high top or not? Who likes them and who doesn't?

[Beetle Juice]

Hi all just joined to night,..

I have a T25 1980 viking top brill loads a room wouldn't swap it for anything else The Wacky Racer bright green and I love him.

[Betsythebug]

Our hi top is great....loads of storage and plenty of headroom for my 6 foot 2 hubbie.We think it is great for us!!!! We also have sleeping space up there,not that I'd fancy that! Obviously everyone has their own preferences so before buying way up the pros and cons and work out what would be best for you

[Muckamore]

Hi
i have a high top westfalia- If you are looking for a camper I acknowldege the flexibility offered by the pop-up roof - however I have found that the fixed roof gives you great security. The fixed high top gives enormous storage possibilities and for sleeping in especially in high winds is very secure and the compartment really heats itself.
I admit you must be careful on entering carparks but you find the westfalia gives you the height restriction on the dash (2metre 70).
The van can be affected by cross winds but its is not a major issue for me. One tip- if you are buying a high top ensure that it has sufficient space for sleeping which is why the westfalia is so good.
One big downside however I must admit to is the lack of a proper ladder to access the roof space so I have to stand on the rucksack to access the roofspace - I wish I had a proper ladder.
the fuel consumption is not really a big issue- I have a diesel in any case.
Another downside is that you must find a garage that can take a 2metre 70 for servicing - not every garage can cope with this height - however I have to say I have found the high top to be quite good as a camper van -

I hope this helps - sorry I had to re-submit this because of all the bad spelling mistakes.

Muckamore

[sherlock]

Tin tops look tops and are tops if your 3ft tall. pop tops are ok (I have one) but I think look a bit bland, however I think the high top looks very nice, I know this kinda go's against the grain a bit but Yep they look pretty cool me thinks, the thing I like is the fact that you can doss out where you want and no one knows, also the storage thing is a plus, and all that stuff about multi story car parks is all a bit non importend really. standing up without having to pop the top is a bonus as well. At the end of the day pop tops,tin tops, bus tops, and the wooden tops, not forgeting crop tops ( my guts a wee bit big for one) is all down to taste. But yes I like high tops. Cheers

[jackfruit]

Each to their own really.

Tin tops are the best for fuel consumption (although I doubt there is much in it) and personally I feel they they look the best of the bunch. On the downside no real head room unless you happen to be a munchkin and little storage space.

Poptops have the advantage of some head room and still look quite cool (when down) and can get in car parks. But they can be an a*** to put up and also unreliable and still little storage space.

High tops have the head space and the storage and dont suffer the leaks of the poptops but do often look like a crash between a van and an upturned plastic boat - some evenhave the port hole!

Personally as I am too tall even for the High tops Iam just going to go for the tintop and spend my time sitting down ;o)

[Swampy]

Tin-Top Vans are great for multi purpose use, but my Father-In-Law, Mick, doesn't half suffer with his back after hunching around in his van for a couple of nights. He wanted to install a Pop-Top, but doesn't want to do away with his Air-Con ducts (they run down the length of his roof).

My Pop-Top is just right for my purposes. I use it as a daily driver with no significant difference to a Tin-Top & have the added benefit of extra headroom & a spare double bed when camping. Great for my daughter & any others we may have in the future. That's what wins it for me over no extra roof at all.

Mind you, as Mick said to me one day, "Yeah, but you could be sleeping in the top bunk one night & some bloke with a machete might just come along & slice their way in." (Thanks for that thought, Mick...)

A High-Top sounds great to me & they offer security, camping practicality & space (not to mention better insulation). However, I personally believe they are slightly less versatile than a pop-top for daily use. I'm sure that regular High-Top drivers will disagree with this and I have to say I've never driven one day-to-day.

I suppose it's all down to personal requirements & needs that will dictate your preferred choice of camper.
The great thing is that there's a type of VW Camper out there for everybody's taste.

[thegamwellsmythes]

We have a Hi-top which we don't use as a daily drive but for weekends only. In that case we think Hi-tops are best as I am 6'4" and need the height.

I would have thought it would be a pain as an only vehicle though with car parks and such like.

Hats off to anyone who drives a T25 of any sort daily. Good effort.

I'd find it relaxing (always de-stressed when driving ours) yet at the same time stressful as wondering which bit is going to go wrong next.

[Dubstar]

I use my Westy Joker poptop as a daily driver. I've never driven a hightop, so I can't comment, but the poptop is ideal for me as a daily driver. A bit like a minibus but with a sink, and an extra bedroom upstairs when I need it. And it's a doddle to put up. Pop the internal clip, and then lift it up and click it into place. It's not very heavy either. In fact, I reckon I could have both the rock n roll bed, and the poptop bed in place in less than 10 seconds, easily. And I can get in the Trafford Centre car park too, although I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

[mininut]

My 'pop top' is an Autohomes solid sided affair.
Good compromise????
Love 'em all anyway!!!

[SlowWest]

Mines a 1981 German Westy hightop.

tis good space.

in the winter the upstairs bed is a bit warmer and in the summer cooler downstairs.

storage space!

2l petrol, 25 mpg, for a 25 year old engine i think that is pretty good. If you are worried about the money, get an LPG conversion, which will pay for itself after 10k miles

And you can pretend you are a tank or an U-boat with a periscope!

(still looking for a garage that can put a hightop on a bridge though, in the Saaf Eas. PMs are welcome)

[Dubstar]

I think I prefer my Wetsty poptop. The reason is as follows-I've just picked up a hightop Westy for a friend and driven it back from Germany, and everytime I went into the back via the seats, I smacked my head on the overhead cupboard. As did my wife, kids, the friend and the friends kid too! Good job it has a bit of a rubber trim on the edge. My poptop doesn't have the front overhead cupboard so I don't hit my head. .But having driven it for a long way, i can't say I noticed any real extra body roll compared to mine, and the roof was good for a sneaky kip or 2 on the way back.

[DiscoDave]

sorry but high top are ugly not just some but all of them! and if you drive fast enough round a corner or round abbout it will fall over!!!

[apples]

hi i have an auto sleeper hightop whitch is not bad looking but icant bring myself to love it ijust cant take to it in fact i hate it i have had lots of pop tops my last an 82 autosleeper very economical maybe cos it had a five speed box. that van burned to death apart from fuel economy i have not found any difference in cross wind it drives the same.. pros f.h.t. exellent storage space the poptop no good for storage when travelling on hols if u need a pit stop and want to have a sleep its like moving house were as the hightop u can chuck every thing up stairs. when i bought my hightop the previos owner had gas shocks fitted maybe that help with the cross winds i dont no why i cant take to it it might be becouse it slow up hills and i keep swearing at it on hills the only other thing i miss is five gears but when the hill problem is sorted it will grow on me

[thegamwellsmythes]

Apples,

Can you please use a bit more punctuation.

I almost ruptured myself reading your post.

Phew!

[Ian Hulley]

Apples,

Can you please use a bit more punctuation.

I almost ruptured myself reading your post.

Phew!