Putting Up The Pop Top

Kaid · Guru

Putting Up The Pop Top

Beth54 · Guru

Very true Kaid. I'm not very strong so it was a major find for me.

Sheba · Guru

I saw this reccomended on a forum some time ago. [Don't remember which one.] Have been trying to save to get an Airlifter Unit, but this is a much cheaper alternative. The package says "Telescopic Roof Support". Name on the receipt from Bunnings, is "Plaster Tool Altamonte Sheet Lifter Telescopic". Cost only $32.00.

Will be trying it this weekend. Having some 'puter problems at the moment, and can't put up a pic.

Cheers,

Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Wednesday 14th of May 2014 06:04:55 PM

Beth54 · Guru

Kaid wrote:
Some time ago I read ( on this forum of course). That the reason a pop top was hard to put up because of the suction created with the door closed.
Well today we put the top up with the door open and BOY what a difference.
I could really feel the door pulling in as the top went up.
Needless to say we will be doing it this way from now on.

On second thoughts, it's not the going up that I had trouble with, it was the coming down. Once I opened the door, easy as!

chopit · Senior Member

Sheba, that sounds interesting.

jon641 · Veteran Member

For the life of me i cannot understand how you would attempt to push the top up or pull it down without the door open, all that extra air that it take to fill that space has to come or go somewhere and if the door is closed, I'll say no more...

Kaid · Guru

Will def check that out Gayle. Sounds interesting

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

At the risk of showing my age hmm ... but I thought it was common knowledge to open the door to raise and/or lower the roof of a poptop.

I imagine the problem these days is that previous owners (if selling their van) don't tell the new owner .. and worse still, a dealer does not tell the purchaser about opening the door.

Good service - helpful advice - is becoming, like so many other things, a thing of the past. cry

Cheers - John

dorian · Guru

www.bunnings.com.au/altamonte-telescopic-plasterboard-sheet-lifter_p0730302

2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-800x800/6b6d6acd-891a-4d45-8493-acd52258c5e2.jpg (photo)

tedmim · Member

We always open the door and the windows at the back f the van, so much easier!

Beth54 · Guru

jon641 wrote:
For the life of me i cannot understand how you would attempt to push the top up or pull it down without the door open, all that extra air that it take to fill that space has to come or go somewhere and if the door is closed, I'll say no more...

Well, some of us are obviously a little slow on the uptake, but we got there in the end.

John, I'll let you off because you didn't insinuate we were dumb.

I blame my sister for not telling me. wink They've had a pop top before and I've never owned one at all before old Lulu. Sis should have advised me. biggrin

chopit · Senior Member

They say that the day you can't learn anything more is the day the lid gets screwed on.
We have a pop top but have always had the door open out of habit.
Never thought about it cause we've never had an issue.

jon641 · Veteran Member

Forgive me if I sounded a bit brash, I just thought it was a given that you would leave the door open when you went in to raise the roof, maybe I learnt about it because I was too lazy to close the door after i went in, but I can tell you I did try to do it once when the wind had closed the door behind me, not fully but about 2/3rds and when I started to push the roof up it sucked the door in and there was no way I could continue with raising the roof until the pressure equalised, ie opened the door.

Sheba · Guru

dorian wrote:
www.bunnings.com.au/altamonte-telescopic-plasterboard-sheet-lifter_p0730302

2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-800x800/6b6d6acd-891a-4d45-8493-acd52258c5e2.jpg (photo)

Thanks for that dorian. Been off the air for a few days, up at my friends' getting 'puter fixed. Opened the box to try the Sheet Lifter, only to find it only had 1 foot, not 2 as stated on the package. So, I haven't tried it yet. Home tonight, and straight in to Bunnings in the morning to rectify the problem. Don't know if it should have one, but there was no Instruction Sheet either.
Will find out tomorrow.
Cheers,
Sheba.

Sheba · Guru

Bunnings had another Lifter today, but it had both feet missing. I got a refund.

Cheers,

Sheba.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

I tried pulling the pop-top DOWN with the door closed and that doesn't work either!!!

It was in a storm, opening the door wasn't something we wanted to do, but it has to be done!

Ross on the move · Newbie

If you open the roll out awning about 30mm then close it back leaving some slack that also reduces the effort required to lift your poptop but also leave the door open.

Cheers Ross on the move

neilnruth · Guru

Well, at least this forum gave the right info and now we have happy people leaving the door open when they do their pop top. Well done forumites once again.

03_troopy · Guru

Sheba wrote:
dorian wrote:
www.bunnings.com.au/altamonte-telescopic-plasterboard-sheet-lifter_p0730302

2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-800x800/6b6d6acd-891a-4d45-8493-acd52258c5e2.jpg (photo)

Thanks for that dorian. Been off the air for a few days, up at my friends' getting 'puter fixed. Opened the box to try the Sheet Lifter, only to find it only had 1 foot, not 2 as stated on the package. So, I haven't tried it yet. Home tonight, and straight in to Bunnings in the morning to rectify the problem. Don't know if it should have one, but there was no Instruction Sheet either.
Will find out tomorrow.
Cheers,
Sheba.

Using that ceiling sheet prop is going to take you a while to lift a pop top. They only lift about 12mm per squeeze of the handle. They are not really a sheet lifter, but more of a prop to hold the sheet in place once you lift it into position. I have 2 of them and it's still an effort to get the sheet in place, then use the prop to hold it.. you need 3 hands.

Sheba · Guru

03_troopy wrote:
Using that ceiling sheet prop is going to take you a while to lift a pop top. They only lift about 12mm per squeeze of the handle. They are not really a sheet lifter, but more of a prop to hold the sheet in place once you lift it into position. I have 2 of them and it's still an effort to get the sheet in place, then use the prop to hold it.. you need 3 hands.

Thanks for that _03troopy.
Cheers,
Sheba.

Two Strays · Senior Member

Hello All

Before lifting the roof of a pop-top undo the locking mechanisms/latches.

Unroll the awning fully, this removes the effort required to unroll the the awning at the same time as opening the roof.

Open the roof with the door open.

Before closing the roof roll in the awning (leaving the awning latch in the close position).

Close the van door then close the roof. By having the door closed, it will give you more time to reposition any protruding section/s of the skirt before the roof closes fully.

Make sure that you then secure the locking mechanisms/latches.

Job Done.

Cheers

Three dogs · Member

Hi, does this excellent advice also apply to brand new Jayco Poptops as well. We are up grading our camper trailer to the new Journey Pop top.Thanks.

Two Strays · Senior Member

It generally applys to any poptop.

Leftwing · Member

We just bought an Avan Erin Mk2 Poptop 2009. It was very hard to pop up and down. I ended up removing the easy lifter levers. They were extremely tight to move , the rivets real tight and the paint also jamming them. Put them in a vice and kept moving them back and forth and oiling the joints with sewing machine oil until they moved easily. Much better now, so keep this in mind with a new or newer van. Maybe that it why the last owners sold.

03_troopy · Guru

I have automatic pop top lifters... I arrive at the destination and have a bit of a look around.. i go back to the van and the top is already popped and the bed section pulled out of the rear of the Avan. Buggered if I know how that happens, but it's very convenient for me.. If I could just get the automatic stubby opener working it'd be perfect. ;)