Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:15:56 -0800
Reply-To: Doug F <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Doug F <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject: Re: Are pop-up tops really necessary??
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Rob,
Nice design, I could have used that idea in my 85 sunroof.
When camping with my girlfriend we quickly got tired of having to constantly
load and unload everything to catch a few zzz or take an afternoon nap.
Looks like you are out in wide open country, where bouts those pics taken?
Doug
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Campbell" <mantid@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 12:36 PM
Subject: Re: Are pop-up tops really necessary??
I love my poptop, but usually dont sleep up there.
The standing room while cooking is great. When I make camp, first thing I
do is pop it up, and move less-often-used items up there. this keeps the
downstairs clean for "living" and then sleeping. I find the downstairs bed
much more comfortable than the upstairs.
However, as I was "stealth camping" quite a bit, and didnt want to pop the
top to draw attention, I got tired of having to clear all the stuff out of
the back when it was time to sleep, so I built this "loft"
http://rob.quimp.com/gallery/Ronan/IMGP0857
if you move around the gallery, you can see construction details. I
designed it specifically so that the rubbermade tubs fit easily below or
above. So during the day, they are between the matress and the top. At
night, I just pull em out and set them on top of the loft. This has the
added advantage of blocking visibility from the back window (I dont even
have to pull the curtains). During the day, gear etc is pretty well
hidden. I keep a cheap fleece blanket on top of the loft while driving, it
-almost- looks like a factory shelf to the uninitiated. Note that I did
include cutouts for the closet door and washer fluid.
The only problem is that the loft needs to come out to access engine hatch.
I'd love to see a better design.
In short, the poptop is nice but certainly not needed for comfortable
camping.
On 2/24/06, John Rodgers <inua@charter.net> wrote:
>
> I have a GL and wish to better equip it for road trips and camping. If
> one does not sleep up in the top, other than being able to stand up, is
> there any other advantage to cutting a hole in the roof and installing a
> Westy Pop-top.
>
> Thanks,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver.
>
