pop top for hi top

[iowcamper]

currently have a hi top on my van but want to replace this with a pop top for better driving, have a few questions for anyone who has done similar

1) how hard is it t remove the hi top thats in place
2) is the hole already in place likely to be the right size for a pop top when fitted
3) is there likely to be any probs with fitting the pop top due to having previously had a hi top (e.g too many holes drilled / rivets i the roof)
4) given we will want to use the roof for sleeping fairly often what make/ style pop top would you rate as the best, devon, westalia etc
5) is it wise to attempt the change myself or best taking to an expert? given the exta cost
6) what srt of price should i expect to pay for a good condition roof (have seem some brand new pop tops now for as little as £1200)

any advice from anyone having done the same would be great, can find loads of links for how to fit the pop top but they all work on the principle that there is no roof already on.

iowcamper

[Mocki]

what high top is it you have?
some are very very hard to remove, others not so bad.

a picture would help plenty.

pop tops normally only have the section of roof removed the same as the sliding door, between the door posts, but some high tops have more of the roof removed.
pop tops generally have more screws or pop rivits holding them down than high tops.

give us a bit more info and we should be able to tell you more.

[iowcamper]

hi there is a picture on my garage entry of the hi top thats on there, it was originally a front and rear cupboard but i took out the rear cupboard and fitted a double bed in. Have decided to use the van as an everyday vehicle and get rid of my car (costing me close on £250 a month to fill, insure, tax, service and park and seems a waste) so i want to make it a better drive.
The hole in the roof goes from just behind the cab to just in front of the rear seats so i think it is pretty much to same size as a pop top, looking at wilki and the hole they cut out when fitting a pop top it looks a very similar size

cheers

rod

[The Octave Doctor]

I am thinking of doing exactly the same thing - I have prob one of the highest high tops ( EMC i think ) and would like to give it to an expert to have a dormobile type roof fitted - anyone know of a decent company who could remove hi top and fit a new pop top ?

[iowcamper]

hi octave
there are a few co's that will do it for you but for a new pop top they charge around £2500 all fitted so was a bit out of my price range, it doesnt seem to me that difficult to do (although i would guess pretty time consuming) and i dont think any specialist tools are required. what worries me is if you take the hi top off and in doing so make it impossible to fit the pop top and are then stuck! i think my garage said if i find the roof and get it delivered to them they would take mine off and put the pop top on for around £500
rod

[ambivert]

I have a pop-top and am still toying with the idea of replacing it with a hi-top.
My reasons:

• pop-top is in excellent condition but underneath it the van is rotten and in order to stop the rot spreading I must detach the pop-top in order to patch things up... before the pop-top detaches itself
  
• pop-top is only physically attached to the van in a few small areas (3 hinges on the drivers side + 3 catches on the passenger side + 4 suspension strut mountings) and compared to a hi-top which is glued to the van all the way round so the force is spread out, the force on these small areas is immense which means they need to be rock solid metal, not just filler, which means my patch up job will be a lot easier to do if I'm refitting a hi-top rather than a pop-top
  
• hi-top is always up which gives more luggage space whilst on the move
  
• hi-top doesn't need to fold down so can have proper insulation against the cold / noise / light
  
• hi-top has solid sides, so can be fitted with stuff like cupboards, lights, sockets, even a gate to stop kids escaping or falling out
  
• hi-top is easier to add a window to without creating a leak, than pop-top canvas is, in fact most have windows already
  
• hi-top is much harder to break into than an elevated pop-top (assuming burglar has a ladder and knife )

The only downsides (I know of) are:

• hi-top has more forward wind resistance (although this depends on the roof shape, some hi-tops are just as aerodynamic as some pop-pops) combined with extra weight may lead to increased fuel costs (although maybe offset by reduced heating costs)
  
• hi-top has increased vulnerability to side-winds (although can be remedied somewhat by fitting a chin spoiler)
  
• the real biggie for me... pop-top aint much higher than standard, so you can pretty much park anywhere that a car can... I can even get into my local multi storey which is (allegedly) 2.1m max height, I clip the height bar with the air vent (slowly!) and it swings a bit, but I get in and don't hit anything else (although getting out again, via the gate with the solid bar, is impossible, just as well it has another exit, without a bar!) try doing that in a hi-top...
  
• pop-top is a bit more discreet so it at least feels that you're more likely to get away with pretending you're just a commercial van, so you can park in a 'loading only' spot, a traffic warden told me about this once!
  
• pop-top has perhaps better aesthetics (ooh the controversy )

So after that, if anyone is still wanting a pop-top and has a nice hi-top to swap for it, I can supply photos and details of mine (its in pretty good shape).

I think we should all just be honest, re the pros and cons, and surely its all stuff we could work out for ourselves anyway, the pros and cons balance out differently depending on whether you want to use it more as a daily driver vs. a mobile home. Actually, wouldn't it be great if both types of roof were based on an identical style of flange which bolted onto the van, and so a straight swap could be done in the same way you can with wheels (LOL, as if)

Regardless of which way we are going in here, we will all have to deal with common stuff such as the physical details of how these roofs actually attach/detach, compatibility issues, and how the hell does someone get up there and do this sort of thing themselves... is it something to let a garage do, or can enough people (four?) do it at home... or can one person do it alone if they have access to a high bay workshop with a lifting pulley on a beam across... (does anyone??? want to hire it out?!)

cheers
Vince

[iowcamper]

hi vince

send me some photos of your pop top, if you look in my garage you can see my van with the hi top on, its quite a decent size hi top and more aero dynamic than a lot of them, my main reason for wanting to swap is that my kids are now at an age when they dont really want to come away with me and the wife so it most likely going to be just the two of us, i want to use the van as my main daily drive and on the isle of wight you get charged a bit more on the ferry with a hi top (not always), but have to say i will miss the storage space we have a cargo net in ours as well so you can just throw eveythign up there clip the net up and not worry about it falling back out.

anyway send me some phots of your pop top and lets see what we can do

rod

[iowcamper]

just as an extra to my question, the hole already in my van for the hi top measures 101.5cm front to back and 117cm side to side, does that sound like the right sort of size for fitting a pop top??

[lance]

ive converted a handfull of hightops to poptops give me a shout ive got the time
lance at vwelevation.com

[Llamapup]

There is a decent discussion of the same question on the Brickyard Forum:

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/swapp ... 36508.html

I reckon there are very few significant vehicle modifications that are cheap and easy to perform. I had a Triumph Dolomite 1850 that blew its engine. I really wanted to upgrade to a Sprint engine,but it was easier to just buy a Sprint than to change all the components that were needed to make it work. Granted a roof conversion is a more straght forward, but I still think you will probably find its less hassle to just sell your high top and buy a pop top. Anyway, its fun going van shopping.

[lance]

like everything its not that difficult to do if you have the experience