Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanimal
Pro's clam style:
no screw jack cost
no arm, track, springs or bars to deal with
no screw jack wiring issues or battery drain
sufficient head room with rear bed couch floor plan
less canvas exposed to wind and cold resulting in warmer temps inside
able to park with wind/weather at your back
Con's clam style:
awning would need to mount to van metal
potential hinge binding or bolts pulling out due to van flex
loss of head room in back 1/3 if open floor plan
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I have a manual SMB top.....You don't need a screw jack to lift it when it's set up correctly.
I have the ability to electrify my top if I was so motivated but I'm not.....manual is just fine by me. That being said, I'm toying with further optimizing the lift mech to get the top more balance throughout the up/down travel and perhaps reduce some friction here and there. Properly set up manual tops are simple and not that hard to lift....and they go up in seconds..electric takes a while, at least the way SMB does it with the Linak actuators.
You've haven't shared how you intend to lift the hinged top....you indeed may still need some springs/track/mech to to it. Are you thinking just gas springs??
As far as wind loading goes, the SMB top can take quite a bit of wind, that's another concern I don't really worry about. Although when the gusts really pick up like 40mph+ I usually put the top down as a precaution.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanimal
Pro's pop top:
full floor access if open layout
awning attachable to top
360* views
Con's pop top:
hard to lift without power assist
even harder to lift if loaded with kayak surf boards
sketchy if wind blowing even more if top loaded with gear
need power to lift and lower easily
screw jack cost and reliability
arm track, arm and roller maintenance
inconvenience of track and upper bed mounts and obstruction
Owners of each let me know if I have missed any thing?
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Of the stuff above for full pop top, other than adjusting springs after adding things to the roof there really isn't any maintenance.
If you want lift either style top with kayaks, rocket boxes on the roof, that will likely be an issue with either design.
The way SMB does the crossbars, the bed width is limited to 39.5". Colorado camper van's mech addresses this issue by having the mech at either end of the top, resulting in a bed width of 50". IMO, the difference between a 39" wide bed and a 50" wide bed is huge...
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