Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

How to make pop top sliding screen easier to close?

B

Beachfamily22

VIP Member
Messages
29
Location
Cambridgeshire
Vehicle
T6.1 Beach camper 150
Hi, I'm really struggling to slide the plastic cover back across after closing the pop top on our 2022 Beach. I was hoping it would loosen up over time, but so far it hasn't. Does anyone have any tips or hacks for making this easier?

Thank!

(Sorry if this has already been asked and answered - I did search first.)
 
Hi, I'm really struggling to slide the plastic cover back across after closing the pop top on our 2022 Beach. I was hoping it would loosen up over time, but so far it hasn't. Does anyone have any tips or hacks for making this easier?

Thank!

(Sorry if this has already been asked and answered - I did search first.)
There are really only 2 things to tinker with.
Resistance in the sliding channel. Silicone spray will help.
Folding the canvas properly.
BUT, be careful what you wish for. Make it too easy and you'll be constantly closing it as you drive along and you'll be opening a new Forum thread asking how to keep it shut. :thumb
 
I had a similar problem in my 22 Beach. It turned out that one of my kids and his friend had somehow put so much pressure on the front end of the mattress that the sliding screen had slightly come out of its track on one side, making it very hard to slide. Once I’d lifted the mattress and sorted this out, the screen went back to gliding smoothly - without any silicon lube, so far. Worth a look in your case?

(The boys slept in a tent on the next sleepover!)
 
There are really only 2 things to tinker with.
Resistance in the sliding channel. Silicone spray will help.
Folding the canvas properly.
BUT, be careful what you wish for. Make it too easy and you'll be constantly closing it as you drive along and you'll be opening a new Forum thread asking how to keep it shut. :thumb
Was think the same, a careful balance.
Cavas folding make it easier, i would try that first before spray.
I ended up putting some tape to add resistance in the closed position to stop it creeping open having used spray.
Same with the sliding door blind.
 
Don't use silicone spray.
Clean the track with a damp cloth, the slider can be removed, push the bed up and
pull it out.
The slider has metal reinforcing bars inside the plastic, it could be that one or 2 are protruding
onto the track, if so just tap them back in and add a drop of glue so that they stay about 10mm behind
the plastic.
 
I had a similar problem in my 22 Beach. It turned out that one of my kids and his friend had somehow put so much pressure on the front end of the mattress that the sliding screen had slightly come out of its track on one side, making it very hard to slide. Once I’d lifted the mattress and sorted this out, the screen went back to gliding smoothly - without any silicon lube, so far. Worth a look in your case?

(The boys slept in a tent on the next sleepover!)
We had this exact same issue, from new. The rail was actually above the channel it slides back into underneath the mattress spring on one side. After a little dismantling and putting the cover in the channels right it’s been great ever since. Definitely worth a check.
 
Having a similar issue but almost seems like there just isn’t enough space for all the fabric, rather than being stiff
 
If you have the storage net arranging it flat before closing can help.
 
I used PTFE ‘dry’ spray (as recommended by another forum member), when new on several areas of my ocean: including in those channels.

The solvent in the spray clearly broke down the adhesive on two small black felt like pads on either side of the channels (at the rear end), so that both pads dislodged with continued use.

The sliding cover continued to be stiff and difficult.

Yesterday I did a forensic check and found that after the felt pads had dislodged the residual adhesive had spread along the slide channels.

I have now cleaned those channels with rubbing alcohol and finally I have smooth running cover.

So, the advice not to silicone the slides may be wise (except that I used PTFE lubricant) if you still have those felt pads.

I have the storage net and it is useful for holding the canvas in place.
 
We had similar issues with ours, I found that the rivets were protruding a little and cutting into the plastic so I use a file to smooth them over. However the greatest level of friction was actually from the safety straps. A quick fix was to use some bungee to hold then out of the way, more easily described with a piccie. These are easy to pull out of the way when raising the roof.

DE252B11-1BCB-454A-9376-F5A19584CAB3.jpeg
 
We had similar issues with ours, I found that the rivets were protruding a little and cutting into the plastic so I use a file to smooth them over. However the greatest level of friction was actually from the safety straps. A quick fix was to use some bungee to hold then out of the way, more easily described with a piccie. These are easy to pull out of the way when raising the roof.
Yes, I found the same rivets, 2 each side; and one had the snap pin just proud and sharp. I tapped the latter down and then covered all four rivet with a strip of gaff tape.

I think the safety strip must be manual roof feature, as I don't think I have them on the Ocean.
 
Hi, I'm really struggling to slide the plastic cover back across after closing the pop top on our 2022 Beach. I was hoping it would loosen up over time, but so far it hasn't. Does anyone have any tips or hacks for making this easier?

Thank!

(Sorry if this has already been asked and answered - I did search first.)

Does the slatted screen slide back and forth well enough when the roof is fully up, and so the slideways are completely unobstructed?

If so, then try this, which avoids risking fighting with it / forcing it when trying to slide it after dropping the roof, and / or risking trapping the roof fabric in the slider channels.
Drop the roof to within about 6” of fully closed, all the while taking the usual care that it folds neatly and isn’t trapped in the scissor frames on the way down, then at that stage finally and neatly fold the ‘tongue’ of that part of the fabric which will sit directly above the sliding panel, and then slide the panel cleanly shut at that point.
Then motor the roof down the last 4-6” and all should be good.
It took me most of the 3 weeks we had one on rental to tumble this trick.
And if you are not convinced, or not confident, then you can always slide the slatted section out again a little bit to check that what’s above it is all neat and tidy with nothing trapped.
 
Last edited:
I think everyone with a Cali has this issue, especially when new. We didn’t want to use anything oily as it could rub off onto bedding etc. Our solution has been to give the track a clean with Autoglym rubber and vinyl care, repeated when the slider starts to stick again (about every 3-4 months for us). You will hardly believe the difference it makes!
 
Belated thanks for the helpful replies. Just wanted to post an update for anyone else with the same issue. I checked nothing was out of place and confirmed the panel was as hard to close with the roof up ( so not caused by material getting in the way when roof down). In the end I used a tiny bit of silicon spray and spent 10 minutes closing and re-opening the panel to try to loosen it up a bit. A few trips later I can happily report it's improved to the point of being manageable - only takes a couple of swear words to close now, instead of a full on rant :)
 
I don’t know if it makes a difference wether the pop top is electric or not but my sliding roof thing was considerably easier to slide when I had a bungee fitted around the bellows. After I took it off the bellows drooped more into the cab when the roof was down and made it a bit more difficult to push the fabric in and slide the roof across. Maybe worth trying one out to see if it makes a difference.
 
Agree that a bungee controls the folding of the fabric a bit better, especially when windy, but as our canvas was pulling away from the roof we took ours off within a few months. Every few months I give the plastic slider rail a clean with AG Rubber and Vinyl cleaner, and that makes closing the sliding hatch really easy.
 
Belated thanks for the helpful replies. Just wanted to post an update for anyone else with the same issue. I checked nothing was out of place and confirmed the panel was as hard to close with the roof up ( so not caused by material getting in the way when roof down). In the end I used a tiny bit of silicon spray and spent 10 minutes closing and re-opening the panel to try to loosen it up a bit. A few trips later I can happily report it's improved to the point of being manageable - only takes a couple of swear words to close now, instead of a full on rant :)
The @Hawthorn37 tip has worked well for me, i.e. Autoglym vinyl & rubber care (rather than silicone spray): once I had thoroughly cleaned off the previous sticky residue in the grooves which was left by the black stuck-on pads at the start of the slide and smoothed off the rivet heads with some duct tape.
 
Last edited:
I use lots of plastic/metal clamps in guitar building. For years I would get frustrated that the clamps would seize up, no longer sliding along their track. They were consigned to the ‘take to the dump’ pile.

Then an expert friend advised, put some sunflower oil, or butter, on a rag and apply it to the track and bingo.

Nonsense I said, I can’t risk mixing grease and quality tonewoods. He said that the amount that is required is Tiny, you won’t even know it’s there!

He was right and I won back six great clamps.

Sometimes the old tricks are the gold tricks.
 
Does the slatted screen slide back and forth well enough when the roof is fully up, and so the slideways are completely unobstructed?

If so, then try this, which avoids risking fighting with it / forcing it when trying to slide it after dropping the roof, and / or risking trapping the roof fabric in the slider channels.
Drop the roof to within about 6” of fully closed, all the while taking the usual care that it folds neatly and isn’t trapped in the scissor frames on the way down, then at that stage finally and neatly fold the ‘tongue’ of that part of the fabric which will sit directly above the sliding panel, and then slide the panel cleanly shut at that point.
Then motor the roof down the last 4-6” and all should be good.
It took me most of the 3 weeks we had one on rental to tumble this trick.
And if you are not convinced, or not confident, then you can always slide the slatted section out again a little bit to check that what’s above it is all neat and tidy with nothing trapped.
I absolutely agree with this solution. But sorry, I discovered this by trial and error rather than reading Johnny’s post - I wish I had ! As long as you do the last bit of tidying up by hand before shutting the roller cover and then lowering the roof the last 4-6 inches, it will be fine. Almost certainly, there is less chance of bellows damage than forcing the material in once it’s closed.
 
Back
Top