Roof Toppers

[BerndRos]

I have the Pucer Top. In reality you simply do not need anything. That's my experience...

 

[calimera]

Hi
Note David Eccles comments on the t6 :

• The old tent style roof canvas has been updated with a new water/wind proof polyester fabric, and you can even choose to have the fabric in glacier blue or strawberry pink as an optional extra.

 

[motacyclist]

I would like to trial a thinner waterproof cover ,possible Gortex

Gortex (= Brandrup?) = overpriced and not as good as the hype, we've had several issues with Goretex clothing and footwear and when you complain on their famous guarantee they (Goretex) just say wash it in Nikwax stuff and reproof it.

 

[BerndRos]

Think the thing is... The Cali is for many things including Travelling on the Hoof...on the move...so a cover is simply a drag....even in a harsh winter in Romania & Bulgaria most of the time I relied on the heated rather than the Pucer.

 

[larrylamb]

Think the thing is... The Cali is for many things including Travelling on the Hoof...on the move...so a cover is simply a drag....even in a harsh winter in Romania & Bulgaria most of the time I relied on the heated rather than the Pucer.

I think that depends how many in the Cali as the upstairs bed can be cold and downstairs boiling with the heater.

 

[BerndRos]

I have slept hundreds of nights in my Cali....and only ever one night downstairs......

That winter in the extreme harshness of Romania & Bulgaria I slept up top every night....

 

[RoB5urf]

We're away this weekend for our first overnighter in our new Beach

I've been looking at Toppers for a while now and had settled on an internal type because of the fit-once-and-forget feature. However, at the moment I'm completely paranoid about damaging the roof and or the bellows. It seems a bit of a faff trying to stuff the bellows out of the way before attaching the clips. I know there's plenty here that use an internal topper without issue (though I wonder what proportion are Beach owners) but I'm now considering the external topper too!

Question: the video I've seen for fitting an external topper shows an Ocean raising the roof a few inches and then fitting the topper. I can't replicate that with my Beach as the roof either wants to be fully up or down - any tips from Beach owners?

Of course we may return from Weymouth and decide we don't need a topper

Cheers

 

[briwy]

We have now had the prototype internal topper in our van without any problems whatsoever.
We had an external one prior to the internal one but it's now not used at all.
I'm not sure what you mean about the bellows and clips. Once fitted the internal one just sits there, nothing else to when the roof is raised/lowered other than the normal precautions. The bungee helps. Ours isn't a Beach but I don't see why it would be different.
Hope this helps.

 

[Esandar#1]

As it happens, I'm about to design and make a combined topper/cozy for internal AND external use. My raison d'être is simply to do with the cost of these items on the after-market caravan, when suitable material is available for under £50. There's little science in improving warmth and dryness at this level so it's worth a try. Lots of people use these toppers in different ways, and you have to choose whether to have internal, external, thermal, or God forbid, all three! I want ONE solution that can be deployed in any way you choose, be easy to make, easy to store and cheap.

A lot of people say GoreTex, breathable, and the like, but these fabrics only really work (if at all) when they are close to a sweaty body, whereby some saturated airborne moisture can pass through the fabric pores under pressure. I don't think this is going to add any benefit to our purpose here. We want waterproof, windproof, a "double glazing" effect, and continued ventilation. A cheap waterproof ripstop fabric is ideal for this.

Hi Rookeryview,
I have been reading up on / around toppers once again after not being able to decide which (if any) we need. How has your experiment to DIY gone? I think we'd want a think topper that we could deploy over the top in wet or cold weather, partly to protect the canvas of the van and to help provide an insulating layer. it seems most of the time we won't need anything but having something would open up more opportunities to camp in more severe weather, for hiking in mountains, ski trips etc.

Any update would be much appreciated!
Cheers
Ian

 

[Amarillo]

Question: the video I've seen for fitting an external topper shows an Ocean raising the roof a few inches and then fitting the topper. I can't replicate that with my Beach as the roof either wants to be fully up or down - any tips from Beach owners?

I have a topper - a roofless one - and find it a faff to fit. It helps that I haul one of these about with us:

And it doubles up as our boys' table to save us having to haul high chairs in the van:

With this step up, I can just about reach the highest point on the roof to make sure the topper is sitting correctly. Without it, I am not sure how I'd manage to fit the topper.

It is certainly warmer in the roof with the topper fitted, but the roofless topper does seem to let in quite a bit of wind.

The other oddity is that the topper's seam fills up with water when it rains, and I really do not know how it is getting into the seam. It's a bugger to drain the water from the seam and it is very peculiar. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

If I could go back in time, I'd order a topper with a window on the roof for the solar panels, even though that would mean we couldn't use a topper with roof bars and rack in place for our tandem.

 

[rookeryview]

I haven't yet made my topper, but I have been thinking a lot about them. I will go for it ready for the autumn!
My conclusion is to make your own with some thin ripstop, and produce a wrap that goes round the outside, NOT over the top, fixing at the tail gate for easy reaching. At the front, I have found that 2 of those spring loaded curtain poles fit in dents and will grip the wrap without climbing up for easy access. I already have these which I use inside over the cab to make a shelf, which is fab. The lightness of the fabric will allow it to also be used inside if needed with some velcro, and both uses can be insulated if needed with some foil bubble panels as an option. You can also keep the roof clear for racks and panels.
This solution will cost under £50, and be totally flexible.
I will document this when I'm done. Sorry for the delay. The commercial side of these products annoys me, because no one has found a solution that suits all, which in truth should have been done by VW about 10 years ago.

 

[ArunAlec]

I haven't yet made my topper, but I have been thinking a lot about them. I will go for it ready for the autumn!
My conclusion is to make your own with some thin ripstop, and produce a wrap that goes round the outside, NOT over the top, fixing at the tail gate for easy reaching. At the front, I have found that 2 of those spring loaded curtain poles fit in dents and will grip the wrap without climbing up for easy access. I already have these which I use inside over the cab to make a shelf, which is fab. The lightness of the fabric will allow it to also be used inside if needed with some velcro, and both uses can be insulated if needed with some foil bubble panels as an option. You can also keep the roof clear for racks and panels.
This solution will cost under £50, and be totally flexible.
I will document this when I'm done. Sorry for the delay. The commercial side of these products annoys me, because no one has found a solution that suits all, which in truth should have been done by VW about 10 years ago.

I like the idea and look forward to seeing how you get on. A thought though... Will the ripstop material be waterproof? If not wont rain water just soak through to the roof canvas. Unless you are able to design yours to retain an air gap between it and the Cali roof canvas?

 

[rookeryview]

You can get a waterproof fabric that breathes - coats are made from it. Looks like I need to nail this soon! Just been very busy. Will keep you posted.

 

[RoB5urf]

Got my Cali Topper today. Looks like it should do the job and fits nicely in the tailgate. One question though, instructions say avoid using in high winds. Is this due to rubbing against the painwork? Also what is considered to be a high wind?

 

[Cali4nia-Dream]

You can get a waterproof fabric that breathes - coats are made from it. Looks like I need to nail this soon! Just been very busy. Will keep you posted.

Hi Rookeryview,

Have you had chance to progress this idea?

 

[sbmcd]

Got my Cali Topper today. Looks like it should do the job and fits nicely in the tailgate. One question though, instructions say avoid using in high winds. Is this due to rubbing against the painwork? Also what is considered to be a high wind?

I have a rootless topper, flaps a bit in high winds but never had a problem.

 

[rookeryview]

Thanks for the reminder!
I'm just recovering from having my wing mirror snapped off and stolen! Cost to repair - just £560 from VW dealer. What a laugh.
Anyway, I've got my fabric for the topper, so I'll get to it. It's not magic, but it will fit outside AND inside. That's the plan. Watch this space.

 

[ArunAlec]

Thanks for the reminder!
I'm just recovering from having my wing mirror snapped off and stolen! Cost to repair - just £560 from VW dealer. What a laugh.
Anyway, I've got my fabric for the topper, so I'll get to it. It's not magic, but it will fit outside AND inside. That's the plan. Watch this space.

Watching and eagerly awaiting!

 

[KGCali]

Thanks for the reminder!
I'm just recovering from having my wing mirror snapped off and stolen! Cost to repair - just £560 from VW dealer. What a laugh.
Anyway, I've got my fabric for the topper, so I'll get to it. It's not magic, but it will fit outside AND inside. That's the plan. Watch this space.

Hi @rookeryview any update on the roof topper?