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Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:43 am

You can mount them together to avoid conflicts. If you mount them seperately, be careful of the position with the top closed. If you look at the first picture where I taped the strut on the outside, you can see that my ARG needed to be positioned further up and back to miss the strut, or farther forward to combine or miss the mounting location. Mock something like this up and you will see what I mean.

Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:06 pm

PDXWesty wrote: You can mount them together to avoid conflicts. If you mount them seperately, be careful of the position with the top closed. If you look at the first picture where I taped the strut on the outside, you can see that my ARG needed to be positioned further up and back to miss the strut, or farther forward to combine or miss the mounting location. Mock something like this up and you will see what I mean.

Can't thank you enough for illustrating this issue. Measure twice, drill once (if you haven't got the ARGs mounted already, of course). Hopefully others can benefit too.

Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:23 pm

singler3360 wrote: PDXWesty wrote:

Be very careful when you do this. I mounted my rack first, then the pop top shocks years later. I bent a pair of shocks because my rack mount bolts interferred with the shock travel. If you don't have them figured out ahead of time, you could be in trouble. My rear mount was almost back as far is you could put it too. You can see in the photos below what happened with the bent mount for the shock. When the top closed, the shock would hit one of the mount bolts. My rack was mounted long before pop top shocks were available so I didn't consider this in the placement of the rack. That's why now you can combine function of one of the bolts if you place your rack properly. I had to take out a bolt for the mount and seal the hole. Plan ahead!

Thanks for the caution and photos PDX. Are you saying that the ARG mounted to the rear of the strut mount is NOT a good idea then? I have drilled and mounted the poptop shocks but stopped short of drillling the second (or third) holes for the ARG until I can source longer strut mounts or get this relative positioning figured out.

The other thing to consider if your ARGs are already mounted and you're adding the shocks after the fact, you can also cut off the extra length of bolt on the backside. You can then avoid the problem PDX ran into (I did the same), as the shock will easily clear just the nut on the inside of the pop-top.

Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:31 pm

Google sex bolts and mating screws. Perhaps my family tree may appear; disregard - carry on.

Back to the point. An elegant approach and stainless steel by all means.

Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:31 pm

1621 wrote:
The other thing to consider if your ARGs are already mounted and you're adding the shocks after the fact, you can also cut off the extra length of bolt on the backside. You can then avoid the problem PDX ran into (I did the same), as the shock will easily clear just the nut on the inside of the pop-top.

The ball mounts that came with the kit are too short so I would need to source some slightly longer ones. I can thread the nut but only barely. Are these readily available at a decent hardware or rv store?

Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:23 pm

singler3360 wrote: 1621 wrote:
The other thing to consider if your ARGs are already mounted and you're adding the shocks after the fact, you can also cut off the extra length of bolt on the backside. You can then avoid the problem PDX ran into (I did the same), as the shock will easily clear just the nut on the inside of the pop-top.

The ball mounts that came with the kit are too short so I would need to source some slightly longer ones. I can thread the nut but only barely. Are these readily available at a decent hardware or rv store?

I've never seen those in the hardware store.

I know you can get them from http://www.mcmaster.com. Not sure if they have the length you need.

Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:41 pm

Thanks PressLab. McMaster.com looks like it has just about everything.

JackBombay saw my questions and PM'd. He's sending some longer ball mounts. Great service = great business!

Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:22 pm

Kind of funny how this thread is going in circles, see below what I said in page 2 :)

I used the forward upper bolthole of the rearmost ARG to install the poptop shocks, that way the ARG is placed as close to the rear of the van as possible. Check the mounting range of your cargo box to see how much you will be able to slide the cargo box towards the back

madspaniard wrote: Another thing to watch for with dual purpose hole install. Make sure the gutter bolts don't stick out too much inside the poptop or they will interfere with the shock as it goes up and down. I had to get shorter bolts (ended up using dremel for custom bolt length) to avoid shock getting scratched by bolt ends. Less of a problem with Thule gutters (two bolts only).

Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:05 pm

I'm getting ready to ad ARGs to my Westy as well as Jack Bombay shoks. I'm going with a 3 bar set up, so I'd like to place the rear bracket as far back as possible. From the looks of it, if I wanted to attach the shock hardware to one of holes for the ARG, it would need to be kinda far forward. Anybody have picks of their van with this set up? I see the picture PDX added, and it seems pretty clear. Also, I have a bit of an odd situation. The PO mounted 1 pair of ARGs to the front. I think he had some sort of a strange bike rack going on with the front fork in the luggage rack. Anyway, I'll be working off of those when determining the placement of the 2 new ARGs, so I'm a bit limited. Here's a picture of my van so you'll know what I mean. Thanks!

Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:53 pm

stclair411 wrote: I'm getting ready to ad ARGs to my Westy as well as Jack Bombay shoks. I'm going with a 3 bar set up, so I'd like to place the rear bracket as far back as possible. From the looks of it, if I wanted to attach the shock hardware to one of holes for the ARG, it would need to be kinda far forward. Anybody have pics of their van with this set up?

I did exactly this same thing just before Memorial Day Weekend. I will post pics. I was able to use the upper forward hole in the ARG to attach JB's shocks which helps locate the ARG as far back as possible, then I spaced the other two pairs of ARGs evenly towards the front.

The placement (height) of the ARGs is determined by the location of JB's shock bolt so there is a good chance that your existing ARG in the front won't be aligned with the other ones.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:14 pm

"The placement (height) of the ARGs is determined by the location of JB's shock bolt so there is a good chance that your existing ARG in the front won't be aligned with the other ones."

Yeah, I figure the odds of that front ARG being at the right height are pretty slim. I'll have to either move it, and fill 4 holes, or not share an ARG mounting hole with the shocks and drill 1 extra hole. Something to ponder.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:16 pm

Just thought I'd add my set up for your consideration...

I installed my racks last year before I bought the shocks from JB. I had cut all the bolts for the ARG's when I installed them to be flush with the nuts. When I installed the shocks my only concern was clearance for the bolts. No worries...it works fine.

The funny thing is...now that I'm all set up with racks...I don't see myself using them very much. They are too high for ease of use. Down the road when the kids are not interested, they will be great for two kayaks. I could have held off for a few years. I set up my little trailer with the roof box and yak racks. It's easier to load/unload.

(soon to be deleted for lack of VW content)

Brian.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:25 pm

Thanks man. I think your set up is what I will end up with. Looks fine.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:46 pm

The key is trimming your rack mounting bolts. I did not and that's where I had the prolem. If you trim your bolts down, there shouldn't be a conflict with the shocks.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:01 pm

PDXWesty wrote: The key is trimming your rack mounting bolts. I did not and that's where I had the prolem. If you trim your bolts down, there shouldn't be a conflict with the shocks.

yes, I had to do the same

Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:29 pm

Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:01 am

Thanks man. That's what I was looking for. I think I will have to mount my rear ARG further back to get the correct placement. Unless I want to remove/replace the front, or space them too closely. Funny how one thing can effect so many others. Not that the PO's placement of that front ARG was wrong, just makes the decision for me. I'll be sure to trim the bolt ends so that the Bombay strut will have clearance. Thanks for the advice guys.

Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:27 am

stclair411 wrote: "The placement (height) of the ARGs is determined by the location of JB's shock bolt so there is a good chance that your existing ARG in the front won't be aligned with the other ones."

Yeah, I figure the odds of that front ARG being at the right height are pretty slim. I'll have to either move it, and fill 4 holes, or not share an ARG mounting hole with the shocks and drill 1 extra hole. Something to ponder.

I personally don't think the dedicated bolt for the JB strut looks all that bad, especially compared to 4 patched holes if you repositioned your existing ARG.

Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:59 pm

Right, so the PO installed Yakima Racks and installed fake ARGs. Really it's just some angle iron and it looks bad, but worked.

So then I install the pop top shocks and have remove the rear set of them. Also the box I have will only span 36", so I'd have to move at least one pair any way...

I'm tempted to complete replace them with Yakima ARGs. Put one back behind the strut (possibly using the rearmost existing hole) and then move the middle one to be centered 36" foreword of that (after the bump). That way I have an option of adding a third up front later on.

Which leaves the holes. :cry:

I saw a recommendation for Solarez Ding Repair. Is that enough? Or do I need something stronger.

Pictures:

Anyone see problems with the plan?

Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:08 pm

Quote: I saw a recommendation for Solarez Ding Repair. Is that enough? Or do I need something stronger.

I've used the solar rez to fix two holes in my pop top.

First I used masking tape to back the hole from the inside.

I cut small circles of fiberglass mat to fill in with some structure (I had a larger hole to fill), and then just added a layer of mat and rez while pushing the van in and out of the sun. Sand flush and you're done. My holes were on the top and I plan on painting the top soon so the look was less important then a smooth finish ready for paint.

On a vertical surface I would use Scotch tape, seal the bottom and sides. "Fill"' the pocket with solarrez a little proud and leave it in the sun for 10 minutes. The stuff is magic.