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dobryan
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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 Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 5:07 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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| dobryan wrote: |
| Ed, I cannot stand in an AW hightop and the sleeping area is too low for me to feel comfortable. But ymmv. |
Looks to me like the AW is about 6 inches lower than the JOKER. In my JOKER I can stand and have more than 6 inches head room. Dave, how tall are you?
Yeah, the AW seems pretty low and probably not so good for regular sleeping. . . that's what people say.
....unless the upper bunk bed could be made slightly lower. I know that my 'lower bunk' could be about 6 inches lower, and some vans even have shelves above the lower bunk... > so the might be designed to make the upper bunk lower > BUT actually the space is limited because of the windows.
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dobryan
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ZsZ
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Joined: December 11, 2010
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Location: Budapest Hungary, Europe
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:17 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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keep in mind that in a converted van the bed sits about 10cms higher as the tintop roof is curved and the bed is above that, while in a Westfalia the whole roof panel is cut out
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
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dobryan
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:45 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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Yes, but that is going on the assumption that the rear part of the tintop is not cut out. It's my understanding that removal of that rear section of tintop is optional, no? ...or with an AW hightop is it structurally necessary to leave that portion of the tintop intact?
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mikemtnbike
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Joined: March 26, 2015
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Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:53 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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Ed- you can't cut out the rear part to my knowledge. The C pillar roof brace is structural. In a factory hightop like your Eurobus, it and the D pillar roof brace are replaced with a flat, lower bar. The hole you'll cut is confined between the B and C pillar roof braces.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled  https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:56 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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But this AW from a BayBus looks pretty spacious up top! Maybe AW made higher tops for BayBuses?
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:02 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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| mikemtnbike wrote: |
| Ed- you can't cut out the rear part to my knowledge. The C pillar roof brace is structural. In a factory hightop like your Eurobus, it and the D pillar roof brace are replaced with a flat, lower bar. The hole you'll cut is confined between the B and C pillar roof braces. |
OK, ...but then what are these people doing?
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dobryan
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mikemtnbike
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:38 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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| dobryan wrote: |
| Looks like they are trying to add back the structural strength they removed. |
TRYING being the operative word.
Ed- what I'm describing is the difference between the hole-only westfauxlia conversion I did and the whole roof graft method when moving a pop-top to a tintop- the pictures of people cutting the roof off at the pillars, or taking all the spot welds out, to move the Westy roof over. Looking at some of the threads about pop-top conversions will probably make it clearer
NAHT hightops like jim's do the b-c pillar hole only.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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dbcdad
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Posts: 189
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:45 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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http://fiberine.com/GVMR/Home.html
This is the co I bought from for one of my vans.
Have Fun, David C |
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ZsZ
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Joined: December 11, 2010
Posts: 1645
Location: Budapest Hungary, Europe
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:46 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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in the original VW hightop design the crossmember is changed to an upside down U shaped structural frame around the shape of the roof.
And the longitudinal roof frame is a closed cavity not just an L shaped beam like on the tintops
cutting the crossmember without making new structural beam is not good.
In the german camper conversion book they advise using box steel frames to make bigger holes in the roof
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
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epowell
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:56 am Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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OK, so this basically means that if I want to do a basic tintop conversion to hightop without fabbing up some major extra supports, then I should count on NOT cutting out the rear section of roof. ...then this means that if I want to sleep up there for sure an AW won't be tall enough.
But this begs another question: Since the AW is an aftermarket conversion, then all vans with an AW top also still have the original rear section of tintop? This means that when Dave tested sleeping in the AW it was not only too cramped because of the low height of the top but ALSO because of the curve of the original tintop? >>> so this might suggest that if one can figure out a way to cut out that entire rear roof section and SUPPORT IT, then add the AW, this AW would have an extra 6 inches of sleeping space then a standard AW setup?
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mikemtnbike
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:17 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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As the Atlantic could be delivered as a pretty sweet double walled, insulated hightop, I'd wonder if your 3rd photo above may be how the factory did extended bracing. If that's so, you could try to replicate that framework, modified to the AW...but man, that seems like an awful lot of effort/expense. I'd be looking at the NAHT and it's ample headroom waaaaay before that- even if, like me, you don't find the NAHT lines as visually appealing.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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dobryan
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crazyvwvanman
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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I have both type vans here, factory Westfalia flat steel and factory arched steel with a small hole cut for the installed Westy poptop.
The difference is 3" higher metal for the peak of the arch.
I have cut the full size hole on other vans by cutting out most of the arch and bridging with a doubled 1" square tubing piece slid inside both of the end stubs of the arch. This is far from rocket science. The fixed plywood bed section bolts to the remaining lip of the sheet metal all around the perimeter of the new hole, mounted below the sheet metal to keep it lower and to give a better appearance to the "headliner". A piece of 1" angle steel bolted to the 1" tubes supports the front edge of the new fixed bed board.
Mark |
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:59 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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| crazyvwvanman wrote: |
I have both type vans here, factory Westfalia flat steel and factory arched steel with a small hole cut for the installed Westy poptop.
The difference is 3" higher metal for the peak of the arch.
I have cut the full size hole on other vans by cutting out most of the arch and bridging with a doubled 1" square tubing piece slid inside both of the end stubs of the arch. This is far from rocket science. The fixed plywood bed section bolts to the remaining lip of the sheet metal all around the perimeter of the new hole, mounted below the sheet metal to keep it lower and to give a better appearance to the "headliner". A piece of 1" angle steel bolted to the 1" tubes supports the front edge of the new fixed bed board.
Mark |
Thanks Mark
3 inches is a lot! ...I would love to see some pics of the process you just described.
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joetiger 
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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Ed,
The Holy Grail is on Ebay.de right now for VERY cheap...SCA poptop Hightop:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/223309472561
Git it!
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Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
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epowell
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Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:29 pm Post subject: Re: "Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada? |
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Thanks so much! ...however this is in Germany > I need one in Canada
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