CampervanBits Internal topper

[motacyclist]

Great write up. Put me down for a Cali-Cozy!

 

[rippers]

I'm deffo going to get one when the money allows looks great

 

[Georgiegirl]

Definitely interested in a beach-cozi when they become available! Happy to be a guinea pig if required

 

[Bramco]

I would also be interested and willing to be a guinea pig.

 

[Big Bloke]

Really like the look of the Cali Cozy......We'd also be interested in one for our Beach or be a guinea pig! Should come in handy for our Norway trip in september.

 

[MarkW]

A quick question on the Cali Cozy and anyone owning a ISO TOP 11.

Do both internal liners keep the upstairs dry in heavy rain? (negating the need for an external topper)

 

[motacyclist]

Looks like from Briwy's review above:-
As usual in the Lakes in mid February the weather wasn't good. Friday night we had a mixture of rain, sleet and snow, very heavy at times. Saturday night it pretty much rained all night and the wind also got up blowing the rain sideways into the roof.
Pleased to say the inside of the roof stayed bone dry all weekend with the liner in. On Sunday morning I opened one of the side "windows" in the liner and felt the inside of the roof canvas. This was fairly damp and I'm sure that without the liner the mattress would also have got wet where it touched the roof canvas sides.

 

[doug]

A quick question on the Cali Cozy and anyone owning a ISO TOP 11.

Do both internal liners keep the upstairs dry in heavy rain? (negating the need for an external topper)

The ISO Top II does if it is fitted correctly.

 

[MarkW]

Thanks for the replies...

Can someone explain to me the difference between both products? (material)

Maybe I've misunderstood but I thought the Cali Cozy was in essence competing with the ISO Top for functionality i.e. keeps the upstairs dry and can be left in situ negating the need for an external topper?

 

[calikev]

you are right the cali cozy is the same as the isotop only better as it is british made and comes with a years guarentee

 

[marshian70]

As a relatively new Cali owner yet to experience use in bad weather I'm disappointed to hear that one needs extra weather protection when using roof up? I can understand it in terms of providing additional warmth, but to me the Cali bellows should be weather resistant in the first place and I would not expect dampness to come through?!
Looks like a great product though and Comfortz are a good company to deal with

 

[Larkrise]

There are lots of opinions about this. We haven't needed/ wanted a cover in our first year, but we haven't encountered any really poor weather either. If you don't need to use the upstairs bed then putting the roof down in gales/ very strong snow or rain is a good alternative option.

 

[rippers]

From our personal experience (wife & I ) the most stressful part of camper van owning is the setting up and putting it all away.. we both hate it.. you have driven for hours, kids have bottled up energy and all you want to do is put the kettle on or crack a beer open and light up the BBQ. Instead we usually end up rushing around an end up having an argument.

This is why after having the Beach we decided that when we get the SE
1. no more external toppers
2. no more drive way awnings
3. no more lumping around heavy cool boxes
4. no more living out of boxes.. 5 seat Beach's have zero storage.. well I guess the drawers under bench seat could count for 0.5% storage lol
5. no more dangling hookup's through the windows (ours was pre EHU)
6. no more setting up the gas stove etc just for a cup of tea

The toppers work really well and I think they are well worth it so basically this internal topper really appeals to us.
I'm imagining pulling up, press a button and roof is up.. wind awning out, chairs out.. beers open.. happy wife

 

[Bellesca]

The Velcro fastening looks more secure than the isotop version.
Is the "cali-cozy" made of a breathable fabric?

 

[Hotel California]

As a relatively new Cali owner yet to experience use in bad weather I'm disappointed to hear that one needs extra weather protection when using roof up? I can understand it in terms of providing additional warmth, but to me the Cali bellows should be weather resistant in the first place and I would not expect dampness to come through?!
Looks like a great product though and Comfortz are a good company to deal with

The Cali has a "tent" on he's roof , have you ever used a one-layer tent in cold/damp conditions?
Most times tents have a inner and outer tent layer , one for keeping moisture out the other for keeping heat in...
There is your answer.....

 

[WelshGas]

So a waterproof Topper would be good as it keeps the canvas of the roof dry thus negating the need to dry it thoroughly before closing it for a prolonged period.
Any canvas tent will allow water to "wick" through if something is touching the inside, at least in my experience of many years camping with the Scouts using Canvas tents. That's why we used fly sheets to keep the weather off the inner tent.
I use an external Waterproof Topper from Comfortz to keep the winter weather out and just turn the heater up if cold as hot air rises.

 

[comfortz]

Hi Folks,


Just a quick update and my 10 pence worth on the whole internal / external topper etc.


Cali-Cozy - We're happy with the final design and just stock building before putting them on general sale. I'll get the full specs on the fabric so people can look it up and make up their own minds.

It has a white fabric finish on the inside and has a very thin rubber type waterproof layer on the outside. The material is very versatile and has quite a bit of stretch. I would say that the outer layer is waterproof - not breathable, however that said, the Cali-Cozy doesn't form an air tight seal so there still is some ventilation.

If anyone is considering purchasing a Cali-Cozy I'm more than happy to mail out samples of the material as I'm probably doing it some injustice trying to explain it!


Internal vs External.


A Cali-Topper is fitted to the outside of the roof, and protects the whole bellows from the elements, so both the outside and inside stops dry and warm. The Cali-Topper obviously needs to be fitted and removed each time you set up and pack away.


The Cali-Cozy is fitted to the inside of the bellows and once fitted can stay in place, even when putting the roof down. The Cali-Cozy keeps the inside of the California warmer and keeps the roof area dry. It doesn't however offer any protection to the outside of the bellows.


If anyone else has any questions I’ll do my best to help

 

[Splitrich]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll be ordering the cali-cozy once you have them in stock


1963 15 window splitscreen
2015 California SE 180 DSG Blackberry metallic

 

[crazygrandad]

any news on the Cali cozy yet?

 

[motacyclist]

any news on the Cali cozy yet?

Mine arrived yesterday and I dashed home from work to fit it

It took about an hour and was reasonably straightforward; a couple of things I wasn't sure about but sussed in the end and reported back to Nick who will be clarifying these points in the instructions.

It was quite sunny when I elevated the roof and very quickly it became hot in there. Once I had the topper hanging down it became noticeably cooler, illustrating that there is some useful insulation when it is in place.

The material is very light, the outer side is light grey with a rubbery texture, while the inside is a soft white fabric.

A few pics, below are the velcro tabs at the front.


Below is one of the side tabs


There is an elastic strap which utilises the existing eyes for the safety net (below); you can see the inner fabric material



Apologies I'm not sure what's happening with the pictures here, I can't preview them properly as I'm typing so they could be mixed up or duplicated.


Hopefully fixed them on the edit, you should be able to get the gist!

 

[Jennydddd]

Are the internal toppers available yet? We definitely want one.

 

[calikev]

They should be available next week according to nick at comfortz

 

[motacyclist]

Just an update, we used ours at the weekend and it made a big difference; we left the roof up at night and were warm as toast! But if you opened the zippers you could feel the cold flood in.

There was no evidence of any condensation settling on the topper inside or on the outside, and none on the canvas bellows.

Also, we put the roof up to use the cooker at lunchtime; the sun was shining. I put my hand through into the void space and it was really hot in there; yet the inside of the van was cool. This should make a big difference to comfort in the summer. The internal topper is always in place, whereas you wouldn't bother putting up an external one.

In extreme conditions you could have an internal and an external one

 

[comfortz]

Hi Folks,

Sorry for the slight delay on this, motacyclist came up with several small additions which we have now built into the design of the Cali-Cozy. The main subtle difference being that we've added velcro tabs to the large front zipped window so it can be rolled up tidily when its unzipped - Top feedback. No real need for this on the side windows as they kind of lay on the bed when they're unzipped.

I'm going to put the Cali-Cozy on general sale shortly, however they will be made to order initially. Not Ideal I know, but unfortunately the start of the camping season has kicked in and we're far too busy to stock build. At this moment I'd say the waiting time would be roughly a week but I will keep everyone updated on time scales as we progress through the season.

If anyone is interested in a Cali-Cozy please email me at comfortzleisure@aol.com and I'll be happy to help.
Or drop me a call on 01246 825872 - it's good to talk!

Thanks to everyone who has helped out with the design and feedback, as always its very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Nick

 

[F5 JNR]

Hi all, didnt want to risk mega bucks on brandrup isotop last season so after much research and experience opted for the must have 'silver screen' (fastest to fit and only way to stop condensation) and the 'cali-topper' deal from Comfortz. (more cost effective than other toppers on market adopting same principle)

Camped most weekends since without issues with wife, 2 and 3 year old but still aimed for park-roofup-sleep-roofdown-driveoff ethos of the VW Camper (westfalia/california)

Picked up Cali-Cosy (brandrup isotop3 based??) from nick yesterday, took 45 mins to fit but being obsessive I cut loads of tiny bits of velcro to follow contours around roof lip to ensure truly draft free fit except for minimal healthy ventilation by design.

Fantastic.....heres the fact....left roof up on driveway lastnight in 4 degC with heater on 1, worked out this is 16 degC. Left min/max thermometers in upstairs where sleepers head would be and also downstairs to rear where sleepers head would be. Results at 5am this morning before sunlight hit the van showed 2 degC HIGHER temperature upstairs than downstairs. Cant dispute facts.

Why dont VW uk use Nick instead of brandrup? Cheers all.