Pop Top - Rear Or Front

[Scoobied64]

Just been looking at the Reimo website and realised I can order either a front or rear pop-top. Because of the layout we're going for (https://www.sawmillcampers.com/l-section-seating ) I'm wondering if a rear pop top would give us more room and light in the van. However I honestly can't say I've ever seen a rear pop-top in the flesh - does anyone have one? are there any downsides that you've found? Even any major advantages?

Thanks

ps I would cut and paste pics from their web site but not sure re copyright so just put the link in

 

[Village]

Presumably a rear pop top would be accessed from the rear, ie by standing on the bed below. As opposed to a front pop top which you can access by standing on the front seats, and therefore not disturbing (too much) those sleeping below?

I have no experience of either, so apologies if i'm way off; this is a pure guess

 

[Scoobied64]

Presumably a rear pop top would be accessed from the rear, ie by standing on the bed below. As opposed to a front pop top which you can access by standing on the front seats, and therefore not disturbing (too much) those sleeping below?

I have no experience of either, so apologies if i'm way off; this is a pure guess

Yep that's a thought I hadn't had - the idea though would be only the wife and I using the van so we probably either wouldn't have a "upstairs" bed base fitted or if we did it would still only be us using it. But that does answer the question why every one I've seen is a front pop!

 

[Village]

Fair point that it might not affect your own usage; resale also worth considering, perhaps?

 

[Village]

Also, if you look at the layout of the van you've linked to, it looks like the natural standing area is towards the front, so i'd have thought that's where you'd want the most head room

 

[andys]

Mine is. The front lifting ones always look backwards to me. No downsides for my layout, it works much better for me, but I'm not sure it would work well in a standard side kitchen/rear bed layout. Got plenty of pics of the outside but I'll have to dig round a bit for ones of the inside, I'm not sure I've really taken many

 

[Scoobied64]

Also, if you look at the layout of the van you've linked to, it looks like the natural standing area is towards the front, so i'd have thought that's where you'd want the most head room

That’s true - this is why I asked the question- a different viewpoint so we don’t make an expensive mistake

 

[Scoobied64]

Mine is. The front lifting ones always look backwards to me. No downsides for my layout, it works much better for me, but I'm not sure it would work well in a standard side kitchen/rear bed layout. Got plenty of pics of the outside but I'll have to dig round a bit for ones of the inside, I'm not sure I've really taken many
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That’s really nice looking- is it a rear kitc

 

[andys]

That’s really nice looking- is it a rear kitc

Well it's sort of rear and side kitchen. You can see the layout in this thread Westfalia Club Joker City

 

[Lone Wolf]

Mine is at the front. Much prefer the look of the rear one like Andy’s but mine works better for me with my layout at the front. Also for security i would like my head up near cab area.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Just seen that Riemo are bringing out a new pop top that opens up both front and rear!

That got you’s!!!!!!

How good would that be!!!!!!!

 

[Markymark]

Ours is top at the rear but then we have a CMC Multistyle with the kitchen at the back and single beds at the front downstairs (we don’t have the upstairs bed). Works great on windy days when you can point it into a wind and get little or no movement.

Not sure how well it would work for a front kitchen although standing up in the front of ours at the lowest part of the roof is not an issue at all.

Not sure how easy it would be to push the roof up if you had a rock and roll type bed as I Stand at the far end to push it up. Might be even harder to pull down if you can’t stand under the handles at the back. Reimo now make an electric roof which would get round that issue.

 

[Nigel W]

Just to really throw a spanner into your thoughts have you considered a side pop top?
This would give you full height the full length of you conversion on your ‘living’ side, it works really well for us however we don’t have any upstairs bed fitted so not sure how that would work

 

[Ads_Essex]

Mine is. The front lifting ones always look backwards to me. No downsides for my layout, it works much better for me, but I'm not sure it would work well in a standard side kitchen/rear bed layout. Got plenty of pics of the outside but I'll have to dig round a bit for ones of the inside, I'm not sure I've really taken many

I guess these are also more aero-dynamic for when you need the roof up whilst hurtling down the motorway..?

 

[James1000]

Just been looking at the Reimo website and realised I can order either a front or rear pop-top. Because of the layout we're going for (https://www.sawmillcampers.com/l-section-seating ) I'm wondering if a rear pop top would give us more room and light in the van. However I honestly can't say I've ever seen a rear pop-top in the flesh - does anyone have one? are there any downsides that you've found? Even any major advantages?

Thanks

ps I would cut and paste pics from their web site but not sure re copyright so just put the link in

Out of interest do you get any usable seats in the back - seatbelts / crash tested?

 

[andys]

I guess these are also more aero-dynamic for when you need the roof up whilst hurtling down the motorway..?

Exactly No really I think that’s how my mind works, I look at it and think “yeah that looks more streamlined”. I need to get out more

 

[andys]

Out of interest do you get any usable seats in the back - seatbelts / crash tested?

Don’t know about the Reimo van but mine has a fully crash tested 2 seater RIB seat with isofix

 

[Scoobied64]

Out of interest do you get any usable seats in the back - seatbelts / crash tested?

Not that I’m aware of but this isn’t an issue for us as only intended for the two of us

 

[Irvine101]

Our Reimo roof has the height at the back of the van but similar to others we have a rear kitchen layout with 2 single beds at the front. We have the most height available when standing in the kitchen area.

 

[HotandCold]

I have the SCA rear lift roof, with a side mounted seat/bed at the front and a rear kitchen, it works well with standing headroom all through the van.