Please Help. Exterior Roof Clips don't line up when putting roof down.

[Coastrunner]

Great video Captain!

Very interesting.

After that, I'll definitely stick with the "Lift both ends at the same time method" whenever I can.

Thanks.

 

[Where2nxt]

Well done captain. Looks straight forward when done like that. Nice van to by the way

 

[Coastrunner]

Hi guys!

Just a follow up.

As I mentioned earlier, I had one gas strut that was stuffed. This meant that it wasn't able to support any weight on that corner of my roof, which meant that the roof was slightly lower at that end. Because of this the roof was slightly tilted and never really lined up properly. I thought it was because of the way I was raising and lowering the roof all the time. (One end then the other)

Anyway, I replaced all four gas struts, and now my roof lines up perfectly.

When I went into the Jayco dealer I also asked him about methods to raise and lower the roof. His thoughts were that if you can it's probably better to lift both sides at once, but when you can't he still thinks it's not a huge drama to lift one end at a time.

In saying that, after watching Captain Gadgets video I'd always make sure that the first end raised, is also the last end lowered.

ONLY ONE MONTH TIL I GET TO ACTUALLY USE MY EXPANDA ON A REAL LIFE HOLIDAY! WOOHOO!

 

[Ken Bennetts]

Brings up the question of how much weight we have on our roof and how we manage it.
Our new Expanda will have a solar panel, Wyngard, Truma air and the awning. Pluss the new standard Dometic hatch must be heavier. I know that the end bars have an over centre type support. Who has a system to add to these like I see the timber braces some put at their awning side corners.

 

[Coastrunner]

Hi Ken.
It makes you wonder.
I have a 110Watt solar panel in the rear corner of my vans roof.
Strangely enough, it was the gas strut in that corner that packed it in?
I often wonder about pop tops with roof mounted air conditioning amongst other gadgets putting extra strain on the struts.
Mine may be just a one off. My gas struts were 290nm {newton metres} or 29 kgs of upward force. I know that larger heavier roofs have higher pressures and maybe that's all it needs?

I haven't read about anyone else having gas struts fail, but then again, you can't really tell if they're stuffed sometimes. Knowing what I know now, you just have to look for one end or side not raising as high as the others.

:juggle::juggle::juggle::juggle:

 

[Izzya123]

Reading through this thread there does seem to be a lot of different advice about the pop top roof raising. Some of us have been told to raise the roof one end at a time, and never both together, others have been told to raise ends together, and never a single end at a time. Some have been told back end first, others front end first. I've yet to hear the reasons why.

I`ve heard that if your van roof leans more to one end, make sure the van is level and raise the roof at that end first, so gravity forces it back into line.

I know in my van I thought the roof when down, was a little too far forward so I raised the jockey wheel to make the van tilt past level and to the rear. I raised the roof front first so that the weight was transferred to the rear and then when lowering back down the roof was more in line.

Now looking back, I think my problem was because one of my rear gas strut supports was stuffed.

MY PERSONAL OPINION.
I THINK THE ROOF (when possible) SHOULD BE RAISED ALL AT ONCE, BOTH ENDS AT THE SAME TIME.

Obviously you need two people to do this, so it's not always possible. But I think when there are two people, this is the way it should be done.
My reason for this way of thinking is that all gas struts have equal load and all share 25% of the pressure when raising and lowering. When we do one end at a time, the awning is being twisted, the hinge mechanisms are being loaded unevenly at each end, the gas struts are being put under additional pressure, especially the ones at the end being raised last. The roof is lop sided which pushes its weight to one end which I believe can cause the roof to shift and become out of alignment. I also believe that this can damage the gas struts because they are overloaded and twisted.

Raising and lowering all together, gives all hinges, gas struts, awning roller and material equal weight, equal pressure, correct balance and no twisting. Any other way (in my opinion) causes unnecessary strain shortening the life of some or all of the roof components.

Once again, this is just my opinion and if anyone disagrees I'd like to hear their opinions/ reasons why we shouldn't lift the roof this way.

The problem I have is this...at handover I was told by Jayco to leave door open & lift both ends/drop both ends together. Wife & I did this ever time. Made no difference, the lid slid fwd & to awning side. At annual end warranty service they checked struts & said all OK. Told then by Jayco service not to lift together but front then rear, rear then front, never together. Problem still exists either way. Have no leaks so I have given up worrying about it. As long as it seals & locks, all good.

 

[Coastrunner]

After reading through all replies, I still feel that lifting both ends at the same time is the best method. As I said before all four struts support equal weight, there is even balance in the roof and internal lifting arms, and no twisting of awning or struts or awning roll. Of course this isn't always possible, but whenever we can use the 2 person lift I think we should.

If you do have to lift one side at a time, I think that what ever side you raise first you should lower last. See above video from Captain gadget for explanation.

Another point. I always pull the awning out about a metre before raising the roof, and also leave it out about a metre when lowering the roof. Then when the roof is down, I then flick the lever to "close" and let the awning wind back in again.

I think this prevents the awning pulling the roof over to that side.

I think most pop tops can close closer to the awning side, but never enough to be a drama.

 

[Soaring]

Im not sure the gas struts support any weight at all.
It's the over centre brackets at each end that support the weight, the gas struts are just there to assist you lifting it up.

 

[Coastrunner]

The gas struts definitely support some weight. This is why my vans roof had dropped in one corner (the gas strut was no longer working). It had only dropped by around 50 to 100mm but threw the roof out of line. It took quite some force for me to push the roof up to level with the gas strut missing. When the new struts were on, the roof was nice and level.

 

[Coastrunner]

Took a bit of time out today to make a set of roof supports. I had some on the old van and used them in strong wind conditions. At times the roof would come down so I used these supports for a bit of extra strength. I copied the idea off another down under member and used 15mm pvc pipe with 22mm rubber plugs from Bunnnings. I also went around each leg half a dozen times with electrical tape to keep the rubber plugs tight on the ends. All up less than $10 from Bunnings. I also have a couple of adjustable supports but think these are just a bit easier to attach.

I also think that these take a bit of pressure off the gas struts, prolonging their life.

On Van supporting roof.