Date:         Thu, 9 Nov 2000 10:02:15 -0500
Reply-To:     "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Subject:      poptop canvas installation
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I just finished taking out the old ripped canvas out our '85 Westy camper and
installing a new one from the Bus Depot.  Just a few quick notes for those who
might be interested in changing theirs out:

1) Plan on 8 hours labor.  It seems easy enough, but there are lots of screws
to take in and out, including in really cramped quarters.

2) The Sunbrella fabric of the canvas I got from TBD is really nice and sturdy.
 It'll be nice to see how it fares against rain.  The construction is also

quite nice and it was exactly the right size top to bottom (just put the beads
into the aluminum strips and it stretched taut).

The 3-window design with 2 zipper pulls for the front windows is very nice.
The 2-zipper pulls are important because is allows you to open the front window
only a very little bit for ventilation during the rain.  The old design forces
you to start at the bottom and you have a corner hanging down, allowing rain to
come in.

FWIW, I don't believe Ron uses the same people to make the canvases he
currently sells.  Perhaps he can comment on what's being delivered these days.

3) Take note of the bead along the bottom edge at the corners.  It's been cut
to fit the corner brackets.  I didn't notice this until I had wrestled with the
continuous bead of the new canvas and the aluminum hold-down strip for about
half an hour, then went back to look.  After installing the top of the canvas
on all four sides, align the bottom corners at the front, take wire cutters or
something to cut 2 notches out of the bead (one for each of the 45° bends at
the corner of the aluminum strip).

4) If I wasn't under time pressure to get it done, it would have been easier to
remove the bottom of the old canvas, then remove the entire poptop from the
legs and hinges (12 10-mm nuts total) and lift it off for working on the
ground.  However, there was only one of me, I started at 7PM and finished at
2:30AM with an hour dinner break, and it was threatening to rain (no garage
space).

That's all I can think of right now and my fingers are still sore from using
the screwdriver a thousand times in tight corners.  :-P

-Karl

Karl & Kristina Bloss - Trexlertown, PA
US West Trip, Nov-Dec, 2000: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vwtrek