This is Bob! As you can see Bob has an Autohomes elevating roof at the moment. Although its watertight its a bit shabby and we have decided it will need replacing. So my questions are, how easy will it be to replace? What should I replace it with? We like the idea of a Westfalia Pop top but not sure how we would get hold of one so any info would be great!
I should say we would consider anything of the pop variety but not a high top!
Cheers
Well both vans are '808' (although mine is not called Bob!) so they may as well have the same roof!
I did struggle to find a decent Westy roof and they're not cheap. There is a company sells them new (well, a copy) for about £1500 which are good quality. I got mine via a FB ad in the end for approx half that. The big thing to note is that a factory fitted Westy has a huge hole (in essence most of the rear section) whereas an after-fit of a Westy roof generally cuts a much smaller hole between the roof ribs. In fact there was an after-fit kit produced my Westy themselves called a 'Mosaik' which there is info on if you google it. Obviously you already have a hole so provided that fits within the Westy foot print and you still have sufficient original roof at the rear for the hinges you should be ok. I do still need to re-inforce just below where the lower section of the latch mounts and also under the lower 'H' bar mount but am in the process of making dual purpose bulkhead / overhead cupboard that will do the trick.
You also need to think about what bed arrangement (if any) you want up there. I use the rear original roof that is still in place as the support for the back 2/3 of a Westy bed and just made up a board that I put in when necessary for the rest of it - still leaves me headroom over the sink / cooker. Happy to get more pics if you need or of course you're welcome to look at the van. I regularly travel between Lincoln and Gatwick and attend a lot of shows so should be easy to arrange.
Hi, that's some great info!! You are right I already have a hole so just need something that fits over. We aren't that bothered about the bed arrangement as we only use it for headroom and storage.
Maybe when we are next away I will drop you a line and see if your about and pop over to have a look! Thanks for the offer.
Cool. It's a bit of a wierd roof as its slightly raised! Anyway, I'm sure you'll get the gist when you take a closer look at his opening! Oo er missus!!
I did wonder if I could get something for mine. Be good to help pay for the new roof!!
Turns out I need to do exactly the same as Windy for the same reasons. I have the same existing roof too, with the additional roof section above the gutters, then the pop up roof section on top (this is the ropey bit). Yours looks good Lee, I'm in Sutton so close to Gatwick, would love to see what you've done. Did you have that extra bit of roof (about 8" high) originally?
Cheers,
John.
Slowing things down a bit to allow my soul to catch up!
