canopy as hightop?

[desert_sailing]

So a coworker has an old shell of a hightop van and said he would give  me the actual hightop if it was in good repair.

I hope it is fine and I would put that on myself.. well.. in conjunction with a "pro" this winter. BUT if it is not in good enough shape I was thinking why couldn't a truck canopy be used instead.

I know there would be some modifications and such to be made...but I dont know why it couldn't work..

Far easier to find a truck canopy than a van hightop sitting around.

 

[MrNoodly]

Since a truck canopy has straight bottom edges and van roofs are curved side to side and end to end, you'd need some way to compensate. A lesser problem is the flat canopy ends aren't very aerodynamic. I don't know how break resistant the front glass is. A collision with a bird might shatter it.

I saw an aluminum rowboat serving as a van high top the other day. It was well done.

 

[bullfrog]

There are lots of things you can modify to cover the hole. The first problem is will cutting the hole weaken the structure of the vehicle. Old air cooled VW’s provide a good example as when they cut the tops off and started making convertibles they had to stiffen the frame rails so the doors would still open and close over the life of the car. The second problem is weight up high can be a problem for stock suspensions especially in windy highway conditions. Welding an old VW bus van top half on a school bus made a great skylight/high top with few problems. Putting anything on one of the new unibody type vans may destroy it in the long run. As Dirty Harry says in the movie “You feeling lucky punk?” A light weight topper that can be installed without cutting out structural members may work. A school bus escape hatch might do as well in good weather with a raised rack and a roof of solar panels. There are lots of ideas out there waiting for testing.

 

[highdesertranger]

high tops are model specific, as far as I know, they are not universal one size fits all.

as far as using a pick up topper. that is going to be a lot of work. I mean A LOT OF WORK and to make it look good is going to be a lot more work. are you up to that?

this summer I saw hundreds if not thousands of RV's, of all classes A, B, B+ and C sitting on people property. I know if I was looking for a high top to fit a certain van I could find one. or any whole or RV part you could think of. I even saw rare ones.

highdesertranger

 

[desert_sailing]

Just went over some of it with a friend who would be helping and he concurs with the amount of work it would take. He would gladly take my payment but it would be a foolish investment for this particular vehicle at this time. From the laymans eye it seems simple.. cut a hole and glue it down. I could end up qualifying to be in the "seen on the road" thread!

Thanks for the input and keeping it  real real.

Just wanting to explore feasible height options that may not be traditional but work AND are safe.

The topper my friend has is off a chevy standard length..I have gmc extended his is a 92 and mine is 91.. for free. Hoping for a match!