Roof toppers in hot weather

cleve · Jun 13, 2014

We don't have any roof cover/insulation atm but after a cold week in Yorkshire we looked into the isotop gore liner.

We're camping in the south of France in August & worried that with no insulation the roof bed would be unbearable. What toppers are there that allow you to open the roof vents to keep the air circulating?

Has anyone camped in hot weather without anything?

Packed size is important as with 3 children, pushchairs, high chair etc space is very limited!!

Pollychops · Jun 13, 2014

We have a Pucer which is silver and reflects the heat, keeps it very cool inside. In cold weather it's the reverse and keeps it warm. It's also waterproof as we found out last week on the Isle of Wight, we had heavy downpours during the night and when we took it off it was bone dry underneath. It's simple to put on and doesn't take up a lot of space. Well worth the money.

cleve · Jun 13, 2014

Thanks I've been looking at those but was worried about not being able to unzip the vents. Someone suggested we don't get a screen but have fly nets on the tailgate & sliding door to keep cool. Fine on a campsite but not sure I'd be happy to sleep with the doors open in Aires though!

Does it make it darker in the roof too? My middle child wakes very early without blackout blinds, although after a day at Disney & some sea air, hopefully she'll be exhausted!

2into1 · Jun 13, 2014

Why aren't normal toppers made with the same materials used for Silver Screens? The Silver colour would suit most fashion victims, it wouldn't impact their ability to keep the interior warm and would help keep it cool in summer.
Perhaps Comfortz can answer, and then send 10% of sales for their new Silver Toppers to my paypal account.... :lol:

cleve · Jun 13, 2014

T4WFA said:
Why aren't normal toppers made with the same materials used for Silver Screens? The Silver colour would suit most fashion victims, it wouldn't impact their ability to keep the interior warm and would help keep it cool in summer.
Perhaps Comfortz can answer, and then send 10% of sales for their new Silver Toppers to my paypal account.... :lol:

I tried a Google search to see if there were any that were reversible but no luck. Only found the rainbow screens like pucer but they do have a clear window so emailed them to see if they do one with a zip window which would be great!

Pollychops · Jun 13, 2014

cleve said:
Thanks I've been looking at those but was worried about not being able to unzip the vents. Someone suggested we don't get a screen but have fly nets on the tailgate & sliding door to keep cool. Fine on a campsite but not sure I'd be happy to sleep with the doors open in Aires though!

Does it make it darker in the roof too? My middle child wakes very early without blackout blinds, although after a day at Disney & some sea air, hopefully she'll be exhausted!

You can still unzip the vents and you get a nice cool breeze ( not a gust ) coming through and we found it more than adequate. It does make it darker which suited us as we have two wee Westies downstairs and they slept through until we stirred. Being silver and revel give is the main benefit as it does reflect the heat. Our Cali is silver so it looks good also. We looked at all options and in the end we choose this as it suited us better. We would recommend it.

BerndRos · Jun 13, 2014

I take a very different view after sleeping up top for 15 months on my mammoth trip in all weathers....

When cold use a Pucer and the heater all night if needed.

In warm/hot weather don't use any topper......unzip the windows at night.....be woken by the warm heat in the morn.....then no lie in as not possible......get down....have a brew and sit with the side door open.

Pollychops · Jun 13, 2014

One thing you need to consider when looking at keeping interiors cool in very warm weather. Next time you are abroad in the Med have a look at all of the local houses. They have shutters, blinds and any other type of cover closed. The reason they are closed is to keep the heat OUT. They don't have their windows open until the sun is off their window. Seems logical to me so having a reflective cover on your windscreen or pop top reflecting the heat and having all doors and windows closed keeps it cool inside. Silver seems to be the best option compared to black, dark grey etc.

ChrisandPenney52 · Jun 14, 2014

BerndRos said:
I take a very different view after sleeping up top for 15 months on my mammoth trip in all weathers....

When cold use a Pucer and the heater all night if needed.

In warm/hot weather don't use any topper......unzip the windows at night.....be woken by the warm heat in the morn.....then no lie in as not possible......get down....have a brew and sit with the side door open.

Agree. Have had our Mutze for four years and use it lots in British cold and or damp, but have spent the last two weeks in Corsica and definitely wouldn't use a topper in the heat. Having the windows unzipped during the day and fully or partly unzipped at night is great. On the other hand, we were pleased to have it in the biggest downpour we've seem for a while in the way down here.

IanE · Jun 14, 2014

Agreed re no topper in heat - just on the ferry returning from 2 weeks in Italy and S France - day temp in 30s, cooling at night. It was glorious to have all three windows unzipped through the night! Also lovely to wake up to sunshine! We both love the feeling of sleeping almost outdoors - but at the same time feeling quite safe with being a way off the ground. Toppers sound great for when it's really cold/wet but we don't fancy one for any other circumstances. In fact we've been quite happy up top in January in the snow with a heavy duty duvet.