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Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:21 pm

I have an older ABS plastic country homes camper top that is a little flexible around the edges (know this is "normal" to some extent but I think age and UV has worsened). Has anyone ever tried to "stiffen" these tops with Fiberglass from the underside exposed edge and/or epoxy with plastic or alluminum ribbing? Just wondering and also what kind of paint to use on ABS? Thanks

Fri Apr 06, 2012 3:23 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=464174&highlight=country+homes

Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:52 pm

Read that post in it's entirety - (I sold op that top and have since replaced mine on an 87 Wolfsburg with a second Country Homes Camper Top. There is no mention in that post about stiffening ABS top with fiberglass nor epoxy so back to original question ....

Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:53 pm

Try contacting Salim Miro at his Country Homes Campers website. He has helped me immensely regarding my CHC pop-top, the latest in strengthening the top with L-angled bars. This may or may not relate to your problem, but I'm sure Salim can offer some valuable advice.

Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:29 pm

Question. Is the CHC top of different plastic than the ASI Riviera? The Riviera is said to be brittle and cracks easily. I'm going to read that thread.

Question 2. Can a CHC complete top be put on a ASI Riviera.?

Tue May 01, 2012 6:52 am

on purpose

Tue May 01, 2012 7:24 am

DAIZEE wrote: Question. Is the CHC top of different plastic than the ASI Riviera? The Riviera is said to be brittle and cracks easily. I'm going to read that thread.

Question 2. Can a CHC complete top be put on a ASI Riviera.?

I know that early CHC tops were ABS plastic and later ones fiberglass.

My top is somewhat flexible, but I wouldn't say it's brittle. However, the insert that goes around the hole in the roof is very brittle and has many cracks. I've tried epoxying the cracks, only to see them crack again just from sitting outside a couple of days in the sun this spring (<80 deg).

Tue May 01, 2012 7:38 am

Alan F wrote: Has anyone ever tried to "stiffen" these tops with Fiberglass from the underside exposed edge and/or epoxy with plastic or alluminum ribbing?
Alan, did you end up doing anything to your top??? I got my van last fall and the top would flap around *a lot* and nearly blew off the van going through the crosswinds in the Sonoran desert north of Phoenix. I had to use ratchet straps across the top.

I found that the wood frame attaching the tent and risers to the top was rotted. The bar in the front was very rotted, the sides and back not so bad. They're some sort of cheap laminate plywood and the layers were coming apart.

Mine needs a full rebuild eventually, but with limited time I just replaced the front beam with a piece of oak and you would not believe the difference it made. The original wood had the front bar fit in between the ends of the side boards, but I cut off 1/2" off the end of each side board and made my new oak front board 1" longer than the original and reinforce the corners from the inside.

The top fits down solid now, and it holds to the roof at the brackets better and stronger, so much so that it holds the weatherstripping edge of the top against the roof of the van so tight that I don't think I need to reinforce the plastic any more.

I'd guess that possibly your wood frame needs a rebuild, have you tried that? I'd certainly do that before considering adding more weight and strength to the plastic.

Hope that helps.

Mike

Tue May 01, 2012 11:51 am

As there is someone who bought the CHC molds, frames, etc... I asked re changing my ASI top to CHC. No answer yet. Haven't heard of any resources for ASI tops. Mine is sorta fine but it will go. I'm putting 2 more downward clamps in each side, maybe one on front too.

Tue May 01, 2012 12:03 pm

I have installed many CHC tops and find that they all need some laminate wood rebuilding/ replacing. With a little patience you can replace most of the laminate without removing the top. Although I prefer to remove the top for this major repair. Older tops are ABS newer tops are fiberglass. Dont worry about your top flexing, Ive never seen one break.
As far as top blowing around in wind some of the older models only have two or three spring loaded latches. I would strongly recomend that you use Four laches as in later models.

Tue May 01, 2012 12:57 pm

DLJ wrote: Dont worry about your top flexing, Ive never seen one break.
As far as top blowing around in wind some of the older models only have two or three spring loaded latches. I would strongly recomend that you use Four laches as in later models.
Mine does have 4 latches, but that front wood bar had rotted enough that the corners had lost their integrity. The pop top outer shell is not connected directly to the front and back wood beam, it's connected to the side beams. The side beams aren't latched to the van, just the front and back. If the corner joints fail on the wood subframe, the latches don't don't effectively hold down the top.
On mine, even with 4 latches, wind was able to get under the front lip (crosswinds in the Sonoran desert passes easily reach 55 mph, there are plenty of warnings posted) and actually buckle the top corner back over the top. I was able to pop it back in shape, which would never happen with fiberglass.

Tue May 01, 2012 1:00 pm

got me thinking now, maybe I should see about adding a latch on each side...

Tue May 01, 2012 1:13 pm

Last summer I restored my ASI donor top. The PO had left it half on the ground and half on a sawhorse so it was all sorts of screwed up. I'll post some pictures of the process.

I had to replace all of the support wood as it was plywood and was severely de-laminated. I glued and screwed new redwood pieces to replace the rotted plywood.

The steel hardware had to be replaced/cut off as it was rusted and most of the aluminum hardware was fine. Just needed some cleaning up.

The interior plastic shell was very brittle and cracked in several places. I used 1/4" plywood sheets to reinforce it from the top. I then used bits of plastic with ABS glue to reinforce the backside of the cracks on the inner shell. I should have had the interior shell wrapped with upholstery. I had primed and painted it grey.

I'm still not exactly sure what material(SSSSSS) are used to construct the outer shell. What I can tell you is it isn't fiberglass. I had a fiberglass buddy come take a look and he was POSITIVE it wasn't fiberglass and reiterated that fiberglass would not adhere to it. The outshell is made of two materials that seem to be fused together. There is a seem between the two layers that was separating. I used construction adhesive (or apoxy - can't remember) and clamps to bond it back together.

The whole top was bent out of shape and kind of creased in the middle. I slowly attached long 1x4s to both sides of the edges using clamps and a heat gun. The heat gun would soften the material enough to get the clamps on. I left it for a few weeks - on and off - until it was mostly straight. It NEVER became perfectly straight. At the final installation I was able to take any remaining waviness out with one major exception. I SHOULD have put a continuous aluminum plate behind the edge before screwing it on the tintop.

I spoke with the local paint sales dude from PPG and he suggested the following steps for preparing the plastic for paint.

First wash thoroughly. Use comet.
Then rub down every square inch with a red scrubby.
Wash again and allow to dry.
Wipe down with mineral spirits and then painting it using primer and paint.

I have a giant roll of ASI edge material if anyone would like some and I have the old yellow canvas which, in hind sight, is in pretty good shape.

I'll get around documenting this hold build and letting you know how the paint, glue and other interventions held up as soon as I get the thing back. I haven't seen it in 8 months.

Tue May 01, 2012 2:04 pm

I'd really like to see those pics of the ASI. Mine is some kind of plastic but definitely not fibreglass. Its in good shape but fine cracks are appearing. Think I'll look into pouring some liquid epoxy into the cracks. I'm adding 2 more latches down the sides and may also add one across the front just to feel safer. They are good to hang small hammocks off of too.

My material is not canvas, its some kind of rubberized material and it is in good shape and so easy to clean inside and out. The screens down the side have some rust stains on them. Am changing the 4 outer springs with somewhat less rusty ones and hardware too. No screen on front zipper opening. Also got some extra white vinyl for the side and front 'skirts'. A Sambanista from Alaska sold me a bunch of stuff off his at very economical prices. I will have one extra latch with hardware left over.

I put no weight on the top and my luggage rack is well sorta useless. Most of the butterfly latches were plastic and broken and when I removed them I lost the backing plate that the rivets were attached to. So now I use 2 rubber maids and put them, my chairs and BBQ up there with 2 stout straps around over above and back inside. Then I use a spider net.