HI all I am selling my Devon roof and need to remove it , it has a skirt around the base and looks to be rivited on and really need to know if its as easy as it looks ,any tips are great . I am then having a sunroof from Paris Beetles and before parting with close to £600 for a lined one i could really get your honest opinions on quality .I will be ordering in the next week as they have £40 off lined roofs . Please any opinions will be really helpfull, thanks all
There are a few styles of Devon roofs over the years - some much easier to "rag-top" than others. No Idea about these but they've been sellling for many years and I don't remember seeing any negative comments on the internet, so I'd guess they're rather good.
fitted a couple and i dont personally like them, they are a pain to use shrinkage is an issue and if the roof is not properly reinforced it will bow ,you have to get out of the van unpop all the poppers from the roof tricky unless lowered then use 2 hands to tease them open from the inside there are 2 screws that need to been wound in to secure the roof in the closed position and if you forget the wind gets under the roof and blows it open, they are a cheap fix for a big hole but not for me.
l really like them. There must be something nice about having a bus that lets you bask in the sunshine and stand up. When you say shrinkage Davidoft how long is it before it shrinks would you say?? l only ask because the roof on my Golf has shrunk over the 16 years. And my Citroen Dyane roof also shrank. It might be worth asking if they do them in mohair. More expensive but l've yet to see a mohair that has shrunk.
A friend has vinyl one on his bay, its been on there near on 7 years and surprising has held up quite well with no bowing on the supports, a bit of a pain to undo requiring you to stand on the the front wheels to undo the front edge poppers, but it in the grand scheme of how much it would get used I dont think its too much hassle. Water leakage hasnt beeen an issue, His roof has shrunk slightly making it difficult to secure back to the poppers when closing - it just means you need to use a decent bit of force to get them pop together. Cant drive at speed with them open, unless you make some sort of retaining strap. Aside from the above, I think they are a good alternative if you've a hole to fill and dont mind losing a poptop.
Thanks everyone ,some good info but this has made it more dificult a choice . I dont need the devon roof as its not a full on camper ,just a tourer so no need for the pop roof and the weight that comes with it,and the sunroof wont be open all that much anyway. Never knew about shrinkage ,so thanks again . the roof is already braced .I think there is no other choice unless anyone knows another sunroof maker .
Vw made one (sorry that was no help at all) but i reckon it would be too much work to transplant one from a breaker.
There was a company that did fibreglass sliding roofs. l remembered it in Camper and Bus. Some chap ditched the massive Devon Moonraker roof for one and boy did he take a kicking by people for it. Nice alternative too if you can find it. Tried looking but couldn't see it anywhere on the www.
I think this thread paints a Marmitety picture of these retractable vinyl sunroofs, (I'm not involved at all btw) but as long as these are well fitted I dont see a problem, they are not designed to be used everyday but on the whole are for weekend breaks or sunny days etc etc, imo they are good at what they do, The shrinkage that people mention is no real issue, just requiring a firm pull when closing/securing poppers back up.
I had one that I fitted on a westy, take your time when you fit it and make sure you get the bow in ( don't cut the alloy strips to short ! ) and take your time to fold it neatly open, no water leaks. I found a really good bit of kit,
Does anyone who has used these roof recommend a cleaning product to help keep it soft and like new?? I recently started using Auto Glym cabriolet roof cleaning kit on the Ragtop. Water now beads on there as it feels like your dash when you coat it with cockpit shine.
just a good cleaner is enough.Just finished fitting the roof ,well worth the time and hard work .Looks great
