Hilo Roofs

csnell71 said:
Thanks for the Replies, looks like XtremeVan it then if i decide to go this route. Id still be interested to hear about any other Low Profile roofs if there any out there.

Thanks
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Had them fit mine last year. Top job. No issues.

My previous van I had one fitted by blueskyconversions. Again, no issues.

Will I have another one ..... yep.
 
Think barge-poles, very long ones...

HILO have an interesting business model that a number of folk have found, to their cost, is not in their favour, myself included. If there is any kind of problem they push everything towards the fitter, and your contract is with the fitter so you have to deal with them. If (and it's a very big IF) all goes well and they supply your very highly skilled fitter with a perfect roof, you'll be fine.

Chances are you might not be. I'm a year into a dispute (including a warranty cock-up repair they did), still without a resolution and truly appalling customer service. My fitter has been excellent in trying to support, but he's not able to do the warranty repair because it's err, a warranty issue. Of course the roof I bought (Surf) is no longer on the market, and some people report the Sport roof as being better. I would honestly say that you are putting yourself at risk if you choose a HILO roof - you need to decide if that is worth it. Of course there are individual problems with every roof design. It boils down not to whether something goes wrong, but what happens when something goes wrong - HILO have a proven track record of not giving a flying fig about their customers in these circumstances.

Good luck with your search for the low profile roof of your dreams - don't let it turn into a nightmare.
 
Agree. Despite the fact mine has been fine, I wouldn't recommend HiLo due to the number of people who have had post sales issues. It can't be coincidence when it's that many people all saying similar things.
 
Had a HiLo scenic roof fitted August 2019 by Xtreme van
No problems at all and gives great height and good sleeping area
My van is my main vehicle and is used all year, plus in Feb this year, we travelled through Spain and Portugal for a month with some heavy rain at times
It is all to do with the fitter of which Xtreme are excellent
Most manufacturers have distributors and any issues are usually dealt via the distributor (fitter) not the manufacturer
As we all know you only usually hear about the negatives and not all the positives. Most people don’t say anything, because they are delighted with the product
That would be me B624CA4A-57BA-4873-856B-A48CB56615DE.jpeg
 
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Again we have a Hilo fitted by Jay at Xtreme in 2017 and it has been faultless, touch wood. Xtreme were the only people to do any aspect of our conversion the rest was all us. Getting a decent fitter is definitely king.

I have met other people on our travels with Hilos and Visiontech seem well reviewed too.

I saw some examples fitted by others and the finish was interesting to put it nicely

I would have another fitted tomorrow as there is no other roof on the market that is invisible when shut and huge when open.

Completely understand peoples gripe with Hilo HQ. Sad that their attitude has been so poor. It’s just a shame most only see the negative as mentioned above.
 
To be fair, when I researched the HILO roof system there were very few negative comments on any forums, and plenty of positive ones. I think the balance has tipped the other way over the past 12 months - no denying that some folk have got a good roof and used a quality fitter, but as I said previously it's about assessing the risk - things change over time too - great to hear a 2017 roof working well, and a good experience from 2019.

I've spent over £40k (and lots of hours doing element of the conversion) to get a low profile roof camper, but the pop-top doesn't function as advertised. Not a fitter problem, a manufacturing one. Sorry, manufacturing problems (multiple). And botched 'repairs' by HILO themselves.

What do you think the resale value is likely to be for my T6 with a HILO surf roof?
Do I want anyone else to find themselves in this position?
Does anyone else deserve the mental health impact of going through this for 12 months?
I think not.
So please forgive me for being negative - it's not without good reason.

People are of course at liberty to ignore others' experiences, good or bad.
 
seewhy said:
To be fair, when I researched the HILO roof system there were very few negative comments on any forums, and plenty of positive ones. I think the balance has tipped the other way over the past 12 months - no denying that some folk have got a good roof and used a quality fitter, but as I said previously it's about assessing the risk - things change over time too - great to hear a 2017 roof working well, and a good experience from 2019.

I've spent over £40k (and lots of hours doing element of the conversion) to get a low profile roof camper, but the pop-top doesn't function as advertised. Not a fitter problem, a manufacturing one. Sorry, manufacturing problems (multiple). And botched 'repairs' by HILO themselves.

What do you think the resale value is likely to be for my T6 with a HILO surf roof?
Do I want anyone else to find themselves in this position?
Does anyone else deserve the mental health impact of going through this for 12 months?
I think not.
So please forgive me for being negative - it's not without good reason.

People are of course at liberty to ignore others' experiences, good or bad.
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Completely understand your situation as well as others and I would be equally disappointed/irate. I don’t have any experience of the Surf roof though I’m afraid.

Our roof was an older generation with the steel frame before they called it a Sport, don’t know if that has a bearing.

Value wise the more criticism and negative discussion there is about a product the more difficult it will be to sell. It’s a hard line though as companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with poor service so can understand naming and shaming.

Are you going to change the roof to another brand?

I wish you luck and hope your experience hasn’t put you off the T6 life. I can’t imagine being without one now.
 
Jack T said:
Value wise the more criticism and negative discussion there is about a product the more difficult it will be to sell. It’s a hard line though as companies shouldn’t be allowed to get away with poor service so can understand naming and shaming.
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I kept quiet about my experiences for the first 7 months, trying to resolve the issues, giving them the chance to come good. When I hit the wall with that I put a post on this forum - Hi Drama Lo Quality Roof - Sinking In The Surf - I waited until I'd exhausted all direct options.

I'm still going through legal processes to try to get something done but if I'd kept quiet about my treatment until I get a resolution other folk would go in without knowing the risks - and that was the original question in this post. There's no point in having a forum if we don't share experiences and learn from each other. In this case HILO have made their (roof) bed and now have to soak in it.

Jack T said:
Are you going to change the roof to another brand?

I wish you luck and hope your experience hasn’t put you off the T6 life. I can’t imagine being without one now.
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I don't have a spare £5-7k to play with to get the Surf roof taken off, dismantle my bespoke interior (plus the solar panel and interior led roof lights!) and then try another roof. There is also a technical challenge: the aperture is claimed to be larger than any other roof, except perhaps the HILO Sport (HILO have refused to try fitting one, obviously). So that doesn't leave me with much option for changing unless I stumble on a Fairy Godmother and a pumpkin.

I've been addicted to VW vans since my 1970 T2 that I bought for £200 as a student in the late 1980s, and have had lots of misadventures. This is my 4th van. I repaired and fitted a second-hand pop top on my T25, got a Reimo fitted for me on my T5 in 2008 (which was an excellent roof I might add!), and did all the other conversion work on those previous vans. We sold the T5 last autumn after 100,000 wild miles. This was meant to be a stress-free and hands-free way of getting a new van (first new vehicle in my life!). I don't mind making mistakes and putting up with my own stupidity (my wife has even published a book 'celebrating' that!), but I'm not going to pay someone else to make a fool of me...

We're Van People, so no chance of being put off a way of life by one crappy business! We just adapt.

It is also good to hear positive stories and great workmanship out there. I'm glad you can't imagine life without one - let's hope we are allowed out to use them again soon... 5 miles is not really going to cut it (current Scottish lockdown rules!).
 
So sorry to hear about your problems and I do hope HiLo sort their own repairing issues to your complete satisfaction. It maybe the legal route you have to take Is the only way to resolution and I wish you all the luck.
If they have failed to sort their own repairs they deserve to be shamed
 
There is also a company called Stealth roofs.

Stealth Elevating Roofs | Low Profile Pop Top Roof Conversion | Bus & Van Life

The Stealth low profile pop top roofs are easy to operate and designed specifically for Volkswagen Transporter and Ford Transit Custom owners. Get your quote to
thestealthroof.co.uk thestealthroof.co.uk

Campervan Conversions | Pop Top Roof Suppliers | Bus & Van Life

Van & Bus create bespoke luxury campervan conversions, along with specialising in low profile pop top roofs for Volkswagen Transporter and Ford Transit Custom campervans.
low-life.co.uk low-life.co.uk

No idea why the second link is facebook, it isnt when you click it.
Really nice guy, he makes and installs the roof.
 
If you manage to get an undamaged roof from the factory and you select a good fitter then a HiLo roof is a fantastic bit of kit. The external low profile “look” is superb. However, and it’s a big however, if you are unfortunate enough to need to start dealing with head office in Preston following a problem then expect to receive world class terrible and disrespectful customer service. I’m in my late 50’s, am not a moaning old git but have never come across such a poor company for looking after its customers. HiLo roofs..........buyer beware.
 
DaveyB said:
So camera not working because the wiring had been damaged by a bolt, and the van wouldn’t start because of a fuse of the same rating as the reversing camera having been stuck in the wrong hole. I passed this engineers report onto HiLo.

This was Matt Adam’s response.


From: Matthew Adams
Date: 24 September 2019 at 11:02:13 BST
To: @btinternet.com

Dear Mr B


Thank you for your mail dated the 18th regarding the issues with your Vehicle uncovered at HiLo whilst work was being undertaken to rectify fitting issues you had from your HiLo roof installer.


Thank you for submitting your opinion on liability, however the pictures clearly show an additional hole has been drilled in the frame and an M8 threaded bolt has been used (as you have stated). This has been done when the bed was fitted (by your installer). This hole is not on our engineering drawings which are under patent, nor do we use M8 bolts which is shown on our bill of materials. Furthermore, at no point did the work undertaken at HiLo involve drilling holes in the frame.


The work undertaken by the HiLo team must have allowed the wire to come away from bolt shown in the picture. We did ask for an independent engineer’s report, not a £900 bill from a firm known well to yourself, who undertook untold & undated works to your van prior to it arriving with us, (after installer refused to work with the state of electrics). As the issues with your vehicle were not manufacturing issues then we have no liability for the £900 bill you are submitting.


Removal of the internal covers (which is what the team did again to check for any obvious issues or lose connection) and check power was in fact going to your rear camera whilst you were off site must have led to the additional shorting failures. The only persons actually observed by multiple members of Hilo staff changing fuses or moving fuses was yourself and the Green Flag engineer. If the fuse SC31 had been in the wrong position on your return to the site, the instrument panel cluster would not have illuminated as it did multiple times and the vehicle would not have started multiple times and cut out. Therefore, additional costs incurred are as a result of aftermarket work previously condemned and not us.


We have honoured the agreement and paid travel expenses, as that was what was agreed by Lee (after our hire car was double-booked). This was based on the proviso of not knowing whether the initial issues you had with your canvass was a fitter or product fault. As you are aware the fault was not with your canvass manufacture but as a gesture of goodwill we have not asked for return of payment of travel expenses. If you continue to request payment of funds HiLo are not liable for we will invoice you at our charge out rate of £46.73 per hour for the week your vehicle was in the workshop.


--


Kindest Regards


Matt Adams
Operations Manager
The HiLo Roof Company Ltd



So lets just address a couple of things.

-They have obviously spoken with Dean Withers at Van Doc Ltd – or should I say VanDoc Conversions Ltd. The statement about them refusing to do my install due to dangerous leisure electrics is a total fallacy.

-When I left the van (and the site) after finding the problem with the camera it was located in the middle of the car park, and the engine was not running. When I returned it was back in the unit. At no time have they suggested they had to push it in there due to it not starting. It couldn’t have been the Green Flag Technician as he hadn’t even been called by this point!

-Matt Adams claim about what the van would and wouldn’t do with the fuse in the wrong slot. I invite every single one of you to go to your van, remove the SC32 7.5A fuse and try to start your van. I guarantee that you’ll get an illuminated MFD, but no ignition lights in your dials when you turn the ignition key. Turn the key to start the engine, it’ll fire, run for a second and die, then won’t restart. The electric windows will also not work.

-Matt now claims that I had been told to submit an “independent engineers report”. This is not what I have in an email from HiLo, which asks for an “engineers report”.

-HiLo’s threat about charging me for non-warranty work that the installer should have done. Well let’s remember (as per other thread Van Doc Ltd - - - - Vandoc Conversions Ltd) that Van Doc Ltd who installed the roof no longer exist, therefore I have no legal recourse with them. Under contract law, the remaining warranty reverts to the manufacturer due to them operating a network of approved and accredited fitters of their product, and from whose website I selected Van Doc Ltd as the HiLo installer closest to me. So the HiLo Roof Company Ltd are liable for the work that needed to be undertaken.

-They are clearly stating that Van Doc Ltd did not install my roof as per manufacturers instructions and even used parts that they shouldn’t. Clearly this is a bigger issue across their network of fitters because in the post made by @Gaz1971 in the other HiLo thread(Hilo Roofs), he has a picture of an M8 bolt protruding through the frame of his HiLo as well. I wonder if anyone else has the same?


Due to the costs associated with attending Court, plus all of the time associated (which I just don’t have) I simply don’t have the energy to issue a Court Summons and hire a lawyer. My van now works, there doesn’t seem to be the creaks that I was plagued with previously, although I haven’t put it up in the rain yet, and to be honest am petrified of doing so.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this post, I know it has been a long one, but I hope you’ve had a good look at all of the information posted that is based upon . I just hope none of you ever have to go through what I have. I honestly had nightmares about my van being a write off when I couldn’t get anyone to work on it.

I guess I will never get to the bottom of how my wiring got damaged, nor who actually disabled my ignition circuitry - perhaps it was me all along, and i’ve made everything up. However I do know this much, I will never ever have a poptop roof installed in any future vehicle I own. I loved my van, but thanks to all of this the shine has gone. Irrelevant of what led to all of this, and completely parking the fateful visit to Preston, as an owner of a HiLo Sport - I hate it. It has been nothing but a problem from the first day I picked it up after it was installed. It is for this reason, and this reason alone why I would not recommend this particular product to anyone.
Click to expand...


Thank you for such an informative read. I write out my statements in exactly the same fashion. So no nee to apologise to me for a long statement.

I am just so glad I read your problems before I signed up to an installer with them.

So no HiLo for me now. That’s for sure.

All the best buddy.
 
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