Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-04-2009, 01:05 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado, Drake
Posts: 96
Has anyone built there own penthouse top?

I am starting a project of building my own penthouse top and was wondering if anyone has done such a project. I have a eb 2000 powerstroke quigley I junkyarded a 18 inch raised roof off of a conversion van and built my own hardware for it. that is as far as I got I am going to use a hydraulic pump and rams from a ragtop car to lift and lower the top. The hardware I built out of conduit and it work to prove out the concept but i will need to build it with something a little beefier to support the top to keep me happy so I will use 1.5 dom and weld els for the final hardware. The next step then is to hack the roof off of the van. Luckily I have a donor van I can cut up first to see if it is all going to work. Any help advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. I will begin posting pics as I continue working on it. If this works out well I am considering doing this as side work out of my shop.
Thanks in advance,
Derek

__________________
https://WWW.COLORADOCAMPERVAN.COM
00 PSD EB Quigly being converted to a Colorado Camper Van top
73 ford e100 soon to be 4wd with a 4bt
72 bronco aod injected 351 4 linked arb f/r 38in swampers
72 bronco 302 c4 soon to be 4bt w/ 5speed 4 inch lift 33 swampers
81 cj 7 in pieces at the moment injected twin turbo 401
ktm 525 exc, 620sx,
62 caddy convertible waiting for me to install 2007 northstar
dsw4x4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2009, 05:20 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Fruit Heights, Utah
Posts: 119
Keep us posted

I'll be stoked to see how it comes out, make sure you post some pictures of your progress.
I to am also building my own van, so I'll be excited to see your progress and to compare notes.
Cheers
Jamie
__________________
Cheers,
Jamie
2006 E350 Quigley 4x4, building the conversion with the gracious help from the people on this awesome forum!
I'll try & post all of our progress on our family dream, when we have some.....
AdventureRider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2009, 06:29 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Asheville, North Carolina!!!
Posts: 195
Seriously, post some pics...I would love to see this as well...

Last year in the Baja I ran into a guy from New Zealand that put and old school VW westy top on his full size Dodge van. He also completely decked out the inside of the van with some custom wood work, fridge, you name it. It was impressive...
__________________
2000 E-350, 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel. 4x4. Loaded. "The Big Gray Whale"
1982 Mercedes 300D. WVO, SVO and Biodiesel for the last 30,000 + miles. (my 600 mile a week commuter).
Veg Hed is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2009, 10:07 PM   #4
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado, Drake
Posts: 96
Update with some pictures!

Here is a link to some photobucket pictures.
http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p...van%20project/



not sure if that is the best way to do that but it should work.
If someone could post a few pics of how sportsmobile latchs the top down for traveling I would really appreciate it. The shots of my lifting hardware are pretty crude I am just trying to see what will and will not work. I was going to use the scissors set up like smb however my top is much heaver so I am going to use two sets of scissors with a 12 volt actuator to raise and lower the top. I am still not sure on how I am going to latch it down but i have some ideas. I will continue to post pictures as i work on it, any input will be greatly appreciated. I am very curious if anyone else would be interested in a top like this. I really like the idea of it being a raised top to start with and then still popping up for more room than any other top.
Thanks
Derek
__________________
https://WWW.COLORADOCAMPERVAN.COM
00 PSD EB Quigly being converted to a Colorado Camper Van top
73 ford e100 soon to be 4wd with a 4bt
72 bronco aod injected 351 4 linked arb f/r 38in swampers
72 bronco 302 c4 soon to be 4bt w/ 5speed 4 inch lift 33 swampers
81 cj 7 in pieces at the moment injected twin turbo 401
ktm 525 exc, 620sx,
62 caddy convertible waiting for me to install 2007 northstar
dsw4x4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2009, 10:51 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Please don't use this site to post information for the purposes of copying SMBs designs. You can discuss the hooks in private, post pics for purposes of issues, tightening, comparison, etc. But blatent images and specifications for the express purpose of reproducing in a DIY rig will not be tolerated in the public areas.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Derek, I'm personally interested in your top project, and have no problem showing you my SMB in person. Maybe we can get together sometime and go over your ideas.
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2009, 02:31 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Fruit Heights, Utah
Posts: 119
Top

I tried to figure out the links you posted, but to no avail. Please try and post some pic's or better links so we can check it out, I'm really interested to see how it's coming & what it's going to look like.
Thanks
__________________
Cheers,
Jamie
2006 E350 Quigley 4x4, building the conversion with the gracious help from the people on this awesome forum!
I'll try & post all of our progress on our family dream, when we have some.....
AdventureRider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2009, 07:45 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Fixed.
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2009, 08:37 PM   #8
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado, Drake
Posts: 96
Sorry

I guess I misunderstood the DIY forum. I guess in a way I am copying SMB design. Although my design is a bit different the smb. If they made something like what i am building I probably would be more interested in finding a used smb. Anyway I am seeing that some of the forum members are still in the dreaming stages of owning a smb "like I have been for many years". I have finally found a way to make my dream become a reality and just thought some other people may be interested in seeing it come to light. I invite anyone that is interested in hearing seeing or has any ideas that pertain to my project to pm me and i will keep them posted as the project starts to come together.
Jage I would love to spend a little time checking out your rig, i was really interested in looking at it the other day when i met you at RMNP, but I did not want to be that odd nosey stranger. I appreciated you and your wife letting us poke our head in you van. Next time I am headed down your direction I will get a hold of you and if your not doing anything I will take you up on your offer.
__________________
https://WWW.COLORADOCAMPERVAN.COM
00 PSD EB Quigly being converted to a Colorado Camper Van top
73 ford e100 soon to be 4wd with a 4bt
72 bronco aod injected 351 4 linked arb f/r 38in swampers
72 bronco 302 c4 soon to be 4bt w/ 5speed 4 inch lift 33 swampers
81 cj 7 in pieces at the moment injected twin turbo 401
ktm 525 exc, 620sx,
62 caddy convertible waiting for me to install 2007 northstar
dsw4x4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2009, 09:35 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
spurious's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 209
Re: Has anyone built there own penthouse top?

Yes, after much thought and research I completed my own top build. I was lucky enough to find a Volkswagen Sportsmobile for the mechanism and a fiberglass top off a hightop van. Putting both together I now have a fully functioning top. Now for the interior build.

spurious is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2009, 09:43 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Port Townsend, WA
Posts: 206
Re: Has anyone built there own penthouse top?

Spurious, that is one impressive job. Talk about recycling! Can't wait to see what you do inside.
__________________
1993 E350 SMB, 15M, 84k miles - a cheap date
2006 Toyota Prius because we like clean air
2002 Honda Odyssey - can haul lots of stuff
1972 Mercedes 350SL with 4.5l V-8, just because
Wag more, Bark less, Play well with others.
Psomaki is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:00 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.