Marzydj's post and link to a gas strut site has started me thinking. I think a thread started about a similar idea a while ago, but was more about opinions on if it was better than sorting existing. My situation is different ( I think ), my Sopru top has got 2 side lifters that look home made and a real pain to use....literally. I have visited the main importers of Australian vans, but the couldn't/ wouldn't help. I can get the replacement parts for about £ 120 each from Australia, but they don't do overseas postage ( and they are quite heavy ). Me idea was to source some struts / brackets from the internet company and try and have a system like Spaceroofs of Oakhampton are doing ( think that's their name ) , to this end I need an idea of the weight of the roof.....it's not unlike many UK versions....so the weight of a similar size Devon would do. Anybody any info / comments / clean suggestions to assist me get it up....and more importantly keep it there !
Can't help with the weight of the roof, but if you were to find out who supplies the struts for other conversions, I'm guessing they'll be around the same. It's not as straightforward as you'd imagine...as I found to my cost, when I put different struts on the rear hatch of my old MK2 golf...same length, fittings and extension, different pressure! I'd talk to a company who manufactures them and pick their brains....send pics etc. Try these guys if you've got access to a huge bath, you could figure it out by displacement
That's the company mentioned by Marzydj's post. The pop top has reinforcement where the existing X frames are fixed and looking at their website, I ( think ) I can calculate the length / stroke required. It was just an idea of weight to get a man enough strut. Having said that when the existing frame is off the van, It has one hell off a kick when it opens....well I think that's what the wife said the first ( and last ) time she helped me on the van, just after it hit her on the ankle !
In the end I didn't go with SGS because I couldn't work out what was written on the one gas strut that was left on my roof. So went with campershop because they knew they were the right ones. But I must say the guy i spoke to couldn't have been more helpful, I think his name was Dave, and I think if you are looking for something more bespoke they may be worth a call.
I really want to do this. I have struggled to find info on how to get the struts of the correct lengths.
I also need to do this, as Wiggie's (I think) Devon roof has no working poptop lifting mechanism at all at the moment (I use pieces of wood to hold it up when camping ). I looked into it a bit, but like earlylatebay really struggled to find info on the lengths needed and the type they needed to be. I'll be reading this thread with interest as it progresses
If your is an Australian one like this Then I know a place that can make the struts for you so you can keep the mechanism original. When I was researching getting my roof repaired I looked into converting it to gas struts, to be honest the solutions I saw we're a bit of an ugly bodge
@surfgir1 if you look at my pic along the bottom channel is a huge long spring, there's another one the other side and a shorter one on the back X beams. It's these springs which help lift and keep the top up.
Just seen a t25 lego brick with a mad poptop that folds out and up to make side....no canvas and im sure the top.was.gas struts....ill have a look in morn .....
Thanks @sANDYbAY - mine isn't Australian, and doesn't have those springs or metal mechanism on it at all. Maybe I should start by looking for a mechanism, then rather than just gas struts... Edited to add it was added after Wiggie left the factory, and all I have to show for how it previouly lifted is some old worn out gas struts inside with some fixings for them onto the midpoint of the short side of the poptop and fixings for the other ends of the gas struts in the corner of the poptop hole in the van's roof. The gas struts don't have any numbers on them, though, and the design looks like it would be somewhat fragile from a stability point of view, should the wind blow sideways on to the van.
I think the poptop is a Devon one... I ws going to bring Wiggie to Techenders and throw the poptop refurb open to the knowledgeable masses, but he's not running at the moment (booo!) so we couldn't make it. When I see him again I'll take pictures and start a thread on it, though, I think, as I really didn't come to ay conclusions on my own
look here....not quite the figures you need but might make for interesting (?) bedtime reading Also video here different roof etc. but shows brackets and basic principles....
notice there wasn't any additional pre load on the strut beside what was necessary to fully extend struts held in place with clevis pin and R clips mounting channel was about 1/5th the length of the strut (if i was doing this myself, I'd make the channel a bit longer and put several holes in them for alternative pivot points, but clamp them together and drill them all at the same time) Pause the vid and try to work out the angle...looks less than 45 degrees extended... Other than that, it's trial and error
sANDYbAY, mine has flat metal X frame, but to be honest it looks a bit home-made. Its quite like the Breha type on the Australian website Caravansplus but only L shape in section and not u ( or C ) shaped as per website. Am I being a bit thick ( await various comments ) , but if I know how much room I have to locate struts in "down" position and know how high I want top to "pop", then shouldn't a simple scale drawing on a bit of paper should give the answer ? It was more the lifting / holding up ability I wasn't sure about.
Looking at the Australian website, the parts required are "only" about £50 per side, trouble is they don't ship outside Australia !
I was under the impression you had nothing to go off if you've already got the X bars then someone's already done the maths....measure the bars....go to a scrappy...tell him what you're doing and get two struts the same length...replace one bar on either side and see how it feels...see if it supports then put both struts on one side see if it looks ok trial and error...think of it as an adventure in physics
Thanks for the links......assuming that poptops will all way a similar amount ( size for size ) that vid gives me a good starting point / confirms my idea looks feasible. Think a call to the company is the next step.
