[font='droid sans', sans-serif]That is good info. We were originally looking for a high top so knowing the cons is helpful. [/font]
[font='droid sans', sans-serif]How are your tires and suspension? Do you have a good heavy duty setup? I am wondering if that would help at all. [/font]
[font='droid sans', sans-serif]I saw a high-top swap and they used some kind of oscillating cutter. They said it was way better than a grinder. No sparks and easy to control. Looked kind of like motorized scissors meets sewing machine meets grinder. I don't know what you'd call it. It was pneumatic and they got it for less than $200 from harbor freight. [/font]
[font='droid sans', sans-serif]I don't think it would be too hard to build your own fiberglass top for the contour. Some boat fiberglass people could probably do it too, way cheaper than these guys. The harder par to me is the mechanism. [/font]
[font='droid sans', sans-serif]The top mold is probably the same for most full size vans. Only the contour is different and that appears to be more about how it's cut/radiused. It would be an interesting project. Wonder how strong gas struts would do? 4 of these maybe?
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[/font]My Ford extended high top is an E 350 one ton. It's solid as they make them. Still it has a good ride on the Cooper highway (touring tread) truck tires I have on it. I haven't taken it into the deep woods as the high top limits a lot of that due to low hanging limbs and other obstructions. I'm 9 ft tall. The touring tread gives me the best gas mileage on the open road and that old 351 W likes the gas, so each inch per mile counts.
As for the merits for the pop up top, you could lower it in the out back to get where you are going and that is big.
If it is cold-rainy-windy you can lower the top and then raise it again when it is warm again. As for very hot weather it would be in my view practical to have a sheet of foam insulation bonded to the inside top. Whether in camp or on the road you won't feel like you're in the Kitchen Oven. If the top pops up enough you may still have head room with that sheet of insulation. In my high top I have at least a couple of inches above me when standing up straight.
The high top is great and beats my first Ford Van which was a short wheel base conventional Van with 6 cyl motor
and standard transmission. I got a dynamite deal on this high top and at the time it was the answer to prayers.
As for the cutter grinder opposed to the vibrator cutter, those blades have synthetic diamonds glued to them I believe. They will cut nicely too.
I'd like to see a day when someone offers these conversion pop up kits and they sell them thru J C Whitney Auto Parts or other sources at affordable prices.
I could see an upward extended lip attached to the cut out in the top of the van to shed any water that may try to blow in during a shower. When the top is lowered the cap would nest over top of it. It's obvious when on the road and under way the Top would be down as the one living in the Van would be driving anyway. Once in camp the top would be raised. But the high top is always up and thank goodness I haven't ran into anything that would destroy the top. That's something I always have to keep in mind when driving it. No losing myself in the stereo music etc.
As for the gas struts some modest coil springs and one gas strut may serve as a damper so it would be easier to raise and lower and yet resist wind gust. Some of those struts are rather strong. It could be more comfortable to use if it felt like it was semi buoyant (like an overhead garage door) such that little effort is needed to raise and lower it.
I've about decided that my next Van will be rigged that way. I'm considering a small Diesel engine with a turbo charger set to boost at low end where I would need the most power to launch the heavy vehicle with the small displacement motor. And the Van would be equipped with a standard Transmission. (hoping for 20 to 25 mpg at high way speeds) If I were in an off road environment the Van would be driven at low speeds where the Diesel would have the necessary torque. The engine would likely be a Perkins or Kubota and be able to idle for extended periods without harming it. (such as powering a large second alternator that could produce 115 vac/220 vac electric)
