If you had a well used van, would you invest in a pop-top?

[squashyo]

Solid words all. Thanks so much!

[TomsBeast]

210k on the clock on your almost free van you say?

Has the trans been replaced during that time? That seems to be the big ticket item on vans with that many miles. How it was treated for the first 150k miles will determine how many more before it needs a trans rebuild.

What engine? The V10's seem to last a long time if cared for. Again, depends on how it was cared for, if it got routine maintenance or not.

I wouldn't fall into the trap of "I'm not putting 3-times what I paid for it into <project x-y-z>!" Heck, new tires and 4 wheel brakes will cost $1500.

If you are the kind of guy who keeps things, what you paid and it's resale value is almost irrelevant.

Lastly, you're on this forum, by definition, you're at least a little crazy

[mikracer]

If its 1 or 2 people, I would go with a high top. The pop top is nice if you need another bed, but the high top is nice to always have the standing room.

But as someone mentioned earlier, I wouldn't get too caught up on installing a top right away. Use the van, sleep in it, see what you like or dislike about van camping and go from there. You can build a simple bed platform out of 2x4's and a mattress from Ikea or the like.

Just my two cents... the most useful item I've used in van camping is the 12v fridge. The passenger swivel seat is nice to have as well.

[squashyo]

The High Top route sounds good but does that then effect stability (primarily in windy conditions and mileage)? My hunch is probably not too much but I dunno. A wild side of me thought about putting one of these (https://tepuitents.com/collections/2...ja-series-ayer) on the roof with a door on the van ceiling where the ladder can slide down into:

On the other topic, I am thinking that trying this out without a raised roof for a season or two but that will require I do a whole lot of roof insulation which seems like a lot of extra work and $ if it turns out a raised roof is in my future. But that does sound like a good route to take regardless. Probably not to hard to remove the work done and get a raised roof solution rolling if it doesn't work out.

[RandallDee]

I'd love to have a van I could stand up in and in a few years when I retire, I will. My van is a 2006 with less than 100K miles and it's just not worth it to me. I figure for what I could sell my van for plus the $7K to $10K for the top, I would rather sell my van and find a used 2x2 Sportsmobile and just convert it to 4x4 and not only get the pop top but the interior build as well, plus a fresh 4x4 conversion for a much better bang for the buck scenario.