I have to say, voices like his...soft, lilting, coupled with his engineer's eye for detail and artist's drive for perfection? That's a turn-on for MANY people. Then add the "patience" factor, and that beautiful hair? I think I could hang out with this man for about 20 years and never lose interest. I hope he's getting the attention & caring he deserves from women (or whomever he desires) a beautiful human.
This is exactly what I need to get the headroom for my 7 foot tall body to stand up in a minivan conversion. Thanks for showing this, Bob. I'm encouraged finally that there's a solution fit for me.
My mouth is hanging open...agape! This guy’s knowledge and pure common sense makes my heart a flutter! I so appreciate his ingenuity and perseverance. Thanks for sharing and adding to my bucket list entitled, “The Perfect Man!” Seriously, where do you find these geniuses?!❤️ Thanks again for share!
Thanks for sharing your project with us! I just logged on to youtube searching for any videos about installing salvaged pop-tops on vans. Yours is the only one that came up in the results. It looks great! You were fortunate to find a fiberglass top that was made for your particular van model. I did a similar project, and I had to modify a top to fit. I'm thinking about making a similar video to encourage other vanlifers to rescue the many Westfalia tops that are sitting in pick-n-pulls around the world. I installed a salvaged Westfalia top on my Chevy Express full-size van. After minor mods to the fit and the hinge function, it looks right and works right. But after watching your video, I want to add a "clamp bar" to mine! I'm impressed with your sewing skills! You may inspire me to replace my tent canvas with insulated, if only for the noise abatement. I mounted my top so that it can use the standard canvas tents that are available for Westfalias.
I love engineers. And I love when they take the time to design and build things for their own use. Very cool to see how they think and approach builds, and the problems that they solve and prevent along the way.
I was impressed so much i spent the weekend removing a fiberglass roof from an e150 (like mine) and getting it loaded up on a trailer. Your videos do so much to help people save money and enjoy the lifestyle of van living.
Wow! He did a great job. I'm so impressed how well he did on his pop top. I would pay for him to put a pop up in my van if I owned one. It would be so worth it for me being a women & all. Plus I'm only 5'5" & couldn't reach any of those hard to get places in the front half of the van. Just a wonderful job & he paid close attention to detail. Just so impressed with it. Best regards, Chris from Missouri
Bravo Gavio. Great job. I have a 83 Sportsmobile and the canvas has a thin bungie cord that wraps around it to pull the canvas in when you drop the top. I don't know it it will work on Gavio's van but I figured that I would mention it. Thank you again for the great videos Bob and your love for the community. Mark & CC
Thank you..... I considered the bungee cord, but in the end, my fabric doesn't need to pull in or push out either one, it needs to stack straight...... Once I got the hang of it, it hasn't been a problem....
As the roof goes down, the canvas generally bulges outwards. One trick I’ve seen is to simply hook an elastic cord to each side of the canvas roof, bringing the canvas in, and then lower the roof.
I have a pop top camper. It has a hand crank and four corner veriticle tubing that uses a cable to raise and lower. It also locks so if any snow load weight does not cause a calapse of the top. The self rise struts are a lot weaker than tulhe tube system. The tube set up going ves wind stability. It also gives you a full length raise instead of a pivot type Westy style. Also my canvus has some "memorie metal strips that run up and down sown inside the canvus which causes the canvus to fold inward allowing a easier calapse or the top when closing. These metal strips are like those old wrist toys where you slapped them on your wrist and they wrapped around your arm tightly. We saw those at a Dollar store...lol and replaced a couple broken ones.lol athe cable crano system with verticle tubing is by far more stable and wimple to use. As far as having to mess with the canvus as it closes..all types have this...lol The crank in mine is a simple boat caboe crank mounted inside on the back where all four cables(one to each corner) meet. A small metal plate with adjusters colle t them together so they can be individually adjusted l.Then from that plate a single cable wraps on the crank mechanism with a removable crank handle. Wish I could post a pic but.. under able to..have fun...oh, the canvus, a upholstry shop did mine...@ $ 700.00.
Here in the UK, most pop-top suppliers apply an elastic strap, stitched inside across front and rear, with quick release clips. As you lower the roof, the straps pull the fabric in....or another way is a long bungee strap all the way around the outside of the canvas about half way down.
GREAT VIDEO! I wish I could put 2 thumbs up. I think some of the other pop-ups have a sort of bungee strap on the outside to pull the material in as it closes. All in all it's an awesome build. Thanks again for the video. John S.
I'm living the van life in my son back Yard dreaming to finish my Dodge ram 3500 van that I bought only a month ago love 💖 to see your program I need to put high roof in my van 🤗👍
Very well thought out. Very well done. I owned a VW Eurovan Westfalia and I’d take Gavio’s van over the Westy anytime. I always worried when the Westy would break down next, because you knew it would. This is a better base vehicle and just as good or better design. Congratulations Gavio and thank you sharing so much.
Great Job! I've owned several VW Westfilia campers with the pop top and you still have to fuss with the tent part to make sure it all comes inside of the top then tuck it in after the top was down. The one thing the Westy top had was elastic in the corners so it would help pull the fabric in word on the way down. My biggest regret was selling my Westy thinking a new one was around the corner then finding that after the Vanagon Westy , VW never came out with another van that was as roomy as the Vanagon for a camper.
Bob, maybe you can ask this creatively capable man to take a look at your van top and see if he can make suggestions on how to improve it. And maybe you can hire him to work on it.
Thank you for being structure-conscious. The videos of people cutting up their vans freaks me out a bit. I keep thinking roll-overs and weight over it, as well as even a side impact. I was thinking of doing this, so huge plus to be learning from your build. Your build gets an A plus plus/ five stars in my world. Thanks for sharing.
Very impressive. I wish you would have shown us a picture of the CLAMP mechanism too. I assume it is something like a swing clamp, perhaps? IS the tension adjustable ?
Cutting a hole in the roof... Like we say in The Wild Wild West, "Courage is being afraid, and saddling up anyway". I have a 1972 Hunter Compact Jr. trailer with a pop-top. The old school mechanism design endours still.
Really interesting points in your 3 videos on using products that are good if you are chemically sensitive. Not enough Van folk comment on this topic (especially the insulation.). I'm not sensitive but I think the healthier choice is always the way to go. What glue did you use on the pop top? Van insulation? Thank you Bob & Gavio.
Yeah, I think it's a big issue, and not much discussed.... A van is such a small space and toxins can accumulate easily...... For some things I found that a toxic material was really the only thing that would work reliably, aND for those things I came up with strategies for airing them out and getting the toxins out of my space before I needed to be in it...... Only significant thing was using spray adhesive on the headliner, but I did that before I installed the canvas so I could air it out for several weeks before I inhabited it...... If I hadn't had that option, I would have needed to do the headliner different..... Almost everything else I found low-toxic materials to use...... I will do some sort of class at RTR on that topic this year, as I have been doing natural and nontoxic in my design business for many years - ever since I got sick..... ...
Absolutely beautiful mind on this individual. He's more than welcome to come design my skoolie. -In all honesty, does he do this for a living? Does he consult or design for $$? I'd hire him in a heartbeat. Possibly bake him some cookies, as well. ☺️👍🏽🌸
Thank you..... And Yes, I design stuff for a living (mostly living spaces of all kinds, rolling and stationary) ... And you can hire me..... My website is www.livebetterbydesign.com - you can contact me through it .....
Gavio Gavio I actually found your link in the description box directly after I commented. I chose the option of emailing you through your site so, there should be a message there for you! Thank you for taking the time to respond. ☺️
Hmm, I didn't get an email... I have had trouble with some of the buttons on there..... The form on my contact page works..... Or you can try my Facebook page at facebook.com/LiveBeterByDesignNow....... I apologize for the hassle..... I look forward to hearing from you.....
Fantastic job, probably which most couldn't do without being the Engineer that he is. However, I just wonder what his cost was in the end, and wonder if all the work was worth it (other than the satisfaction he must feel) in comparison to just having a top put on professionally?
It was worth it, for sure..... I love having it and would most likely never had the money for a pro install..... I'm in it for about $800 or so (obviously not counting my labor)
