Popping my top

[boywonder]

I was going to tape my panels down, until I saw this video. I have mine bolted through the roof using stainless steel hardware and steel L-brackets (not the flimsy aluminum ones).

A panel flying off the roof at highway speed could kill somebody. Imagine that thing coming through the windshield edge-on!

https://youtu.be/m4Jq6zNrwHY

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9392WLB?th=1

My panel is bolted down and I also have short "safety cables" on the front in case it were to somehow get loose.

I put the safety cables on after watching that video.

 

[TimRiker]

I don't see anywhere in the back to hook my block and tackle. To remove/replace we used the block and tackle hooked to the helper spring cover plates. Is there a better place to connect? It would be nice if there was a hole in the bar like there is at the other end of the tension springs, but I don't see any holes.

 

[boywonder]

I don't see anywhere in the back to hook my block and tackle. To remove/replace we used the block and tackle hooked to the helper spring cover plates. Is there a better place to connect? It would be nice if there was a hole in the bar like there is at the other end of the tension springs, but I don't see any holes.

Yes there is a half-dollar sized hole on the inner edge of the channel......run your finger down the inside of the channel to find it then peel the upholstery back a little to get a hook in there.

I use a motorcycle tie down.....hook just the hook end in the hole then connect the come-along to the eye part of the tie-down hook.

 

[TimRiker]

Yes there is a half-dollar sized hole on the inner edge of the channel......run your finger down the inside of the channel to find it then peel the upholstery back a little to get a hook in there.

Where along the channel is that? I'll look again as we take some more links out. I assume this is farther toward the rear of the van than the sliding support. Is it in front of or behind the helper spring area? on the towards the inside or outside of the van?

 

[boywonder]

I assume this is farther toward the rear of the van than the sliding support. Is it in front of or behind the helper spring area? on the towards the inside or outside of the van?

Correct ...further toward the rear than the sliding support. It should be back by the helper springs on the vertical inner wall of the channel that has upholstery glued to it. You can run your finger along the vertical upholstery feeling for the hole but there is a thin layer of foam behind the fabric that makes things a little fuzzy.

 

[boywonder]

I see you have a skype icon in your avatar area..we can skype if you need to...

 

[TimRiker]

Where along the channel is that? I'll look again as we take some more links out. I assume this is farther toward the rear of the van than the sliding support. Is it in front of or behind the helper spring area? on the towards the inside or outside of the van?

Ah ha! Found! Thanks. Towards the inside of the van, just past where the back of the plates are originally. With your pistons, you probably don't have the plates anymore.

 

[boywonder]

Ah ha! Found! Thanks. Towards the inside of the van, just past where the back of the plates are originally. With your pistons, you probably don't have the plates anymore.

I have a massive aluminum angle that screws to the top surface and the channel side where the hole is....

 

[TimRiker]

Checking back in. We were on the road for most of August. 5k more miles and running well. Sleeved the supports, tightened the chains, all is well. More pictures in the gallery of the trip. Link on the site:

https://4x4tent.com/

Thanks for all the help! The holes on the supports were in great shape so I stuck with 1/4 inch bolts. Getting the stainless shoulder bolts through both supports and both sleeves was a pain, but now that they're on, it's working great!

Yes, we remembered to remove the loops attached to the tent, and replace them again on the correct side of the support joints.

Self leveling sealant added to the nuts/bolts once we put them back in. I only put two of the three washers back. I don't see the purpose in the cupped washers mine had on the top. Did someone want to catch water in them?

Auxbeam 8 gang switch AR-820 installed. Power panel on top of the stock fuse box under the hood, and control panel on the top center console in the van.

Coat hanger and screws used to build mounts for the 10.1" android head unit so it snaps into and out of the double din dash spot. Holding up great.

Broken mount in the bumper welded back by a friend, and Auxbeam amber hyperspots mounted in the bumper. Picked up some white rock lights, but not installed them yet.

 

[Justgosurfin]

Another update:

Here are a couple of pictures of my van in case anyone missed all of the gory details about it in the 4x4 section last month when I was buying it.

I purchased it 1/2/14 in Wyoming and drove it back to So Cal.

This is what it looked like when I bought it:

The painting of the top is just about complete, it only took about $500 worth of supplies and around 183 man-hours :t4: priming, painting base coat, clear coat, wet sanding and buffing. That's not including the hours spent fixing fish-eyes, alligatoring, etc.

I learned a lot painting this, like modern catalyzed clear coat is harder than woodpecker lips when dry, and it's tough to remove the wet sanding scratches without power tools. Hand wet sanding didn't stand a chance, and using a palm sized orbital buffer didn't work either. I ended up using a 7" spinning wool pad buffer with 3M rubbing compound from the auto paint supply store. It's amazing what the correct tools and spending some time watching Youtube can do.

Here is a picture of the top sitting on my deck this morning, almost done. It was still a little dark when I snapped the pic.

The lift block thingies were also recovered in a "sherry" faux leather (pleather!). One thing to note here is that the SMB grey vinyl is not glued to the foam, so recovering is very straightforward.

For some reason my camera makes the color look more purple than it is in real life (white balance?).

I've also installed a discount van & truck swivel passenger seat base, sold/traded my chrome grille and bumpers for black ones, and picked up some used 2" spacers for the rear wheels (thanks Surfgeek!)

I'll hopefully post more progress later today or tomorrow.

I’m recovering my lift block pad thingies now. Have the bars warn into your headliner ceiling panel pieces? I’m wondering about adding a “cover board” piece on the second block where the bar swivels not the one where it slides. Otherwise isn’t it essentially riding on the ceiling panel?

Thanks!