Austops

[Stewby]

The only picture I have includes the converter as he was sitting in it, speaking to us at the time so I'm afraid there is a black smudge but this is the only picture I have of the inside. Hope it helps.

 

[Kwp0906]

Very pleased with my austop roof but it usually takes me 3 or 4 attempts to get the roof flush with the van when closing. What are the tips for folding the canvas as the roof comes down?

 

[Redsox]

Just got my top done over the moon with the roof and the guys at austops are the nuts can not recommend highly enough

 

[Stewby]

Hello.... really stupid question but this is our first night camping with our Austops roof up. We have no roof bed.

It's wet on the inside. As in you can see drips coming down the inside of the material. Is this normal?? We have a Wallas Duo XC cooktop which we used earlier (with a window open) and we have had the diesel heater on.
Really freaking out about the level of dampness. We went for austops cause it was meant to be marine grade materials and I thought that would be waterproof. Maybe it is just condensation from the heater and us??
We never had a heater in our old van and also didn't use it during winter so this type of camping is all new to us.

Any suggestions out there??

 

[PBLP]

Hello.... really stupid question but this is our first night camping with our Austops roof up. We have no roof bed.

It's wet on the inside. As in you can see drips coming down the inside of the material. Is this normal?? We have a Wallas Duo XC cooktop which we used earlier (with a window open) and we have had the diesel heater on.
Really freaking out about the level of dampness. We went for austops cause it was meant to be marine grade materials and I thought that would be waterproof. Maybe it is just condensation from the heater and us??
We never had a heater in our old van and also didn't use it during winter so this type of camping is all new to us.

Any suggestions out there??

It will most likely be condensation. Crack the two from windows down an inch to get the air circulating. Have fun

 

[Spaghetti]

I’ve got an Austop and I’ve used it on driving rain with no issue. I do however get condensation on it in the morning, even in the warmer days. It’d be much worse at the moment. I just use a micro fibre on it in the morning and ventilate it.

I do have a roof bed, so it’s us and two kids

Enjoy!

 

[Stewby]

Ah, brilliant. Thank you for the quick replies. We were a bit worried at the roof being so damp however, we have now cracked open the side vents a bit so hopefully that will work as we don't have window deflectors yet (so not keen to put the window down in case it rains).
We are getting the deflectors for Xmas so only 5 days to wait.

Thanks again for replying.

 

[Phil_G]

@Stewby I've done a cash-&-carry run today in the Dispatch and I got wet through, every time I braked or cornered the droplets on the inside of the roof ran forward and I'd get a cupfull down my neck or in my lap. The humidity outside is such that the air is absolutely saturated and it will readily dump its contents on anything cold like a van roof or a poptop wall. Its just the time of year and I dont think theres a lot you can do. When the T6 is parked up I have an Aldi dehumidifer running 24/7 but if you're out & about I think all you can do is mop up, ventilation helps but not so much when its 100% outside... Maybe one of those cordless window vacs?

 

[Spaghetti]

I’ve got a Karcher window vac and it’s great on the windows when they’re sopping.

 

[Phil_G]

I’ve got a Karcher window vac and it’s great on the windows when they’re sopping.

Thats interesting cos I'd wondered if these things were any use for wet-weather camping. So it works ok on flappy poptop sides? Does it have a 12v charger?
Seen them on TV of course but never used one.
Ta
Phil

 

[Spaghetti]

Thats interesting cos I'd wondered if these things were any use for wet-weather camping. So it works ok on flappy poptop sides? Does it have a 12v charger?
Seen them on TV of course but never used one.
Ta
Phil

I only use the Karcher for the windows. I use a micro fibre cloth for the poptop sides, and then wring it out in the sink.

I only have a mains charger, but it lasts ages on each charge.

 

[Calps82]

I'm another austops recommender . It's my first ever poptop so can't comment on if it's better than other roofs but it's very stealth looking and a love that . Also the canvas seems to be made very well and deals with Scottish weather without an issue .I treat it like a tent so if it's been raining then Al wait for a gd day to pop it back up just to air it out

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do you know the overall height of your van with this pop top? I’m looking for a reasonably priced low profile pop top and these seem to get a good write up. If you could let me know the height of your van I’d appreciate it, also is you van standard height or lowered? (Assuming this would make a difference)...

 

[St4n99]

do you know the overall height of your van with this pop top? I’m looking for a reasonably priced low profile pop top and these seem to get a good write up. If you could let me know the height of your van I’d appreciate it, also is you van standard height or lowered? (Assuming this would make a difference)...

I have actually never measured the hight , I know the multistorey car park close to me is 2.05m max hight and I get under that ,I have standard suspension t32 on 17 inch Devonports

 

[cgtmiles]

Brave! I’m guessing you weren’t doing the full 10 mph speed limit when you went through first time

 

[St4n99]

Haha ,I do remember the first day I tried it , had my cuzin outside the van watching and shouting to his daughter in the back to put on her fat Face lol,

 

[cgtmiles]

 

[mpd003]

Hello.... really stupid question but this is our first night camping with our Austops roof up. We have no roof bed.

It's wet on the inside. As in you can see drips coming down the inside of the material. Is this normal?? We have a Wallas Duo XC cooktop which we used earlier (with a window open) and we have had the diesel heater on.
Really freaking out about the level of dampness. We went for austops cause it was meant to be marine grade materials and I thought that would be waterproof. Maybe it is just condensation from the heater and us??
We never had a heater in our old van and also didn't use it during winter so this type of camping is all new to us.

Any suggestions out there??

Hi Stewby, There is a thing called a pop top cover, which covers the poptop canvas and gives you way better thermal insulation than just the poptop itself. I'm pretty sure if you're camping in the colder months with a heater inside then you're leaky issue will be due to condensation.. I'm not an expert but these folks have reviewed a couple of products, both they say stop condensation but take a look :

Martin

 

[mpd003]

The one niggly bit for me is the fact that you can't open the canvas entirely at the front. The window is quite OK but sometimes I'd prefer to be able to open the whole front up as it would make for a better 'observation platform' when sitting up there.

It's not a huge niggle, I'd still buy another one.

I wonder if they could just put in a new canvas for you ? I'm sure the roof will be from the same mould ? Might be worth a phone call to see if possible and how much ?

 

[mbee123]

Hi, does anybody know the depth of the Austops roofs, I can't choose between this and a skyline (100mm) or skyline Aurora (70mm), would be good to know the dimension to compare

like the look of the slimline but I'm told you can't get a mattress in with the aurora

 

[Spaghetti]

This is 80mm at the side, but this is to the base of the seal, and obviously the roof curves down at the edges so will accentuate the depth.

It’s about 55mm in the middle at the rear (above the brake light).