"The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you're finished" - Benjamin Franklin

franniemac · Veteran Member

Any DIY devices to help me (a solo woman traveler) lift the roof of my Avan Cruiseliner?

Sheba · Guru

www.rvairlifters.com.au/

Welcome Fran. Sorry about the green. That was the colour of the link 'till I made it clickable, so I'm stuck with it for the rest of this post.

This mob will send you the Kit, so you can fit it yourself, or get some-one else to do it for you, if you're not that way inclined, or they will fit it for you if you can take the unit to them.

Like Marj., I have a Hi-Ace Campervan. Mine has a Solar Panel on the roof. I still have not got mine done yet, but am definitely going to when I can. Just press a button then, and it's up in seconds.

Cheers,

Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Saturday 16th of March 2013 11:45:20 PM

vk6tnc · Guru

The Avan roof is not the same as a poptop, the roof lies flat in two sections and opens to form a triangle, like making a house out of playing cards....

Dougwe might come up with a suggestion...Google is not my friend on this subject !

-- Edited by vk6tnc on Saturday 16th of March 2013 11:50:56 PM

Happywanderer · The Master

Welcome to Grey Nomads Fran. There has been some talk on here about lifters you can have fitted. I tried to search for the thread with no luck. If Sheba sees this thread she will be able to advise as she put quite a bit up on here about the lifters. They might be called RV Lifters and might be Hydraulic.
I have a campervan Toyota Hi-Ace with a Poptop. I can get the pop top up and pull it back down but find I have difficulty getting the hooks back in place to hold it down.

Sheba · Guru

Happywanderer wrote:
I have difficulty getting the hooks back in place to hold it down.

What do you mean by "hooks" Marj. ? Do you have a Pic. of them ? Mine is strapped down.

Cheers,

Sheba.

Sheba · Guru

vk6tnc wrote:
The Avan roof is not the same as a poptop, the roof lies flat in two sections and opens to form a triangle, like making a house out of playing cards....

Wouldn't they be able to adapt it somehow ?
Cheers,
Sheba.

vk6tnc · Guru

Sheba wrote:

Wouldn't they be able to adapt it somehow ?

I don't think so because the lifting height is too great, I would guess around four feet and only at the centre.

Sheba · Guru

If they can do this, wouldn't that be similar to what would be needed for the "A" Van ?

Cheers,

Sheba.

Cruising Cruze · Guru

@ Sheba

it looks like this

Duh · Guru

Welcome to the forum Frannie, I was talking to a committee member of the WA branch of the A'van Club a few days ago about this, he said some of them had telescopic struts fitted on the outside to assist in lifting.

You could also try standing on a caravan step to get more leverage being higher off the ground with more push power.

You could also email this Canberra branch (see link in text for email contact) and ask them what you could do, also lots of good mods and advice on their site, see; http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ekthomas/

Suggest you join this National club also, only $20 a year (plust $10 joining fee) and you can attend any rally in Oz when travelling around, irrespective of what state branch you belong to. (see below link).

You also learn a lot from other members at their rallies and get to see what others have done to their vans and how they have solved problems such as yours etc.

http://www.avanclubaust.org.au/

Duh · Guru

The gas struts do work, I had them on the side of one of my two Avan camper vans that I've had, they were on it when I bought it (after market fit). However as I said there are a few members of the Avan Club of Australia also using them.

Doug, I think the van with the flat roof you were talking about was a Coromal camper trailer (similar to an Avan camper but with a flat roof bit on top), they had struts on the side but they no longer make them, they had a lot of leaking problems with the roofs, there are still a few around on the market. Coromal still make the camper trailer that is similar to the Jayco ones, but that is not the one I am talking about. As well as the bungy cords Doug, the inside springs weaken over time too and may have to be replaced, although uncommon. I also added some extra nylon flat strips between the roof and body overlaps (available as Avan parts) they made the roof part easier when raising and they didn't "stick"

My friend from the Avan Club also told me that one of their members over east have made a lifting device and sells them, suggest you contact the Avan Club and ask them for details of this blokes device, also about the gas struts, here are the contact details;

http://www.avanclubaust.org.au/501/Contact_Us/

-- Edited by Duh on Sunday 17th of March 2013 10:07:00 AM

Duh · Guru

Frannie,

What type of tug do you have?

The Cruiseliner (with the boot on the front) have a very heavy ball weight (100kg) so suggest you check to see if your vehicle is suitable for towing it and is able to cope with the ball weight or have devices to help with the download etc.

I have added a link for the Cruiser (no boot) Cruisliner (has boot) showing specs etc below floor plans;

http://www.avan.com.au/products_cruiser.html

I had an Aliner for 7 years (no front boot) but even that collapsed the rear springs of my Camry I was towing with, had to get heavy duty ones fitted. I also briefly had an Avan Alite (superceded by the Sportsliner) which had after market gas struts fitted to aid lifting. See pic below;

-- Edited by Duh on Sunday 17th of March 2013 11:18:53 AM

franniemac · Veteran Member

Thank you all - Happy Wanderer, Duh, Gerty Dancer, Dougwe, Cruising Cruze, Sheba and VK6TNC.

Re the suggestions regarding the poptop vans ...... I've had two poptop campervans in the past, along with a poptop caravan, but the Avan series of campers are totally different arrangement to any of these. Had no trouble lifting the roof section on any of these. Thanks for your suggestions though.

Duh - I'll follow up your suggestions regarding gas struts, the nylon flat strips and the lifting device. Thank you !!!!

Dougwe - I'll also follow up your comment about the bungee straps. The solution might be as simple as that :)

Cheers, Franniemac

-- Edited by franniemac on Sunday 17th of March 2013 12:43:31 PM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Fran and welcome from me, enjoy here and out in the playground.

I don't have the "Cruisliner" but have the "Sportliner" and love it. My first suggestion would be check the two Bungie Straps on the back side (Mmmm, I could have used a better way of saying that) of the A and see if they have worn a little or a lot, they might need replacing. I'm not sure if gas struts would work but looking at the photo Sheba posted It looks possible so don't rule that out just yet.

There is another company that have recently released a similar type of camper but has a flat section on top instead of going to the peak of the A. For memory it has gas struts on the side, I will PM you some info as I don't want to give free plugs on here.

Duh · Guru

Just a tip Hans, if you are able to choose the way you park your van (in a caravan park allocated bay you may not be able to) and there are extremely high winds, park the van towing end first facing the wind, not the rear of the van facing the wind. If you don't have a choice on the way you face your van, best to wait until the wind has died down.

There have been a couple of cases of people raising the roof in high winds with the rear facing the wind, when the top (larger) side of the roof is raised the roof has been caught by wind and flipped outwards, breaking the bungee.

I see on that site a pic of the American version of the Australian A'lite I used to have, some differences.

-- Edited by Duh on Sunday 17th of March 2013 04:47:54 PM

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Just how heavy is the Avan to erect? I push the pop-top of our caravan up internally, and wouldnt want anything heavier than that... its a straight push up though.

Happywanderer · The Master

I will get a photo of my hooks when I get dressed Sheba. I thought yours would be the same. I don't have solar panels on the roof so it is fairly easy to push up.

Duh · Guru

Gerty Dancer wrote:
Just how heavy is the Avan to erect? I push the pop-top of our caravan up internally, and wouldnt want anything heavier than that... its a straight push up though.

If you are talking about the Avan camper trailer Gerty they are not a lot different, depending on the condition of the van springs etc, it is a straight push up (two sides to it, joined by a bungy cord) but not as easy as a pop top. As Franie says, like the other pop tops the older you get you don't have the same strength as an older person (most) and females in general may be a bit weaker.

Happywanderer · The Master

This is the hooks on my pop top to hold it down. There is one in each corner. Not sure if anyone has the same.

franniemac · Veteran Member

Hi Duh,

I am using an Xtrail to tow the Cruiseliner. The research I did before buying either suggested that combination was okay for I'd looked into the towball capacity and towing capacity of the Xtrail, along with the ball weight, tare and laden weight of the van. Is that correct .... or have I overlooked something? My son-in-law mechanic suggested I get a set of stronger shock absorbers on the Xtrail (??? - or maybe it was something else ??). Any advice is really appreciated.

Franniemac

Duh · Guru

franniemac wrote:
Hi Duh,
I am using an Xtrail to tow the Cruiseliner. The research I did before buying either suggested that combination was okay for I'd looked into the towball capacity and towing capacity of the Xtrail, along with the ball weight, tare and laden weight of the van. Is that correct .... or have I overlooked something? My son-in-law mechanic suggested I get a set of stronger shock absorbers on the Xtrail (??? - or maybe it was something else ??). Any advice is really appreciated.
Franniemac

Hi Franniemac, sounds like you are on top of things, the Xtrail is an excellent vehicle, my last one was an Xtrail and I used it to pull a small Jayco and later Coromal caravan with no problems.

I put stronger (same size but thicker gauge) coil springs on the rear of my Xtrail, still a good ride but improved any sag at the rear when hitched up......

Recoup · Guru

check this out , I know it can be some times difficult

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO1zqeizxHM

Hans

Sheba · Guru

Cruising Cruze wrote:
@ Sheba
it looks like this

I know that, but it only needs a bit of imagination to wonder if it might not be possible adapt the unit to raise this roof too.

Sheba · Guru

Happywanderer wrote:
This is the hooks on my pop top to hold it down. There is one in each corner. Not sure if anyone has the same.

This is how mine is held down. There are either 4 or 6 of these. I may not have done the 2 middle ones up last time. You'll see what I mean when I come down Marj.

My Pictures. 203.jpg

Cheers,

Sheba.

Recoup · Guru

Duh , thanks for the reminder "windy condition "

Hans

franniemac · Veteran Member

Thanks for the link, Hans

Cheers

Franniemac

franniemac · Veteran Member

Thanks for posting the photo of the clips.

Cheers, Franniemac

Duh · Guru

Recoup wrote:
Duh , thanks for the reminder "windy condition "
Hans

No worries Hans, I nearly got caught a couple of times both putting up and pulling down in windy conditions.

On the back of my Aliner I had a large (long) wind out window, when visiting the cliff tops on the Nullabor, there was a howling northerly wind blowing out to sea. We drove in ok and parked sideways in the parking lot near the cliffs. As we were walking back to the van SWMBO said she thought the rear window was lifting. I had tighly closed with the chain and the window levers were down inside (I also had something on them to stop them from vibrating up when down - Velcro I think).

On inspecting the window from outside, I saw that the aluminium rivets holding the hinges on top of the window had worn through and all three hinges had nothing holding them except for the lower window locks. If I had turned out of the carpark into the wind I have no doubt that the window would have ripped off and would have gone over the cliff into the drink. Luckily I had some wire on board so used that to secure the hinges and tied down the roof with ropes.

Drove to Border Village but no mechanic there or help, and at Eucla the mechanic was playing golf on a bush gold link somewhere (not the Nullabor Links) and was not expected back for some time. When I got to the border inspection they made me undo all the ropes and lift the roof a bit so they could inspect inside (bummer), the girl inspector crawled inside the partly open roof to check the fridge, at least I didn't have to lift the whole roof and only had to re-secure the ropes.

I ended up driving home like that and fixed the window myself, had to remove it (black mastic type stuff all around it, made a hell of a mess) and fix the hinges.......So might pay just to check the hinges of the windows now and then, unless they have changed using aluminium rivets with stell ones.

franniemac · Veteran Member

GaryKelly wrote:
I've not seen an Avan roof, but I did have a HiAce with a pop top, and also a Kombi. I found that by using my legs rather than arms, it was easier to lift. If there's a way you can bend your legs and use straight arms to position yourself before lifting, and then use the extra power of your legs to lift, that may help. Just a thought.

Thanks, GaryKelly. I too have had a HiAce with a poptop, and also a Mercedes poptop. Agree with you about bending your kness, and having straight arms but this is altogether different. One of the earlier people to post a message regarding this provided a link to a site showing the roof being raised. My problem is that I don't have the strength to lift the roof more than the first few cms that you see in the video.

Thanks a million for your input though - it's much appreciated.

Franniemac

-- Edited by franniemac on Monday 18th of March 2013 08:27:18 PM

hako · Guru

There is a bloke in Wondai (Qld) who makes a steel winch which consists of a leg about 1.5m long and hollow with a sliding length of steel inside the leg that is attached to the winch. At the top of the sliding length of steel is a peg which slots into a hole drilled near the rear and of the front lift up panel. The pin is engaged and the winch handle turned raising the panel(s).
We met a lady from the Avan Club (Jill) when staying at Cowra who has one of these devices - said she got it from a bloke in Wondai who makes them for about $150. As luck will have it, she now is in the same park as us in Tumut, so I'll see if I can get a pic of the device and post. It would be no trouble for a handyman/handywoman to fabricate one.