Pop top fabric colour for blackout/sleeping vs heat (esp. for parents w/ kids)

M

McRobop

New Member
Hi, :waving:
New member here. We are having a conversion done by a company and trying to decide on pop top colour/fabric. Our converter's standard is a Reimo pop top in grey (similar to this). We also have the option to choose a different colour fabric. (Our van is bright yellow, ex-AA :cool:).

We have kids (a 5yo and a newborn) so are conscious about light levels in the early morning waking them up, so black would be the obvious choice. However, a black tent will be much hotter in the summer sun.

Any parents, or those affected by light levels, who can share their experience of balancing light levels with heat retention?

Thank you!

PS the converter has said that the fabric for the bespoke colours is stiffer than their standard grey.. I'm not sure how much we should consider this factor.
 
We have dark grey fabric on our pop top (not a Reimo) and it does get quite light up there in a morning, which obviously wakes the kids. It also got pretty damp on the sides with condensation. We bought a Rainbow Covers Insulated external wrap (got it secondhand, never used!) and it is brilliant. Keeps it lovely and dark meaning the kids stay asleep well past 8 in the morning (even during the bright summer mornings) and also helps reflect the heat out to keep it a sensible temp up top. It also keeps it much warmer up there during the cooler months. We've also had little to no condensation running down the sides. It does mean you can't open the windows fully if you have opening windows or a scenic canvas....
 
We have a grey canvas and a rainbow covers wrap and it works great, cooler in summer, hotter in winter. If anything it makes it a bit too dark and as it covers the windows we don’t use it much in summer (no kids in roof). But the advantage of this is that we can choose when to use it. If you go for blackout black canvas then you are stuck
 
Just had a look at those Rainbow Covers. Costly but do look good quality and seem to work well. My canvas has a few holes from where the hinges are catching it so one of these would be ideal really
 
cgtmiles said:
We have a grey canvas and a rainbow covers wrap and it works great, cooler in summer, hotter in winter. If anything it makes it a bit too dark and as it covers the windows we don’t use it much in summer (no kids in roof). But the advantage of this is that we can choose when to use it. If you go for blackout black canvas then you are stuck
Click to expand...
Agreed it does make it very dark up there, but with kids thats not a bad thing! :) Also we have only been putting it on just before sleep so that we can use the windows and vents during the day. It is a bit fiddly, but we normally head out somewhere each day anyway so it would have to come off anyway.

T6ChrisO said:
Just had a look at those Rainbow Covers. Costly but do look good quality and seem to work well. My canvas has a few holes from where the hinges are catching it so one of these would be ideal really
Click to expand...
They are costly, we were super lucky to find one that was the exact size for our poptop that someone had bought the wrong size for an absolutely bargain price! Having now used one I would be willing to pay full price... If you have holes in the canvas they won't fully stop water getting in if the rain is torrential, but they will do a great job at reducing it.
 
Thanks for the responses.

The Rainbow Cover does look good, it's good to hear that it keeps things cooler in the summer. But does seem like extra faff to put on and is a big piece of kit to carry around. And the fact that it make things darker during the day is also a downside.

The black pop top fabric we can choose isn't 'blackout' per se, it's just black. How do people find a regular black pop top tent for darkness and summer heat?
 
McRobop said:
Thanks for the responses.

The Rainbow Cover does look good, it's good to hear that it keeps things cooler in the summer. But does seem like extra faff to put on and is a big piece of kit to carry around. And the fact that it make things darker during the day is also a downside.

The black pop top fabric we can choose isn't 'blackout' per se, it's just black. How do people find a regular black pop top tent for darkness and summer heat?
Click to expand...
It is a bit of a faff to put on agreed. But you do get quite good at it pretty quickly (especially if it's raining :) ). As for carrying it around, I lie it flat on the upper pop top mattress and forget about it (unless its been raining then it has to be rolled in its bag)
 
It’s a major faff if you forget to put it on before putting the awning up (which I have almost every time I’ve used it!)
 
Just stumbled on to this topic as just got a poptop fitted and went for a lightish blue. Embarrassingly, I hadn't even considered the light coming through.
Has anyone come across an internal blackout option?
 
My Storm pop top is black with scenic canvas and it blocks the light out totally we do not sleep up there and we leave the side windows open a couple of inches for fresh air as we have smoked wind deflectors and during the day if really hot we unzip the scenic canvas along the bottom edge.

John.
 
Rioja John said:
My Storm pop top is black with scenic canvas and it blocks the light out totally we do not sleep up there and we leave the side windows open a couple of inches for fresh air as we have smoked wind deflectors and during the day if really hot we unzip the scenic canvas along the bottom edge.

John.
Click to expand...
How warm does it get up there in the summer John? Currently considering a storm poptop - are you pleased with yours?
 
I have a storm pop top with grey canvas two vent windows and a clear large window on the front
I have never had any issues with heat
I do install a thermal wrap in the winter what a difference it makes warm dark and holds the weather at bay as it’s more waterproof than the top
I am 6 ft so don’t have any issues putting the thermal wrap on
Few goes and flys on
I would say I have a pole for other use which I find very helpful to push the front up over the screen of the poptop
I have the rainbow windscreen cover but went for a polar poptop cover must say I am very impressed with them both
Polar was quicker and deliver was 5 days from order you do have to measure the poptop as they are made to order but loads of play in the rear Velcro to take up slack
I have a few picture. Which I have attched
The other thing is that polar made me a one off thermal for my rear doors which I also use to go behind the front seats if I am having a quick stop and don’t want the front windscreen cover
So I am sure they would make you one for the inside of your poptop
You would need to think how to fix and hold it up but not to hard
The lady was very helpful
As for storage they fold up small and stash easy
As the other member said ontop of the mattress or I store mine in a draw
Let me know if you want any other information IMG_5349.pngIMG_5348.pngIMG_5299.jpegIMG_4400.jpeg
 
RhubarbCrumble said:
How warm does it get up there in the summer John? Currently considering a storm poptop - are you pleased with yours?
Click to expand...
I have a storm poptop fitted I would recommend that you have the slider over the cab area when the roof is down
Two reasons better when driving from a noise and looks tidy
Second if you sleep down stairs and it get cold I drop the bed board and mattress slide the hatch closed and makes it so much warmer
Happy for you to view mine if you haven’t seen one fitted
 
McRobop said:
The black pop top fabric we can choose isn't 'blackout' per se, it's just black. How do people find a regular black pop top tent for darkness and summer heat?
Click to expand...
We have a black pop top. Nice and dark in summer. Ours is a black van, does get warm in summer but haven't noticed it to bother us. We do open a side window for air movement as well as one of the pop top zip windows about 4 inches.
 
I have a Storm pop top fitted and am also in sunny Stoke! my question, is there an infill flap to finish off the gap above the drivers head, supplied by Storm? or is it a home brewed affair? cheers
 
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