Goldstream poptop

Submitted: Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 18:43
ThreadID: 137607 Views:5781 Replies:8 FollowUps:9
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Brother-in-law who is a batchelor well into his 70's has recently bought a 12' Goldstream pop top which has a "push up" type of pop with no levers to assist the operation. This is now proving a bit too much for him.

Has anyone any experience with some form of assistance or any suggestions as to how to alleviate the problem? The only thing we can think of at the moment is using a pole with a cross piece and a jack.

Any suggestions would be appreciated
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Reply By: Member - Barry P (VIC) - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:21

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:21
pop top, there is some sort of air bag system to lift the top,sorry i do not have details,have seen it at camping shows
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Follow Up By: rumpig - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:58

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:58
See the link in my post further down the page...i assume they are what you mean
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Reply By: qldcamper - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:29

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:29
Russian mail order bride?
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Follow Up By: Member - Darwin Dave - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 20:31

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 20:31
Hi qldcamper

Won't work, I think brother in-law needs it lifted on a regular basis, a one off wouldn't be suitable.

Regards,
Dave

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Reply By: Erad - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:40

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:40
Our Jayco Poptop caravan has 4 gas filled struts which support the roof when it is erected, but also assist in raising the roof. My wife used to be able to raise the roof easily by herself, but now she cannot. I know she is certainly weaker than before, but I am also wondering if the gas struts are losing a bit of their push as well.

Talk to some gas strut people and see what they recommend. You will need some fairly solid anchor points for the struts, but certainly they work when they are charged to their design level.
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Follow Up By: JohnHelen W - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:47

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:47
Thank you Erad.
Unfortunately the van only has scissor lift on each side and I doubt if we could fit gas struts. We have them in our Jayco and I certainly know when they need replacing by the increase in weight.

We'll get him to look into having a strut placed in each corner.

Thanks

John
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 07:32

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 07:32
Gas struts are no more effective than scissor lifts. Neither provide any lift when the top is in the travelling position. Both only start to provide lift after you lifted the top a little. If either did provide lift from the closed position then the top would pop up when you released the hold down clips.

The only way you are going to get any lift force from the closed position is to provide some mechanical device or the air lift type of system mentioned elsewhere in the thread.
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 16:29

Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 16:29
Depends on where the gas strut mounting points are located.
If the ones on the pop top are exactly level with the ones on the body then the weight to be initially lifted will be the weight of the pop top only.
With mountings higher or lower, the initial lift weight can be adjusted quite finely either one way or the other.
Go too far and it will either be too heavy or it will go up on its own accord. You just need to get it right with the right strength gas struts
No different to a heavy car boot lid or tailgate.
Cheers,
Peter
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 23:13

Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 23:13
The problem with a pop top van is that the design of the lid does not give much wiggle room to alter the mounting positions of the gas struts. You can not get very much angle of the closed struts from the horizontal. You need a considerable angle before the struts (or scissor lift arms) start to exert any meaningful lift to the top. If you also replace the struts with stronger ones then you may find the top very difficult to pull down.
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Reply By: rumpig - Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:56

Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 at 19:56
Mates old man had similar to these (may have even been same ones maybe?) on his previous van (click on link for companies page) LINK he seemed happy with them
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Reply By: Malcom M - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 06:28

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 06:28
Suggest you have a look on MySwag.org Aussie forums for campertrailer owners & builders.
Lots of popup owners and builders on there sharing their knowledge.
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Reply By: Member - Russler - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 17:28

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 17:28
Could he get it started using an inverted broom, allowing him to lift from a lower position?
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Reply By: Member - RobnJane(VIC) - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 18:19

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 18:19
Hi John/Helen,
I suggest you have a look at a product I know as Easylift, this is a mechanical device that fits inside the van and simply provides a bit of additional leverage to the lift process.
It seems they assist most at the point of initial lift, and he might only need one of them, as once one end is up the other is generally a lot easier to lift.
I have seen them in lots of pop tops, and if installed correctly seems to me to be a lot simpler than pneumatic solutions etc.

Hope this helps.
Rob
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Follow Up By: JohnHelen W - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 19:02

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 19:02
Thanks Rob.

Any idea where to access these? Are they the same as the lifters in our Jayco pop top?

John
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 19:26

Friday, Dec 28, 2018 at 19:26
These are the Jayco ones - Canopy Lifters JAYCO Easy Lifter, 890mm (pair). We have some different ones in our van but I can not source them quickly. Perhaps you could ask a good repair sho about them.


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Follow Up By: Member - RobnJane(VIC) - Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 09:41

Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 09:41
Hi John,
Yes I think they will be similar to what you have in your van, and look the same as shown in the link Peter refers to.
Rob
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Reply By: JohnHelen W - Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 15:23

Saturday, Dec 29, 2018 at 15:23
Thank you everyone for your input. Most interesting and we'll certainly consider all options.

John
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