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BigDan1 Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2012 Posts: 43 Location: st-jean baptiste ,qc.ca
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:40 am Post subject: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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does Jack Bombay make some pop top shocks for 92- 95 eurovans ?
sent him email twice ...no answer!
otherwise where can I get some ?
thanks
Dan , |
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jackbombay Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2007 Posts: 2723 Location: Eastern Idaho
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BigDan1 Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2012 Posts: 43 Location: st-jean baptiste ,qc.ca
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 2:26 am Post subject: |
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my westfalia being a real westfalia (1994) i dont have any struts ...
(winnebago started in 1995 )
i need the exact same kit that you fabricate for vanagons but for my aplication ....( If you did some )
having a solar panel on the roof , my wife cant raise the poptop anymore ! |
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jackbombay Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2007 Posts: 2723 Location: Eastern Idaho
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:23 am Post subject: |
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BigDan1 wrote: |
my westfalia being a real westfalia (1994) i dont have any struts ...
(winnebago started in 1995 )
i need the exact same kit that you fabricate for vanagons but for my aplication ....( If you did some )
having a solar panel on the roof , my wife cant raise the poptop anymore ! |
Ahhh, I haven't been around many eurovans. Is the roof and hinge the same on the winnebagos and the westies? My buddy has a 2003 EVC, if the roof and hinge are the same as yours I could take a look at his van and see if there is somewhere a set of struts could be installed and fab a set up for you. _________________
Gas struts to pop your top easily!
Pop Top strut kits now available for late Bay window Westies
Samba ad here.
DIY artificial rain gutters (ARGs) |
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BigDan1 Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2012 Posts: 43 Location: st-jean baptiste ,qc.ca
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:05 am Post subject: |
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ill take some pics of the hinges ..... |
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josh_w Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2008 Posts: 68 Location: Columbus, Ohio
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:32 am Post subject: |
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Pretty sure the hinges from 93-03 are all the same, but the 01-03 got locking gas struts and the earlier ones had the Vanagon-style backbreaker knee support.
Here's the later style:
_________________ '99 Eurovan Westfalia Weekender |
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BigDan1 Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2012 Posts: 43 Location: st-jean baptiste ,qc.ca
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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the 92-94 pop top brackets :
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Xtremjeepn Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2012 Posts: 1539 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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I'd also be interested in something. I've got a 1993 Poptop on a 2002 Eurovan |
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jackbombay Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2007 Posts: 2723 Location: Eastern Idaho
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:18 am Post subject: |
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Hmmm, there doesn't look to be an easy way to retrofit a strut to your eurovan with new parts.
I think the easiest way would be to get the strut mounts from a newer eurovan and mount those in your van. I Imagine they will be a bit tough to find, but a wanted ad here in the classifieds would be a good place to start. _________________
Gas struts to pop your top easily!
Pop Top strut kits now available for late Bay window Westies
Samba ad here.
DIY artificial rain gutters (ARGs) |
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josh_w Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2008 Posts: 68 Location: Columbus, Ohio
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:16 am Post subject: |
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Just scored a set of factory mounts and one strut from a 2001 Westy on eBay to put in my '99 - as soon as GoWesty gets their locking struts back in stock. The mounts look like fairly standard ball-mounts, and probably anything the same size could be used, though some might need an extra plate to spread the load.
let's see if the pix from eBay will load...
Now I just need to find some appropriate nut-serts... _________________ '99 Eurovan Westfalia Weekender |
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josh_w Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2008 Posts: 68 Location: Columbus, Ohio
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Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:28 am Post subject: |
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I think the JackBombay lower mount would wok fine inside the EV, but something more like the factory upper would be needed. I'm planning to use the factory kit to replace my older-style folding brace support, and then maybe add a JB kit for the kayak and future solar panels. _________________ '99 Eurovan Westfalia Weekender |
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jackbombay Samba Member
Joined: October 19, 2007 Posts: 2723 Location: Eastern Idaho
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12115 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 7:16 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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I just bought a set of GW pop top struts for my '01 Weekender and I'm having a helluva difficult time getting them to depress enough to fit into place. I'm wondering if I need to loosen the lower part of the tent in order to let the roof lift enough to fit them. Are there any other tips for this task? _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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JMB3 Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2015 Posts: 85
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:17 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
I just bought a set of GW pop top struts for my '01 Weekender and I'm having a helluva difficult time getting them to depress enough to fit into place. I'm wondering if I need to loosen the lower part of the tent in order to let the roof lift enough to fit them. Are there any other tips for this task? |
What people typically do is use a tie-down strap, wrapped around the ends of the struts, to compress it. One must be careful during the compression that the strut ends don't escape from the stap. |
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12115 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:29 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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I'll give that a try. I had been thinking along those lines, but it seemed kinda awkward to implement. _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12115 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:13 am Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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Ok, task accomplished. Here's the strut compressor setup I used:
It was really nerve-wracking, as the tension required to compress these things the 2.5" needed was incredible. I thought for sure something was going to fly off and break bones and such. _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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JMB3 Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2015 Posts: 85
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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I've always wrapped the strap around the whole strut. Then the danger is that one of the ends will pop out. Here I was replacing the pop top itself (on an EVC), not the strut.
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e&m_ghia Samba Member
Joined: April 04, 2011 Posts: 418 Location: NoVA
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:48 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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I think we tried both the "direct strap" method and "supplemental hardware", on the 2 struts, when we replaced ours on our 97 EVC. (I think we might have used modified s-hooks, or something of that nature, for "supplemental hardware". I've forgotten the details, but probably ought to have kept notes.)
Both made me feel like I needed a lot of precautions, watching the direction of potential release/reaction, etc., to not lose an eye - or something else I'd rather keep, in case of an abrupt/unintended release... But I think I felt a little bit more secure with the "supplemental hardware" approach. Yeah, you need a lot of force to compress those struts. |
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Zeitgeist 13 Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009 Posts: 12115 Location: Port Manteau
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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The method I used is spelled out in a GW video for replacing EVC struts, which are a helluva lot shorter. I kept having to pull everything back since the offset nature of the strings at the ends tended to try and make the whole assembly bow in the middle rather than compress. _________________ Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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Broseph Stalin Samba Member
Joined: March 28, 2018 Posts: 433 Location: Colorado
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:07 am Post subject: Re: Eurovan pop-top shocks? |
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Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
The method I used is spelled out in a GW video for replacing EVC struts, which are a helluva lot shorter. I kept having to pull everything back since the offset nature of the strings at the ends tended to try and make the whole assembly bow in the middle rather than compress. |
I used the same video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5YsbpwqRGI
Amazing how stiff those buggers are. _________________ '68 Bus in West Germany, 1977-1979
'67 Riviera poptop conversion in the US, 1984-1990
'95 EVC Winnie, 2018, Sold
'03 EVC Winnie, 2018, Sold |
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