Poptop Up or Down for Storage..?

Hi Oldbaz,
I also was wondering which way to go and all the info I found is around 50/50 for up or down. I bought our van second hand so I wasn't sure as to how it was previously stored but after a few years of having it up in storage I found corrosion and pitting on the piston of the strut. It got bad enough to damage the strut seals and I replaced them. I do live about 6km from the coast so the salt air may have contributed. Anyway to cut a long story short I know keep the top down when not using the van for lengthy periods. So far so good. After a lot of wet weather the vynl may get a small amount of mould but cleans off easy and is a lot easier than replacing struts.

Cheers

Baz. The builder of my custom made pop-top recommended leaving the top up while it was waiting for us to take it on a trip, reason he gave was so the rubber seal around the two sections were not compressed, that sounded reasonable to me.
I also live within a stones throw of the ocean, never had a problem with the piston rods on the gas struts rusting.

rr

Oldbaz, we have just purchased a new coromal poptop and the manual says to store the van with the roof down.
Hope this helps. Cheers. Briggzee

Top up if stored undercover.
Top down if stored in he open.
OJ

Howdy Oldbaz, well as already said, more or less 50/50!! Opinions a bit like backsides I reckon, everyone has one!LOL

Anyway, my two bobs worth, we used to have a Pop Top & originally we stored it in the down position & covered it with one of those breathable caravan covers. Most occasions this was OK, but on one occasion after it had been stored for about six months or so we discovered it was badly covered in mould both internal & externally. The mould came off OK with a bit, actually a lot, of elbow grease, and all was unky dory again.

But from that point forward we always stored it in the up position & never had the mould problem, nor did we have any problem with rust/seals on the struts. Some people worry about the stress on the struts in the up position, but the lift up mechanism on ours (Jayco) relieved the weight from the struts, so no problem there.

Mind you the area we stored it had a southern aspect & was subject to mostly shade & for the most part did not receive a much sun. If you are concerned about mould the best bet is to check it fairly often as mould will come off pretty easy if it has not been there very long. Cheers