Ripped My Roof : (
- Thread starter andys
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Mine isn’t an SCA though. I have emailed Westfalia in Germany and explained the problem but haven’t yet received an answer.This is a concern to all of us with pop-tops as sooner or later its going to happen...
I think my next step would be a letter to SCA themselves explaining the whole story and
pointing out that no-one within their own dealer network can supply the necessary aftersales
support, undermining what is otherwise a superb product. Or words to that effect
I’m going to set aside a day in a couple of weeks time (on grandad duty next week) on a day when it’s not raining and see if I can work out for myself how it comes off. I’m a reasonably intelligent person and I take lots of things to bits so hopefully, if I can just find the time to devote to it I can work it out. I’ve watched every video I can find on YouTube and read every post or article I can find on google and have found nothing on a roof like mine so I’m working blind.
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Phil_G
Guest
Ah sorry I thought yours was an SCA194 Andy. Dunno where I got that from!
If you can get the roof off, and find the correct material, try a tent repairer to do the work.
I've used a guy in Stockton who makes awnings and such to get clear vinyl windows put in to blank gazebo walls in the past and his work seems to be up to scratch.
A proper tent repairer like Scottish Mountain Gear will do a seam sealed job.
How did it manage to tear, you say the buckle, but how did it do it? sharp edges or something else?
I've used a guy in Stockton who makes awnings and such to get clear vinyl windows put in to blank gazebo walls in the past and his work seems to be up to scratch.
A proper tent repairer like Scottish Mountain Gear will do a seam sealed job.
How did it manage to tear, you say the buckle, but how did it do it? sharp edges or something else?
Yes I’ve found several places that could do the canvas work. Ill probably have the side replaced rather than repaired, I may even change the whole thing, the price is quite reasonable.
But that’s not what I’m looking for, I’m trying to find someone who’ll take the canvas on and off, the canvas work itself is the easy bit.
From the pictures the SCA appears to be higher at its high end and lower at its low end (not referring to it as front and back as mine is a front hinged so would be confusing)
Doug
Member
Hi Andy,
I see you live quite some distance from me, but a guy I do some delivering for whose main job is Transporter seats also frequently has to repair roofs from Vans from one of his customers who runs a hire fleet. He repairs them in situ, usually by putting a repair piece either side of the rip / tear, then duplicating this on the opposite side so that it looks even, doesn't sound great how I've explained it but it is an effective repair and has the advantage of reinforcing a potential weak-spot.
Message me if you need any further details.
I see you live quite some distance from me, but a guy I do some delivering for whose main job is Transporter seats also frequently has to repair roofs from Vans from one of his customers who runs a hire fleet. He repairs them in situ, usually by putting a repair piece either side of the rip / tear, then duplicating this on the opposite side so that it looks even, doesn't sound great how I've explained it but it is an effective repair and has the advantage of reinforcing a potential weak-spot.
Message me if you need any further details.
I know this is no help what I'm struggling to understand is, surely the company that fit the roof must have fitted the canvas, so why are they so reluctant to remove it? I would have thought it would be a simple job for them as the fit them all the time.
Reading this thread puts me off ever getting a pop top.
Reading this thread puts me off ever getting a pop top.
They are in Germany where it's made and I'm not going over there for a repair. It's putting me off having another pop top too.
Thanks Doug
Im going to have a go at working out how to remove it myself in a couple of weeks and if I can't then I'll be in touch.
Whereabouts are you? Maybe someone can come and give you a hand.
Just on the offchance - it may be a long way from you - but Jerba at East Berwick in Scotland are exceedingly knowledgeable on these matters, and I've always found them very helpful.
Their own elevating roofs have easily-removable fabric - it just unzips - and they may be able to suggest a remedy for you.
Good luck!
Their own elevating roofs have easily-removable fabric - it just unzips - and they may be able to suggest a remedy for you.
Good luck!
I'm just East of Doncaster but have no problem travelling to get it sorted. At the moment though it's more a question of finding the time to be at home and free to look at it. I'm annoyed at the trimmers I was dealing with cos I have a bit of time free over the last few weeks when I could have got something done but they just kept me dangling with one excuse after another. At least it gave me chance to get other projects done but I had wanted it sorting for the summer. Hopefully 2 weeks on Sunday I'll be able to devote the whole day to it. You watch it be a howling gale and p**sing it down
Thanks, yes their video was one of the first I came across and it does seem an enviably well designed system. Ironically they were number 2 on my shortlist when I was buying this van but I ended up going for the Westfalia.
Pretty sure they were one of the first I tried, I've got a list at work of everyone I rang but I'll have another look. I think I tried all the roof fitters I could find, but the message was the same every time, "if it's not one of ours we don't want to know, ring a canvas repairer..." etc
I'm just East of Doncaster but have no problem travelling to get it sorted. At the moment though it's more a question of finding the time to be at home and free to look at it. I'm annoyed at the trimmers I was dealing with cos I have a bit of time free over the last few weeks when I could have got something done but they just kept me dangling with one excuse after another. At least it gave me chance to get other projects done but I had wanted it sorting for the summer. Hopefully 2 weeks on Sunday I'll be able to devote the whole day to it. You watch it be a howling gale and p**sing it down
Ok today was the day, and as we all know, the weather certainly wasn't as I feared, in fact it was really too hot to be working outside, sweating buckets
While I didn't end up having the whole day free, I did get enough time to investigate a bit further.
First the bottom of the canvas, this seems to be held down with a rubber gasket, clamped down by a screwed on aluminium frame. This doesn't look as if it would be too difficult to remove (or replace), but it's what I had thought from the quick look I had when I looked previously. I'm sure it will end up being not quite as straightforward as that, but we'll see.
The top connection is the tricky bit. The way the trimmer described it to me was that you just unclamp it at one end and it then slides out when pulled from the other end - this isn't the case. The canvas is a complete circle and would only slide out if it was open at one end, secured maybe by velcro, such as in the Jerba mentioned above, among others. If you have this type of canvas then you have made a good choice should you ever need a repair or replacement.
The other way commonly found on various internet sites is where the lower is held down by silicone and the top stapled and siliconed. God help you if you ever need any work on this type, it is the worst to repair or remove.
Mine is neither of these. It is held in a metal track all the way round except for the four corners. These prise off, with difficulty.
This then reveals the stiff rubber ring around the top of the canvas that is held into the track
You can then get hold of the top of the canvas, but there is no way of sliding it, the only way seems to be to remove the four corner trims and just pull it down out of the track.
So with that knowledge, I pulled the canvas back up and fastened the trim back. So now I know how to get the canvas off, but I'm really not sure whether I could get it back on, which would obviously be the crucial bit. I found getting just that little corner back in really hard work. It wouldn't be under the same tension though as I guess the logical way would be to put the top on first and then secure the bottom.
I've left it there for now as I want to ring the canvas repair place to see what the turnaround would be as I don't want to find I don't have a useable roof just as it's coming up to the time of year I want to use it. If it's not too expensive or long I will probably go for a replacement rather than a repair, but they're not open til Tues so I'll find out then. Then it'll be time to take a brave pill and yank it off...
It looks like a kador/awning rail type arrangement around the top that you slide on but, as you say, this would need some sort of vertical opening in the fabric, such as the Velcro closure the SCAs have, to work. There must be an easier way - probably worth detaching the bottom first to see if something becomes more obvious??
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Phil_G
Guest
Maybe not velcro, but could there be a seam thats stitched afterwards Andy? probably at the front on yours?
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