in the UK when we are home for Christmas. Really looking forward to using the Cali early next year for Ski, then all through spring and summer for Touring this amazing country !
Best Regards from Darren in Sandnes Norway.

 

[Bjohnson]

Hi all,

I know this question has been asked before but having read all the threads I'm still no nearer a decision!

We need a top cover for the Cali so we can continue weekends away during the winter.

I had previously planed to get a pucer screen, simply because it looked as though it would offer the most insulation and therefore the most comfort.

I've discounted the Brandrup internal cover simply on cost alone, which leaves the Cali top and pucer variations.

I like the look of the Cali topper and the fixings look top notch, plus the provision of windows in the top is a nice touch. I also think it packs reasonably well compared to the pucer.

Can anyone offer any more advice from experience and use? Is there likely to be much difference in insulation properties between the two? Will the pucer offer significantly more insulation?

I guess ultimately its down to personal choice, so ill probably have to decide and get something ordered, but if anyone does have some direct experience of both that would be really helpful.

After much deliberation, we purchased a Pucer screen for its insulation properties, over a Cali Topper.

Although long term, we may actually get a Cali Topper as well and use both together during winter periods and just the topper during the summer.

As we have many winter trip plans at the moment, the (hopefully) additional insulation offered by the Pucer drove our final decision.

Thanks for all the advice.

We'll post some info on our experiences in the new year

 

[Calimark]

Hi, unless I am missing something, let me know how you would fit both the pucer and a topper (eg calitopper or mutze) at the same time. I had thought about this but then realised that to fit the topper you need to lower the roof to about 6 to 12 inches from the bottom which would mean that you could not fit the pucer first. I have not fitted a pucer before but do you think it is possible to fit the pucer once the topper is already on and the roof fully raised ?

We went for the Mutze cap in the end based on the fact that it stows away easily and is a breathable material and lets moisture out but not in (like goretex). The pucker will have better insulation properties however when these would be needed we will turn up the heat in the van to compensate. We will be ski camping in Feb and will take a small oil filled rad (DeLonghi Bambino) and will leave on all day. As heat rises the temp in the roof actually gets very warm.

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

Hi, unless I am missing something, let me know how you would fit both the pucer and a topper (eg calitopper or mutze) at the same time. I had thought about this but then realised that to fit the topper you need to lower the roof to about 6 to 12 inches from the bottom which would mean that you could not fit the pucer first. I have not fitted a pucer before but do you think it is possible to fit the pucer once the topper is already on and the roof fully raised ?

We went for the Mutze cap in the end based on the fact that it stows away easily and is a breathable material and lets moisture out but not in (like goretex). The pucker will have better insulation properties however when these would be needed we will turn up the heat in the van to compensate. We will be ski camping in Feb and will take a small oil filled rad (DeLonghi Bambino) and will leave on all day. As heat rises the temp in the roof actually gets very warm.

You could fit both by fitting whichever exterior cover you use first, then fitting the Pucer between the scissors and bellows when the roof is fully raised but IMHO you would use either cover rather than both at the same time. Be careful if you leave a heater on in the vehicle as a temperature rise could set off the internal alarm sensor (unless you deactivate it first).

 

[Calimark]

Hi Dan, thanks for the warning about leaving the heater on. We would leave it on low just to keep the ambient temp inside the van around 15oC to make sure the water tanks don't freeze and also make it cosier when we return from a day's skiing.

As for fitting the pucer after the topper has been fitted, I guess it just depends how tricky it would be because the Mutze cap has quite a snug fit. It would be interesting to see if anyone has managed this before.

 

[Linda]

The pucer is quite rigid isn't it . Would it fit inside the roof and kind of just hold itself up?....just a thought

 

[Bjohnson]

Hi, unless I am missing something, let me know how you would fit both the pucer and a topper (eg calitopper or mutze) at the same time. I had thought about this but then realised that to fit the topper you need to lower the roof to about 6 to 12 inches from the bottom which would mean that you could not fit the pucer first. I have not fitted a pucer before but do you think it is possible to fit the pucer once the topper is already on and the roof fully raised ?

We went for the Mutze cap in the end based on the fact that it stows away easily and is a breathable material and lets moisture out but not in (like goretex). The pucker will have better insulation properties however when these would be needed we will turn up the heat in the van to compensate. We will be ski camping in Feb and will take a small oil filled rad (DeLonghi Bambino) and will leave on all day. As heat rises the temp in the roof actually gets very warm.

That's a good point I hadn't considered

If I think about it long enough I'm sure there's a solution :crazy

We've also just bought a small oil filled heater to use when on hook

 

[Bjohnson]

Pucer screen arrived today, only ordered it on Sunday evening, so really impressed with the service and response from Daren.

Screen comes in a waterproof bag and fits a treat in the long space from the boot alongside the bottom of the bench seat. I've put a shorter bungee in the bag based on recommendations from others on here, for when we use it over new year.

Seems a quality product but will post up some further info once we've tried it in anger

 

[CameoVan]

Just tried the Pucer "in anger" at -5 worked great. Even slept upstairs (But must be said with the aid of the factory fitted diesel heater)

 

[Bjohnson]

Our first opportunity to try the new Pucer cover the last couple of days whilst we were away in Cornwall.

Really pleased with it, an excellent cover. Took only a minute to fit between 2 of us and is a very good/snug fit around the pop top fabric. We used a shorter bungee than the one supplied and this seemed to keep everything in place and secure.

I suspect a previous post on here about poor ish fitting could be the result of using the supplied bungee which is longer and would allow some slack in the fitment of the cover over the pop top.

We had plenty of high wind and driving rain over the last couple of days and the cover was a great asset in keeping the pop top dry and significantly improving comfort conditions inside the Cali.

Another excellent Cali purchase :clap

 

[a21daloa]

Hi All,
Cali Topper update from Norway....
The Cali Topper we ordered on line arrived at my Father In Law's house in the UK, no problem, well packed and protected. We took it back to Norway after visiting UK for Christmas, again not an issue, not very heavy and took up little room in the suitcase.
So today we did the fitting test as we are of skiing next weekend at Sirdal and it will be about -5 to -10 so we wanted to test it out of course....
First couple of attempts were a bit of a nightmare, especially with my wife being a bit little and me being of the impatient type, my wife called this something else, but I cant repeat what she said here However, once we sussed out the optimum opening amount, which turns out to be about 300 mm, basically just enough to raise the back corners, we were set. It is quite a snug fit actually, so there was a fair amount of pulling and tugging at the front required.
Anyway I did want to let you know of a small design fault. The topper comes with 4 bungees to attach to the rail on one side, but only 2 on the other. This is not sufficient and I had to make 2 more myself. Now I hear what your thinking..."This is because those clever designers knew you'd have an awning and would not have anywhere to clip to". Well, this may be true but you are in trouble if (a) You don't have an Awning and (b) like us - Your van is Left Hand Drive and the Awning is on the other side !

So to conclude, we managed to "Fix" the small problem see pics, and now we know how it fits, we will have no problem in future. We will see if it is any good in the cold next weekend ....

 

[comfortz]

Hello,
Really sorry to hear about the problems you had fitting the Cali-Topper and thanks for the feedback.
I just need to Clarify a few things though, when you received the topper, you should have received a small pack of 8 thumbscrew fixings and 8 bungee ball loops – did you receive 8 of each?
I’m just checking because the design of the Cali-Topper is such that it should fit on a vehicle with or without an awning. If you don’t have an awning fitted all 8 of the thumbscrews (four each side) slide into the awning rails and the 8 bungee ball loops feed through the topper, leaving the plastic ball on the inside, and hook over the thumbscrews. (I’ll try and find a picture to add shortly)
If you have a roll out awning fitted than you should have 2 thumbscrews and 2 bungee ball loops spare.
Granted it is currently designed for the awning to be on the right hand side of the vehicle, is your awning on the left? If so that’s something we need to consider with other overseas customers! But would be no problem for us to amend.
If you want to PM me or email me – comfortzpets@aol.com or give me a call +44 1246 825873 then I’ll try to explain it a little better. I’ll also get some additional photo’s for anyone else reading to help clarify.



Nick

 

[comfortz]

Hello again,
This picture may help from another topic (we were discussing stretching the topper over roof bars), if you zoom in on the picture a little you'll see what I'm trying to explain about how the bungee balls fit the topper down the side panels and how the plastic ball stays on the inner side of the topper - Hope it helps!




Nick

 

[calikev]

Thanks for clearing that up nick. Awsome looking product by the way

 

[comfortz]

Ah, that explains it then! I can only apologise Darren and offer you a replacement / part refund for the error.

If you message me we'll discuss which is the best option for you and I'll get it cleared up ASAP!

Once again sincere apologies for this issue!


Cheers
Nick