Devon roof problem, help needed

[petethefeet]

Hi all,
We have a 1982 Devon with the the side elevating roof; the PO fitted new gas struts that push the roof up but I think they are too strong and have caused a problem with the fibre glass moulding that is fitted to the top of the van.
The lower strut mounting point is betting stressed and cracking the moulding as I think the new struts fitted are too strong (the vertical one has 450N load on the side, thats 45Kg force!)



I need to sort the problem before it gets any worse, this is were I need some advice from somebody who has been here before.
What is the interior construction of the Devon lower moulding? Wood, metal or nothing
The moulding is pop riveted to the top of the van with rubber seal; can you get new rubber seals of do I just bin it and seal it to the roof?
I can drill out the LH and front and back pop rivets that hold the moulding to the roof but not the RH side as it is covered by the canvas.


So the plan was to:-
Drill out all the rivets that hold the canvas to the lower moulding on the inside of the roof. Lift the canvas away so I can get to the RH rivets

Drill out all the rivets on the outside that hold the roof to the van.
Remove the struts and prop the roof with a pole, I will possibly have to remove some interior trim to get the moulding off the van.
Lift the lower moulding offthe van to fix leaving the upper moulding still on the van keeping it secure and dry.

I think I have heard of the problem with the moulding splitting before; is it a common problem?
Why is the lower strut needed; it is very near the hinge point so it won't give much lifting force.
What should the load rating on the struts be?? I think I would be happier with lower force struts and a internal pole to make sure wthe roof didn't drop down.

Thanks for your input.

[Plasticman]

it almost looks like the lower horizontal one is going to foul the mounting bolt??
i never ever trusted mine to stay up overnight,or more to the point paranoia said that what if it came down and jammed us in there or what if some low lifes collapsed it and bunged a rope round, so we used a prop....
mm

[petethefeet]

MM,
The lower strut actually goes UP on the roof end as the roof comes down so it won't hit the bolt but I can see how it looks.
Have you ever taken one of these off a van?

[Plasticman]

i had 2 on one end and one on the other n mine , they were all a bit weak but you could still lift it ok, and lowering was errr as near as i will ever get to a gym
mm

[camper]

The devon roof mounting bolt that goes through strut and fibre glass base should have a wood filler to help reinforcement between the gap .The devon roof I fitted to my T25 had a block of wood inside the gap with a bolt hole drilled for the strut bolt. The struts where strong and had no problems with cracking.

[petethefeet]

Hi,
Thanks for the response.
When we bought the van 2 years ago the crack was just a hairline one; I covered this with tape to stop water getting in, I thought I would have a look the other day and it was as the photos.
I have to take it all off and reinforce it with a bit a of alloy box before it breaks completely.
What is the load rating on your struts; it will be written on the side as a ??n or kgf value?

[petethefeet]

Well.... After much removing of internal trim then drilling of pop rivets I have taken the lower frame of the pop top off. It is never good when you start with a good looking van and now it looks a mess but it had to be done.
No wonder the whole lot was twisting and splitting, the area the gas struts are fixed to are reinforced with a 4" long block of wood, thats it.
The plan is to get a bit of steel box that I can cut and weld to fit into the fibre glass moulding to give it some guts then put it all back onto the top of the van without making a mess of it.
I will try to post some pictures in the next few days.

[petethefeet]

The lower frame is now in the garage having been clamped back into shape and the crack fibre glassed up. The next step is to weld up a 20 x 35mm box section to lay into the under side of the moulding to give it some guts, then fibre glass it into place and put some packing in where the strut mounts go through.

Trim carefully removed from the inner part of the moulding. Note the sag in the moulding

Moulding splitting on the inside as well

Moulding being lifted from the van roof, the black bits are a rubber trim/seal that is around the edge.

Inside with the moulding lifted up a few inches, very crude with the original roof metal bent up to form a lip, this the pop riveted to the moulding

Back corner showing ply packing

And this was all that was going to stop the strut mounts from moving !!!

With the moulding out of the way it all looks rot free for a 32 year old van

[volks_womble]

Pete,

Thanks very much for posting the pictures! It answers a number of questions I had about how the lower frame fits to the van - especially the detail of the return on the roof edge being riveted to the frame.

Cheers
Mark

[petethefeet]

Mark,
The original roof has the cut edge turned up on the sides and back, the area over the cab still had the original roof back to the rear of the first door pillar and the roof beam at the same position.
Will post pictures what I get a chance.

[petethefeet]

Well, I have progressed. A steel frame has been welded to fit in the front and back of the original moulding , this has now been pop riveted back onto the van but it still needs to be sealed to the roof and the fabric fitted to the moulding.
Front and rear frames in the upturned moulding.



These pictures gives you an idea of how the moulding fits to the van via an inner and outer row of pop rivets (dots on the roof)

[volks_womble]

Really good pictures, and good progress.

I think I am going to so a very similar reinforcement in the lower frame section. Possibly in aluminium, as I am not sure I trust steel in a closed section under fibreglass, but that is probably just me worrying too much...

Cheers
Mark

[petethefeet]

Hi, yes I would have gone for alloy but I cannot weld it. The section is not really closed, if the outer lip seal leaks you will get water inside so you will get a warning. Not the best solution but it is the only way I can do it.

[petethefeet]

Finally finished !!!!
Spent the weekend sealing around the outside, sealing and riveting the fabric back on and putting the trim back in.
I have had to shorten the vertical gas struts slightly (1/4") as they were over stressing the fabric. the lower ones are still too long (3/4") so I will have to have a go at those. But it si all back togeather and functioning again.