Bent Penthouse Top Bows - Page 2

lobo_q3a · 11-17-2008, 07:48 PM

cool. thanks BC. i will pull out the elbow grease

geoffff · 11-18-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jage

From Ace:

At least I know where to store my high-lift jack now!

The time I accidentally didn't quite completely detach one of the front hooks before raising the top, it was the latch mount that was damaged, not the penthouse bars.

The right-front latch mount got pulled up about an inch before I noticed something was wrong. I was able to repair it later with some additional wood screws. There's nothing but sheet metal and thin wood in there under the fabric.

**rionapo** · 04-27-2014, 02:28 PM

Bumping this thread to see if there are any new thoughts on straightening bent bows. We caught our driver side hook on the latch once for some initial bending; caught the passenger side hook on the seat belt cloth itself last week for some more bending. Peter at SMB West says they can fix it for $87/hour after we drive 900+ miles to their facility. He also says any good body shop can do repairs but won't offer clues about the process. This hi-lift approach seems sound and doable, even by me, but I thought I'd seek the collective wisdom first.

-d-

86Scotty · 04-27-2014, 08:40 PM

Thanks for updating this Don! I've never seen this thread. That's a super simple fix and I'm going to need to do it too. It looks pretty basic. No way I would drive that far for it or pay that though. I would enlist another able adult to be there and help get the parts in to place, but it looks pretty straightforward (no pun intended). BTW, no need to use only a hi-lift that I can see. I have a long piece of 2 inch square tubing (same as receiver hitch tubing) that I think would work. If not that I have a 1" square solid pry bar that will work if it's not too long. Do you have a hi-lift or something as sturdy?

**rionapo** · 04-27-2014, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Thanks for updating this Don! I've never seen this thread. That's a super simple fix and I'm going to need to do it too. It looks pretty basic. No way I would drive that far for it or pay that though. I would enlist another able adult to be there and help get the parts in to place, but it looks pretty straightforward (no pun intended). BTW, no need to use only a hi-lift that I can see. I have a long piece of 2 inch square tubing (same as receiver hitch tubing) that I think would work. If not that I have a 1" square solid pry bar that will work if it's not too long. Do you have a hi-lift or something as sturdy?

No tools here but a good friend who once owned a body shop. I don't know what he has laying around but I imagine the two of us can figure something out. Agreed re hi-lift; seems you just need something stronger than the tubing and long enough to act like the photo. Gives me hope. Peter said as long as the roof raised and lowered it wasn't a big deal but it offends my sense of proportion to see the front end sagging.

Don

86Scotty · 04-27-2014, 09:51 PM

Mine is sagging a bit too and I don't like it one little bit. I have started using 2 pieces of 2x4 to support the top after I lift it. Laying up top at night thinking about a bent structure above me is not comforting in the least.

**rionapo** · 04-28-2014, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Mine is sagging a bit too and I don't like it one little bit. I have started using 2 pieces of 2x4 to support the top after I lift it. Laying up top at night thinking about a bent structure above me is not comforting in the least.

I've considered a similar step. Another fix would be a strap of some sort to hold the roof hooks up and away from things they can catch. Our latest oops moment was last week. We've learned the hard way to watch the hooks to make sure they clear the holes where they clamp. This time a hook caught the safety belt cloth after it cleared the hole. Don't ask me how--I wasn't looking that direction when it happened. 4macfam's Indiana build uses a cable rather than seat belt. That may be safer. Certainly less painful when it falls from its ledge and hits you in the head. (We roll the belt up and store it in the ledge created by the locking bracket. Usually we tie it with a rubber band or some such. That's so we can forget it and be surprised by a falling seat belt buckle. This is NOT SMB's best piece of design work. A kludge, IIRC, from a lawsuit about their liability when someone doesn't close the roof down properly and drives at high speeds.)

Don

**rionapo** · 06-11-2014, 02:49 PM

A before shot on repairs. The other front bow was worse. We got it straightened mostly; after pics on a camera that needs downloading to computer. Will add process pics as we'll. general thoughts: heavy u-bolts are a must, wood block should be smaller, over-straighten to correct muscle memory or they'll bounce back, which ours did to an extent. Fall project will be to straighten again and leave on hi-lift for a while to avoid bounce back.

surfdadken · 06-14-2014, 07:18 PM

Just found this thread. Bent mine slightly on my first camping trip last July. Yes beer was involved.now I will fix.
Whoo hoo

rawdawg · 06-26-2014, 10:46 PM

I bent hoop bar on the passenger side so I just sucked it up and drove to SMB west and they were able to straighten it out. The cost was $186.00 and a tank of diesel well worth it. At the same time I had them install the jumper switch so now I can jump the van batteries from the house battery ...peace of mind