What went wrong? - Page 6

twogone · 06-12-2012, 10:49 AM

I'd pick #3

I haven't seen CCV tops in person, though will be able to shortly when Chopperguy gets his van back from there in a month or so. I believe, from the several dozen photos and the variety of types, that CCV is "new and improved" over the SMB. My top won't seat inside the gutters without all sorts of cussing and manipulation and I see no way to permanently fix it, plastic windows need replacement, canvas needs rewaterproofing blah x 3. Y'all just can't tell Christine yet

Glad that break didn't happen while you were standing there with the top up... what a letdown that would be. Gotta go check my bolts now!

**WVvan** · 06-12-2012, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Option 1A: Find any good mechanically inclined repairman in your area and get it fixed for a few hundred bucks.

X2

I believe there are a couple of people on this list who have repaired their penthouses.

**daveb** · 06-12-2012, 12:18 PM

So SMB said they would fix it for 1000 bucks? You'd think it would be covered if it failed due to a design problem.

littleboomer · 06-12-2012, 08:08 PM

We keep gathering information to make the best choice for our new penthouse -SMB vs CCV. I see references to other lift/bolt failures on the SMBs. Can anyone estimate the number of failures they have personally heard about and when they were (say, before or after 2005)? Has anyone heard about problems with the newer electric tops? or know if the spring system is still used with the electric system? I will be calling SMB for more info tomorrow, but wanted to hear from the troops too. Thanks, Sherri

my3kids · 06-12-2012, 09:45 PM

Viejo, could better (ie grade 5 or better) bolts and nuts prevented what happened to you?

Options 2 and 3 are pricey. Option 1 using higher quality bolts and nuts is a much cheaper alternative.

Just a thought.

Ray
06 E350 RB

Ultrasport12 · 06-12-2012, 10:20 PM

I would say if you already have a SMB Penthouse top you should just repair it. There are a few reasons I say that. One is that the CCV top might not need the same size opening as your current roof. If the hole is smaller thats great but what if its bigger then what, it cost more than to have it installed. Do you need a power roof or just want one? $6,000 is a lot of money just to push a button to put it up and down. I would think that you could find some one some place near you that could make it power for that much or less and fix it better than it ever was. There is a buch of information here on the forum about Penthouse roof repairs and updates, just print out some and head to a custom or body shop. Someone can repair it for less than $1,000 plus all of your time and fuel costs going to CCV or Fresno...

Personally until Derek at CCV just did his first new style pop top I did not like his tops. They are so tall you might just as well get a fixed roof. The new roof looks good but only time will tell how they will hold up. The SMB tops might have a few problems but they have been making them for years.

Two other things you might consider are a fixed roof like a lot of guys on here have. Or if you are convinced that you want to replace your roof with a different brand of pop top there is another one that has been made for years and most people really like and thats GTRV. http://www.gtrv.com/

Good luck on your repairs....

Ultrasport12 · 06-12-2012, 10:26 PM

Oh and don't forget that paint for any of them other htan fixing yours will cost extra... I knew I forgot something...

**Gooseberry** · 06-14-2012, 01:34 PM

FOUND the home for the screw with the shoulder. It holds the handle on crank for the awning. The other half feel out when I pulled it out to work on the awning.

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**Gooseberry** · 06-14-2012, 06:10 PM

solved it. its the screw that holds the handle on the crank for the awning

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gooseberry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gooseberry

my last trip to Colorado and Utah netted me a few different screws in the back I cant place and I'm pretty sure new motor mounts. I wheeled the van when we firts picked it up and the fan never hit the shroud but the trip before it did it a couple times and now in four low under load it was real bad. I moved the shroud up a 3/8 inch on the trail and it helped but still just touched under heavy crawling in 4 low. The shroud only had less then 1/8 inch between the fan and shroud top passanger side.

So wednesday its being dropped off for a look at all mounts.

Chrise what do you think?

ok new game identify the screws

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Viejo · 06-16-2012, 11:11 AM

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions last week. We've made a decision.

We are going to get a new electric penthouse from SMB Fresno in August.

The reason we did not go with option 1 or 1a is that there we're other reasons for replacing the top that I failed to mention.

The existing manual top is dented on top near one of the J-hook thru-bolts and water stands and seeps thru. The paint is shot and fiberglass cracking. The tent canvas is warn almost thru in a couple of spots, the vinyl and bug screens are deteriorating. Possibly the most important reason is that Sherri can not raise or lower the manual top by herself. I was considering replacing it this winter even before it broke.

So the choice came down to CCV vs. SMB. I strongly favored CCV for all that extra head room and space up front over the cab. It would also cover a bad spot in the van roof forward of the existing top.

Sherri wanted SMB because she could not convince herself that the CCV structure was sound. It didn't help that her son, who is a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry, looked at the CCV pictures and didn't like what he saw either.

We went back and forth about it all week until I threw in the towel.