Sagging Roof bellows in hot weather - experiences

[CaliforniaCylus]

There's lot's of posts on this one and a long one I created some time ago.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...ng-bellows-roof-poptop-tpi.56210/#post-728126

Ours still sag too much for my liking and am thinking about having a new Hydraulic pump fitted. Apparently there is a new version of the pump in production now (I don't know when it hit production) but I'm keen to hear peoples experiences. It is rumoured there was a bad batch in late 2022 into 2023 so I'm keen to understand if any folks have the problem with T6.1s manufactured in 2024 or indeed T7s. I'm guessing they use the same pump, but only a guess.

 

[Up10]

Ours is currently in the garage. I'll let you know how we get on.
Tried raising and lowering the roof 5 times but it didn't fix it.
Sags more in warm weather.
Auto correct does not work. No sound of the pump after 10 hours which the manual states it should.
Registered new in Jan 2024. T6.1

 

[Up10]

Oops, it's newer than I thought, March 2024!

 

[Sad]

Registered in August '24, and ours does not sag...

 

[KevH]

MY23 registered November 22, ours has always sagged in warm weather.
Dealer was of little use but did disengage the roof lights from the sensor so at least the lights work when it drops.
I have now resigned myself to it, and give the roof a quick pump up in the evening before bed.
Have only ever heard the roof lift at the 10 hour mark, which was two weeks ago (owned since 2023) and it hasn’t done it since. It was middle of the night, I almost papped myself. Baffling and damned frustrating but I won’t let it spoil my hols.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

It’s that season again. No sooner has the rear boot door stopped banging on my head in the cold weather, than the questions begin about if you can drink Cali water, next the roofs start to sag again.

It all comes around so quickly these days. In a couple of weeks it will be ‘do I need to plug my Cali in every 2 weeks all winter long?’

 

[KevH]

It’s that season again. No sooner has the rear boot door stopped banging on my head in the cold weather, than the questions begin about if you can drink Cali water, next the roofs start to sag again.

It all comes around so quickly these days. In a couple of weeks it will be ‘do I need to plug my Cali in every 2 weeks all winter long?’

I have never been whacked on the head by the boot door and always drink water from the Cali tap (I am very careful when filling, sterilising, etc.).
I feel that I am missing out on not worrying about those things

 

[Almost bought a california]

It doesn't fix the problem but it might solve your problem (at a price!)

Locking mechanism for the electro-hydraulic pop-up roof of the California Ocean "Roof Lock"

Quick installation - done: And the roof stays up! We've been waiting a long time for this useful helper... The California Ocean drivers among you know this: after a certain time, the electro-hydraulic roof of the California Ocean sags slightly. Not only does this not look nice, but it can...

www.buessli-shop.ch

These are CNC'd aluminium but I might have a go at printing in ABS for the long hot summer days ;-)

 

[Kernowboy]

I'm keen to hear peoples experiences. It is rumoured there was a bad batch in late 2022 into 2023 so I'm keen to understand if any folks have the problem with T6.1s manufactured in 2024

My experience:
17 plate - no sag
18 plate - very minor sag after a few days when hot, to be expected
21 plate - sagged badly (my assessment) within 24hrs, in limits (VW assessment)
23 plate - very minor sag after a couple of days. Leaked like a sieve though. Rejected do not tested when hot.
24 plate - rock solid, no sag at all even after many days in the heat. No faults at all on this one, seems VW got it right for the very last production run

 

[Up10]

Ours is currently in the garage. I'll let you know how we get on.
Tried raising and lowering the roof 5 times but it didn't fix it.
Sags more in warm weather.
Auto correct does not work. No sound of the pump after 10 hours which the manual states it should.
Registered new in Jan 2024. T6.1

Got our van back yesterday (us away and unable to collect) and it is hopefully fixed although I haven't had chance to try it yet!
The technician bled the roof hydraulics 3 times before he was satisfied that our roof was not going to sag again.
I give him his due, he persevered.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Got our van back yesterday (us away and unable to collect) and it is hopefully fixed although I haven't had chance to try it yet!
The technician bled the roof hydraulics 3 times before he was satisfied that our roof was not going to sag again.
I give him his due, he persevered.

I've bled ours once last week and an improvement.

Bled them again today and will see what happens over the next few hot days.

Control panel etc still in bits so will try one more time.

Breeze charged me 200 quid for 1 bleed last year. As a novice it's a half hour job... Someone posted the How To guide on here recently.

Disconnecting the airbag panel has triggered an Airbag fault so waiting for a Carista to arrive. It's possible to do this without totally removing the control panel frame and leaving the airbag connector attached.

 

[Up10]

I've bled ours once last week and an improvement.

Bled them again today and will see what happens over the next few hot days.

Control panel etc still in bits so will try one more time.

Breeze charged me 200 quid for 1 bleed last year. As a novice it's a half hour job... Someone posted the How To guide on here recently.

Disconnecting the airbag panel has triggered an Airbag fault so waiting for a Carista to arrive. It's possible to do this without totally removing the control panel frame and leaving the airbag connector attached.

Let's hope this resolves the sag and you don't need a new pump.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Let's hope this resolves the sag and you don't need a new pump.

Yep. I'm on pump number two already. First one failed catastrophicaly in the first month!!!!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Got our van back yesterday (us away and unable to collect) and it is hopefully fixed although I haven't had chance to try it yet!
The technician bled the roof hydraulics 3 times before he was satisfied that our roof was not going to sag again.
I give him his due, he persevered.

Perfect weather to test the fix!!!

The 10 hour re-pump is a bit temperamental. If you open the roof from closed at hour zero it will check at hour 10. If you manually raise the roof before 10 hours that definitely messes up the timer and it never checks again. I have a suspicion that turning on the ignition could also mess up the timer...

 

[Up10]

@CaliforniaCylus yes, turning on the ignition definitely messes up the cycle. We have never noticed the 10 hour repump/correction in operation so suspect it hasn't been working. I wonder now, if we have a bled system which should be working at the optimal pressure, whether it might start operating?

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

@CaliforniaCylus yes, turning on the ignition definitely messes up the cycle. We have never noticed the 10 hour repump/correction in operation so suspect it hasn't been working. I wonder now, if we have a bled system which should be working at the optimal pressure, whether it might start operating?

Hopefully you'll never find out!!

 

[Up10]

Perfect weather to test the fix!!!

The 10 hour re-pump is a bit temperamental. If you open the roof from closed at hour zero it will check at hour 10. If you manually raise the roof before 10 hours that definitely messes up the timer and it never checks again. I have a suspicion that turning on the ignition could also mess up the timer...

Testing the roof up today in 25 degs plus. Looked fine from the outside but when I got in, found we had sag on the passenger side

Will drop and test again tomorrow when we are forecast 30 degs so should sag quicker!! Then we are back to my favourite garage in Southampton if it doesn't behave itself.

 

[myvanrodney]

It doesn't fix the problem but it might solve your problem (at a price!)

Locking mechanism for the electro-hydraulic pop-up roof of the California Ocean "Roof Lock"

Quick installation - done: And the roof stays up! We've been waiting a long time for this useful helper... The California Ocean drivers among you know this: after a certain time, the electro-hydraulic roof of the California Ocean sags slightly. Not only does this not look nice, but it can...

www.buessli-shop.ch

These are CNC'd aluminium but I might have a go at printing in ABS for the long hot summer days ;-)

This looks super intersting, although very expensive. How many on here have any experience of this, or any insights/comments? For me, I hesitant as this is such a significant (aka expensive) part of the van, im not sure I wanna mess with it too drastically...

 

[andyinluton]

Perfect weather to test the fix!!!

The 10 hour re-pump is a bit temperamental. If you open the roof from closed at hour zero it will check at hour 10. If you manually raise the roof before 10 hours that definitely messes up the timer and it never checks again. I have a suspicion that turning on the ignition could also mess up the timer...

My understanding was it was 10 hours from the ignition being turned off. When we had sagging problems I used to manually re-tension the roof just before bed in order to have half a chance of an uninterrupted sleep.
Being woken by the noise of the pump is not good for the nerves until you are awake enough to realise what it is.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

This looks super intersting, although very expensive. How many on here have any experience of this, or any insights/comments? For me, I hesitant as this is such a significant (aka expensive) part of the van, im not sure I wanna mess with it too drastically...

Or this one.

Look what I found on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1804465690/top-stop-volkswagen-bus-t5-t6-t61?ref=share_v4_lx

But concerned if (sorry when) the roof drops it might "jam" the stopper in place...

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Or this one.

Look what I found on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1804465690/top-stop-volkswagen-bus-t5-t6-t61?ref=share_v4_lx

But concerned if (sorry when) the roof drops it might "jam" the stopper in place...

Yeah I saw that before. I can't help thinking that could break the entire apparatus in seconds...

 

[andyinluton]

Yeah I saw that before. I can't help thinking that could break the entire apparatus in seconds...

It would certainly have the potential to wreck the roof if you forgot it was there when you put the roof down.
Also only used on one side, it was the twisting of the roof due to one side sinking that worried me more than the actual sagging.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

It would certainly have the potential to wreck the roof if you forgot it was there when you put the roof down.
Also only used on one side, it was the twisting of the roof due to one side sinking that worried me more than the actual sagging.

Comes in a pair

 

[andyinluton]

Comes in a pair

How do you get the drivers side one on if youve got the awning out?

 

[Lambeth Cali]

The roof sagging is just part of the romance of California ownership.
Our van used to sag 12 years ago. And re inflate. Then it just stopped doing it.