2003 7.3 cargo van build

[BenJJ-SMB]

forgot the pictures

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Next step was to attach the canvas to the van. We lifted the top back up, and I laid down a layer of butyl on the roof of the van where I wanted to attach the canvas. This was easy in the back since I barely had enough room between the hole and the brake light, and the width was easy as well. I took a peak at bemerritts top to see where to position the front. once I had the butyl down I placed the rubber gasket/bulb seal. This is the same way sportsmobile does it. I then placed another layer of the sticky butyl on top of the bulbed gasket, which will seal against the canvas.

And this is where I deviated a little bit. I didn't use the wood paneling to compress the canvas onto the butyl. I just used screwed and washers and put them pretty close together. looking at my brother's, it didn't seem to do a whole lot and made it look not as nice. In hindsight I probably should have done something else and not skipped that entirely.

Same as attaching to the shell, i started on the front corner and then worked my way down one whole side. Then I attached the back corners and lastly, the front left corner. Damn that last corner was hard. the problem was that you need it to be really tight, but the drill can't go vertical because the canvas is in the way so you end up trying to put a screw through the roof at an angle which is impossible. It took many attempts... After all the corners were done I went down the opposite side and front. To attach the canvas to the roof i used varying lengths of self drilling screws (some spots needed longer ones) and washers. For the corners i used giant fender washers (2" in diameter. the screws would go through the canvas, both buytl layers , the silicone gasket, and the roof. I did a screw about every 3".

Last step for the canvas was to wrap the bungee cord around the outside, tighten it and tie it off!

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Next step was to attach the latches in the front to hold the top down while closed. I positioned the rings on the cross beam as wide apart as possible. I then pulled the top all the way down and and located the latch portion through the headboard and fiberglass shell at a location where the hook was extended as far as possible. That way once it was bolted down I could make it tighter.

One thing I didn't appreciate was the hole location on the top of the roof... My fiberglass has channels running through it and in order for the big butyl washer to seal it would need to be on a flat section. Well I got lucky and drilled the holes without looking and ended up outside a channel. The big washers overhang onto the channel but I definitely could have gotten screwed and been inside or on the edge of one of the channels and had a tough time getting a seal on the top of the roof. I thought I took a picture of this but I can't find it anymore.

So with the clamps attached I was able to shorten up the hooks and really get a good "cinch" of the shell onto the roof of the van.

I did not attach the back clamp. The back of the roof is just thin sheet metal and flexes quite a bit. I plan to add my own cross beam to support the rails on the back and then attach the 3rd, back clamp on that cross beam. It wouldn't do any good attached through just the sheet metal of the roof.

 

[bemerritt]

with 3 days to spare!

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

So yeah the top is basically done! I drove it to work today going over 80mph on the freeway with no issues. It takes a lot of force to push it up manually, and with the clamps in the front I am not worried. I do need to do something about the springs flapping in the rail channels and making a bunch of noise. I think bemerrit put some foam in his channels to prevent that, I will see if he has some extra.

Overall I am really pleased with the result. It certainly isn't perfect, and if you look closely you can tell the canvas isn't attached perfectly symmetrical and the gaps with the windows aren't the same all around. I also think I might have pulled it a little too tight when I screwed it down, but bemerritt assured me it will relax a little over time and it can't really be too tight.

I have a couple loose ends to tie up with it, but the thing is going to yosemite! I think it is also supposed to rain so we can truly test it out. I will definitely be bringing some extra butyl and screws in case I need to fix some leaks haha!

After 10 months, and probably a dozen different instances of thinking I was never going to finish or make it work...

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

So yes, you can put a 1979 poptop on a 2003 van.

 

[bemerritt]

ten months ago, you didnt have a child or a poptop, but you had a dream and $70 to spend on the junkyard pop top!

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

$70 and a dream... turned into $2k, months of despair and doubt, and finally a sense of pride and accomplishment.

 

[RVflyfish]

Great win! The sense of accomplishment has to be huge. How much time do you think you have into the top?

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Great win! The sense of accomplishment has to be huge. How much time do you think you have into the top?

Thats a tough one. Probably around 50 hours if I were to ball park it. Usually I was working on other van projects while also working on the top stuff so it is hard to isolate only the pop top time.

 

[RVflyfish]

Wow, big job then.

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Wow, big job then.

That is not even including the brand new canvas that had to get made which Mark did for me.

 

[86Scotty]

Nice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MSD-SMB]

That is not even including the brand new canvas that had to get made which Mark did for me.

Yes which took forever (seriously) and was a very stressful situation (long story) ... Ben was super cool about it and had faith and I'm very thankful for that... In the end we got it done and I'm glad it all work out. :d5:

 

[boywonder]

Excellent work and write up guys!!


The giant turnbuckles are a great idea! I hardly ever clamp down the back of the roof.....thinking it will be less likely to crack the back corners of the van roof over time (a somewhat common problem).


SMB glues headliner material in the channels where the springs sit..on all three sides of the channel.

 

[unimat]

Nice job and way to persevere! I wish I had had your experience to draw from when I did mine. Always better to let someone else do the heavy lifting!

 

[maxswasser]

How much did you spend on the van?

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Did a little mini project on the van this past weekend. On my last offroad trip my batteries got disconnected due to the bumpy ride and my fridge lost power. Admittedly I didn't have them properly secured under the seat so it wasn't a huge surprise but something that I needed to fix.

I ordered some eyebolts from McMaster (30425T27) and some bungee chords off amazon. Drilled undersized holes through the plywood floor around each battery and then screwed the eyebolts into the floor. Then used the eyebolts for the bungee chords to hook onto and hold the batteries in place. Pretty cheap solution and quick to install.

 

[JWA-SMB]

Just an opinion please understand but personally I'd not trust your eye screws and bungee cords to securely hold the batteries in place. The eye screws could easily be pulled loose from the plywood, bungee cords can fail without warning if not carefully and frequently checked.

Your arrangement will work for the short term but I'd re-think how you're going about this. Otherwise good work and I'm sure your van is a lot of fun AND useful on trips! :d5:

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Just an opinion please understand but personally I'd not trust your eye screws and bungee cords to securely hold the batteries in place. The eye screws could easily be pulled loose from the plywood, bungee cords can fail without warning if not carefully and frequently checked.

Your arrangement will work for the short term but I'd re-think how you're going about this. Otherwise good work and I'm sure your van is a lot of fun AND useful on trips! :d5:

Totally understand your concerns. Prior to the bungee chords and eye bolts I did around 4 trips with them unsecured, so it is at least a step up from there. When the seat is up and the drawer is closed they are pretty snugly contained in their compartment so this was just to keep them from bouncing or sliding.

If one of the eye bolts fails me I will change to something more secure.