"Postal" HIGH TOPS in Canada?

[joetiger]

[epowell]

[epowell]

still there for 36eur! ...17 hours left!
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www.edwardpowell.com

[ZsZ]

[ZsZ]

well, ended cheap, somebody had luck
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[epowell]

[joetiger]

I was reliving tim_ha's trip to South America at work this morning (because reading old travel blogs is what I do in the dead of winter when I'm daydreaming about being on the road) and happened upon his homemade pop top. It's similar to a Reimo mushroom top but far cooler:

http://subagonsouth.com/one-of-a-kind-custom-poptop/

More food for thought if nothing else.
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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

www.josephtrussell.com

[epowell]

[epowell]

Can anyone tell me the the exact height [from floor to ceiling] of the GETAWAY and ADVENTUREWAGON hightops?

I am trying to determine what it would be like to sleep in the upper bunk with one of those compared to my very high REIMO hightop.

Thanks!

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www.edwardpowell.com

[pnwkayaker]

I don't have the measurements for either, however, I friend of mine had a Syncro Adventurewagen and two small daughters (10 and 12) that slept upstairs, and they hated isleeping in it (they girls thought it was too small, coffin-like).

They loved the Syncro though, so he ended up selling the Adventurewagen and bought a regular Syncro Westfalia instead (they're all a lot happier now).

I'd assume if an adult tries to sleep upstairs for a weekend trip might work out, but most of the folks that I know that have an Adventurewagen end up using the upper bunk for storage instead.

[epowell]

[epowell]

So in order to make a decision on what kind of HIGHTOP I will buy I decided to try some experiments in order to really experience what it would be like to have less head-room in the upper bed bunk.
So what I did was to add another mattress (about 6 or 7inches thick) to the existing mattress up there, and tested it out.
Here is my hightop:

This is what it is normally like upstairs

This is what I added

This is the result

So judging on that last foto, for those of you who have experienced the AW upperbunk height, would you say this is a reasonable facsimile of what it is like to sleep in an AW or a GETAWAY hightop?
I found that when I lay on my side I still have about 1 or 2 inches of space before my shoulder hit the ceiling... does this sound about right?

My feeling up there is that I think I would be OK up there just for sleeping - and sleeping only. It was OK and if getting one of these would save me $2000 I would go for it. On the other hand, the amount of space you get with the 'full height' of my original hightop, there is so much headroom that you can really use that space up there to actually hangout in and do stuff... it is very spacious.

- - -

Here are some height comparisons between the most common hightops available.

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www.edwardpowell.com

[jxgyvr]

Interior measurements on my GETAWAY hightop:

Rear section floor to ceiling: ~200cm (~78.75")
Forward section (under roofvent) floor to ceiling ~189cm (~74.5")
Upper bed base to ceiling WITHOUT mattress ~60cm (~24")

Note: this van has an insulated subfloor (about 2cm thick) and roof insulation (also about 2cm).

While it is not roomy, I am able to sleep in the upper bunk quite comfortably. YMMV.
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87 Syncro hightop.

[epowell]

[jxgyvr]

I am quite certain that my hightop is the same shell as the one shown in the picture. However the photo posted on this thread does not seem to accurately show its true height, relative to the rest of the vehicle.
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87 Syncro hightop.

[g shepherd]

I measured my AW hightop this morning.

The upper bed base to ceiling WITHOUT mattress is 20 inches or 51 cms.
It is 47 inches wide at the bed base and 41 inches wide near the top.

I know I'm in the minority on this but I don't mind sleeping up top-- it's cozy! I am 6-2 200lbs. With a comfy sleeping pad in place I still have room to sleep on my side, turn over, etc.

It's also fine for my two younger kids (ages 9 & 12) to share, but the teenagers will only sleep up there solo. When I tell the four of them to sort out the sleeping arrangements, they put the oldest up top and the three younger ones share the full-width lower bed. Wife and I are in a tent.

[epowell]

[jxgyvr]

Consolidating two posts: interior and exterior dimensions and a couple of exterior pics of the height of the GETAWAY Hightop on an 87 Syncro Transporter.

Interior measurements:

Rear section floor to ceiling: ~200cm (~78.75")
Forward section (under roofvent) floor to ceiling ~189cm (~74.5")
Upper bed base to ceiling WITHOUT mattress ~60cm (~24")

Exterior height: +/- 2.55 meters (+/- 8' 3")

Note: interior insulated subfloor (about 2cm thick) and roof insulation (also about 2cm).

While it is not roomy, I am able to sleep in the upper bunk quite comfortably. YMMV.

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87 Syncro hightop.

[epowell]

[jxgyvr]

There is a guy in the BC Lower Mainland who is making a hightop that may be a replica of the Getaway design. I think the company goes by the name Coast Mountain Hightops. A quick internet search should turn up some hits.

(Full disclosure: I am NOT in any way connected to them).
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87 Syncro hightop.