TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:56 pm

Can I get some feedback on my new DC canvas tilt I am selling? I have had some interest but I thought the response would be better.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=628174

Thanks for the help.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:59 pm

looks great and that dc is the dogs nuts... very nice..

Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:00 pm

It looks real nice, if someone wants one, your price is pretty resonable.
Personally I'm not into having any kind of Cap/Topper/ Hoop & canvas ect. on any of my trucks.I like to see out the back & sides.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:05 pm

Thanks for the feedback.

It is a very cool truck. It is not mine :cry: , it is a friend that helped me with the canvas. Thanks Matt!

About the canvas... Am I missing anything?

Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:25 pm

I wonder how it compares to the BusWare canvas. I just got a set of hoops for my '57 single, and a canvas was next on my list.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:32 pm

Wrinkles :x Are the other more expensive replacement ones that wrinkly? and were they originally that shiny white? I'm getting to the point where I will be in the market for hoops/tilt but I'd pay extra for something that looks more original.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:46 pm

I have been in the boat canvas buss for 40yrs. I will not voice my opion on your handy work, But i will say that the people looking for SC/DC canvas want org, at least org looking. They are a very picky bunch. you cant fool them. That said I will not make them, <SC canvas>In my buss there is a lot easyer ways to make money than to sell to the VW market... IMO Kevin

Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:30 pm

Thanks for the constructive criticism. The wrinkles are from being rolled up for several days. Just like most fabric if you ball it up you get wrinkles. The color is not actually that white. I think the flash is just making it appear that way.

I agree the bus crowd is very picky. I am also a bus person, well ½ bus & ½ bug, and I am very picky. However I felt a lot of people would over look a few details (not quality) to save several hundred dollars.

Alaskan Adventurer you said they want at least original looking. I thought I had accomplished this? Am I wrong? I guess that is why I am asking.

Thanks again and please more help would be appreciated.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:52 pm

im cheap...Id buy one I dont care if it 100 percent correct...thats just me though. but i have a single if they were like 500 they'd sell like mad I bed :wink:

Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:04 pm

I would be interested in a low profile for single cab, but those are not that popular. They might not be worth it to you to produce. The price seems good to me though! How much are the singles going to be? Any idea yet?

Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:00 am

Looks good rob. I've admired your handy-work on the hoops on a few peoples buses who bought my wood bows and bed slats. I've only seen the busware canvas so I can't speak to yours, but others are right. Bus guys are picky and Tom's canvas is going to be hard to beat. You'll probably need to target the budget buyers who are willing to sacrifice correctness. I'm not sure if there is a way to make them less expensive to make. Personally I do want to get a tilt setup for my single cab, but the canvas has always been too big of an expense to justify. Even though it wouldn't be correct, I'm inclined to want a canvas that has zippers instead of the straps. My truck is my cabinet shop delivery truck and having it function quickly without and fuss would be more important than correctness. Of course I doubt zippers and modern conveniences would get the price down. Keep it up. Are you interested in a mutually beneficial trade? My slats/bows for your metal/canvas?

Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:46 am

I already bought the complete kit. Hoops and canvas. As soon as I will receive it I'll post pictures and give you my appreciation. One thing I can tell you:
Up to now Robert is completely transparent about what he is to ship and it is a pleasure dealing with him.
Jean

Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:08 am

Freeform Metal wrote: Can I get some feedback on my new DC canvas tilt I am selling? I have had some interest but I thought the response would be better.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=628174

Thanks for the help. nice work and a steal for what you are asking. the hard part i would imagine is your spendy but fairly priced canvas still requires spendy hoops adding up to alot of money.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:13 am

I think it looks great! Makes me also wish I had a DC. :D

P.S. Tell your friend with the nice DC to buff that paint out! I bet it would look even better then.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:57 am

have a beater piece of junk working single cab and would love a canvas top of some sort in the rear. I could careless about originality as it is a work truck. Would be looking for cheap!

Does anyone have specs on making the hoops set up? I would love to
make this myself and save some $$$

Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:10 pm

Freeform Metal wrote: Thanks for the constructive criticism. The wrinkles are from being rolled up for several days. Just like most fabric if you ball it up you get wrinkles. The color is not actually that white. I think the flash is just making it appear that way.

I agree the bus crowd is very picky. I am also a bus person, well ½ bus & ½ bug, and I am very picky. However I felt a lot of people would over look a few details (not quality) to save several hundred dollars.

Alaskan Adventurer you said they want at least original looking. I thought I had accomplished this? Am I wrong? I guess that is why I am asking.

Thanks again and please more help would be appreciated.

orig tilt or canvas never rolled or balled up....
always folded and a way to fold it so is not all wrinkled
the same taken in consideration on rear window when... f o l d e d
always a premium items, NEVER a big surplus or left over item at dealers
expensive items back them, now similar=labor
if you get the right-correct material, details, items will hold value
make it right, it will sell=available, as orig ones not available and when available, not available $ to most

Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:11 pm

Welcome to the Tilt market!

Canvas Guy-I assume since you publicly posted this, I am eligible to give you feedback?

When my 1st DC canvases came out 6-7 years ago they sold for $500! Wish I could still make/sell them for that, but as someone else mentioned, vintage volks are very picky, & the cost of things, value of the dollar to the Euro has gone way up. I have now made over 160 canvases & the upgrades over that time have been in 5-6 generations of tweaking things to make them more OG like, improve fit, & longer lasting.

Some differences between Busware canopies & what I see in your ad: Correct me if I am wrong?

18 oz. fabric like OG instead of 33% lighter 12 oz. cotton canvas.
The weight of the fabric really varies even in the same weight, & now we personally select the bolts of canvas for same 18 oz weight, color variation in each canopy. 18 oz. fabric much harder to sew than 12 oz, but worth it in the long run?.

Seams run back to front like OG instead of side to side.

No gutter clips on yours to hold canvas tight to cab to keep water/wind out like OG? Mine are stainless steel, better than OG painted steel.

Correct thickness/width straps at loops so that straps stay in place, are easy to remove when needed-I had to have the straps custom made as that width/thickness is not stock anymore. Minimum order-enough to do 428 trucks!

Correct color hardware- I have the same hardware as you(loops & Grommets) but I have them replated w/ cadium to match the OG alum. color hardware.( Minimum order $50 to replate)

Rivets on loops-special HD riveter so that rivets don't come out from abuse by owners, etc.

Custom machined built hand dies to set grommets professionally($1100) & resist pullout of canvas.

Tweaking & tweaking of the patterns over the years to make canopies fit better after shrinkage of canvas which is over 4" in length on a SC.

Development of 10 different patterns for the 5 different types of tilts og made for VW Trucks, + an infinite # of variations for custom height canvases from stock height to cab high in any material.(Binz DC, Split SC, Split DC, Bay SC, Bay DC,)

Cotton canvas treating: I use a mineral spirit based treating to reduce shrinkage, increase resistence to mold & mildew, not sure if/what you use to treat each canvas? (twice as expensive as water based treating no longer available in commercial quantities)

I use a much heavier thickness window material like OG & have the correct color vinyl trim around the windows & latch gate holes for each different year truck as required.

Custom made HD stay hooks on side/rear flaps to match OG, but mine are more HD? Couldn't tell what yours are like?

Optional window types for late model trucks(66-67) & rear safari window trucks.

1 thing you have done, that I like, but haven't done because of the cost for a custom punch die, is the square holes for the gate latches like OG, mine are round.

Very high end professional sewing by very experienced vintage custom upholsterer, not low cost seamstress in a sweat shop?( don't know who sews yours, but I have stopped using low cost seamstresses for quality reasons).

Other than the above differences, & the $400 price difference, our canopies are pretty similar. Each buyer needs to decide what is appropriate for their needs & how long they want their investment to last?
YMMV?

Peace,

Tom Buese
Canvas guy
Busware

Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:25 pm

"Does anyone have specs on making the hoops set up? I would love to
make this myself and save some $$$"

I have construction drawings that I can post, but unless you have the shop/equipment/metalurgy knowledge to do them, the $450 price is really the reasonable way to go.

Think about the compound curves in the end caps, which you really gotta have?

YMMV,

Canvas guy

Sun Jun 29, 2008 6:06 pm

Thanks for your experienced comparison Tom.

As for some of the details that you pointed out you are correct. I have left those off to keep the cost down. Those details do not affect the way the canvas functions however. My main goal was to keep the price as low as I can. Your tilt is very expensive and well worth the money from what I have seen and read. I just wanted to offer another option for people. I have never tried to hide what my canvas has or has not.

I will comment on the sweet shop thing. The canvas is sewn in the USA by a company that has been in business for a long time. The work they do and the products they sell are very high quality. This is not some cheap IMPORT thing. The rivets and grommets are installed properly and will hold up to owner use and abuse. The first one that was made is on a daily driver up here in the PNW and has held up great. We get some harsh weather up here and it has not problems. Like you mentioned the shrinking has to be taken into consideration and it has been.

As for the side/back hooks. Here is a picture of what I use

The straps are sewn on and have reinforcement on the outside.

As you said each buyer needs to decide what is appropriate for their use.

Thanks to everyone for the input.

Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:19 pm

It appears we use the same stay hooks to start w/, but I take mine & remove the spring clip, then rebend to more nearly match the OG hooks, which are lighter diameter, simpler. Of course the owner can do that himself, & save the cost yet still have it look more OG?

It wasn't until we had made 15-20 canvases, that we really found out what would hold up from different style owners, hand sewing each canopy. There are about 109 pieces of hardware on an og DC canvas-the labor to install each one exactly where it needs to be to fit perfectly on the truck is substantial as you have guessed.

I would be curious to see how the canopy works in wind/road speed/rain w/o the gutter clips-they were an ingenious VW design to keep the interior dry, & have several nice features which protect the truck paint, etc.

Good luck!

Canvas guy