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Old 05-18-2012, 09:53 AM   #21
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

CCV did my top and it's the "old" style, but it is the coolest top in which I have ever been. At a recent camp party we had 12 people and 4 dogs in my van (it's a pretty open layout) but they all were impressed by the craftsmanship of the poptop. We had people sitting up above the driver's seats in the open space included in the CCV top area, which was really nice. This new style looks like the pinnacle of design thus far. Glad to see a company like CCV constantly pushing their designs to better our vanping experience!

Derek, cool new lifting mechanism too!


C.

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Old 05-18-2012, 10:08 AM   #22
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We have a new pop top available!

Vanping, dig it.
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Old 07-10-2012, 08:14 PM   #23
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

Hi --

I've got a bit of a concern about the latches on the outside. Recently, SMB issued secondary "seat belts" to install inside, to prevent accidental pop-up in the case of latch failure. GTRV has always had the seat-belt to supplement the latches.

What's the backup (belts and suspenders) for this latching mechanism?


Also, the roof is motorized but can it be raised/lowered manually? I'd hate to be out camping somewhere and have the motor fail...

But golly, I really like this pop-top!

Cheers,
GreyDawg
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Old 07-10-2012, 09:31 PM   #24
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We have a new pop top available!

I'm sure Derek will answer, but if he doesn't see this soon, no exterior latches are used anymore, and his tops aren't spring loaded so they can't pop up on their own. The electric motors can stop anywhere in between closed and open, and they are plenty strong to hold the top down even of you didn't latch manually. The interior latches he uses now are heavy industrial units, no worries about the top opening.
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Old 07-11-2012, 05:20 AM   #25
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Scotty
Wow, been busy this week Derek? Looks great, i didn't even notice while I was there that that top goes all the way to the front windshield.

Derek has my van right now guys, and not to knock SMB at all, but he's doing a great job. His shop and his work are pretty amazing considering he just got started a few years ago. I will reserve all other accolades for AFTER i get mine back, but I feel completely confident it is going to be great. Another neat thing about the CCV tops are the key-fob remote to lift the top, so you can walk around outside of the vehicle to make sure everything is going up and down ok, and that you aren't about to tag a tree branch, etc.
Ditto Scotty. Mine is there also and I can't wait. Going to be one sweet setup.
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:20 AM   #26
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

The tops don't pop up on their own because of the springs, they catch wind, bump etc. The latches have never "held the top down" they just keep it from starting it's journey up. Latching the top, inside or out simply prevents the top from going up.

And the whole "lets put seatbelts as a backup on the top" is (in my opinion) stupid American oversensitivity to being sued. Yes you might die if the top latches fail, the top separates from the van in a rollover and you are thus ejected because you were not wearing a seatbelt yourself. The fallacy is the person not wearing the seatbelt is not at fault, but the top failure.

Perhaps manufacturers should add seatbelt retainers on doors, as I've known a door to fly open in a rollover and eject a seatbeltless passenger. Surely the door coming open was to blame, we should add back up safety to keep the doors closed at all times. Add Nascar Mesh over the windows, or keep them from rolling down in the first place.

Now you get in your van and don't bother to attach the seatbelt backup for the top, don't buckle the belt retaining the doors and fail to buckle the mesh in place over the window because it's too much trouble- just like putting on the seatbelt was in the first place.

Sportsmobile added the top seatbelts in a kneejerk to a potential lawsuit issue raised in a case. Before calling for extra safety from all top manufacturers, remember that they're just bolted to the existing structure and have never been tested in a crash. The SMB structure is designed to be stronger than the roof but not-necessarily to have a bolt hole drilled and a seatbelt attached under load in a wreck- and they'll do nothing if the person not bothering to buckle themselves in doesn't bother to buckle the top either.

Apologies for ranting, but this really bothers me. I could go on for an hour about how the US mandated saftey switch in tractor seats actually makes the whole system LESS safe. Adding seatbelts all over everything doesn't help if the user won't buckle up in the first place.

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Old 07-11-2012, 09:44 AM   #27
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

Hmmm... can a van with an existing SMB Penthouse top be converted to the CCV top without too much work (meaning, no huge structural rework of the van body)?
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:17 AM   #28
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

The CCV top extends forward to the top of the front windshield. They will need to cut about 2' of sheet metal out over the front seats. If you call that 'major structural', then yes - otherwise no.
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:47 AM   #29
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

Ford says to NEVER cut the roof in front of the rib behind the front seats. I hope they dont cut that out.

My thought it if you have a Sportsmobile pop top why whould you want to buy a whole new roof?
If your roof needs work just repair it. CCV could possibly do fix or improve your top, you would have to check with him.
If your cut out is smaller that this one then its no problem, if its bigger it would have to be patched.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:48 AM   #30
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Re: We have a new pop top available!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Viejo
The CCV top extends forward to the top of the front windshield. They will need to cut about 2' of sheet metal out over the front seats. If you call that 'major structural', then yes - otherwise no.
Whoa Viejo! No they don't! If you look at a CCV conversion from the outside, you will see that the tent material makes it LOOK like the hole goes all the way to the front windshield, but it doesn't! Derek doesn't cut any further towards the front than SMB does, you just have a shelf or a child's bed above the front seats.
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