Why have you sold your pop top? (Dove/swan style )

[HKB Electronics]

We had a Finch,

Why we changed:

After two or three days rain everything got wet.
Packing up or setting up in the rain is a pain.
Setup time though not great becomes a pain when your moving daily.
Little security.
Flapping canvas can disturb you at night if your a light sleeper.
In our old model there were droughts when the wind blew.

We now have a Vista, release two catches and push the roof up and your
setup. On recent trip even TVAN owners admitted they would have liked the setup
time of the Vista.

On one occasions TVAN owners opted to stay in cabins to avoid having to pack up wet canvas,
was not an issue with the Vista.

Cheers
Leigh

 

[Muckinhell]

liking this thread, trying to sell our aussie swag to upgrade to a wind up. How do people normal pack these before taking off? just pop the top and crawl in and start the fridge and pack as well?

[Swannie]

liking this thread, trying to sell our aussie swag to upgrade to a wind up. How do people normal pack these before taking off? just pop the top and crawl in and start the fridge and pack as well?

Yeah mate, I always have the roof wound up an inch or so can climb in to fridge, put towels back in etc etc. I also throw all the clothed bags on the floor just inside the door

swannie

[Muckinhell]

Cool, thought that may have been the case, we regarding clothes try to have a base set of clothes on board and only need to alter for being colder than normal or throwing more towels and togs in etc, so we will be looking at making the closest storage for clothes so they can be washed and replaced and then just add the extras depending on intended climate.

[Palmer]

Yeah mate, I always have the roof wound up an inch or so can climb in to fridge, put towels back in etc etc. I also throw all the clothed bags on the floor just inside the door

And if you are "pre-cooling"the fridge on 240v power, make sure that lights aren't able to be on / turned off.  We found this out the hard way when we burnt holes in our canvas in an old jayco, because the lights were on and the heat cooked the canvas.

[Muckinhell]

good point, i will prob convert to led straight up anyway but still will rewire to make a master switch so as everything other than the fridge will be able to be left off.

by the way would anyone see an issue with one of the pop tops with the onboard shower toilet combo? love the idea but bit hesitant as well.

[lilstookie]

We considered these for a brief time when looking to upgrade from our old Aussie Jay's soft floor (bearing in mind this is our home as we live on the road). Things we noticed in our research watching others and looking at them in showrooms:

not enough storage for everything....nowhere near
setup time similar to ours
inside kitchen
annexe area too small...we live outside and only use the inside of our tent for sleeping
wasn't impressed with quality of cabinetry and fittings
not (in our opinion) up to the rough roads we regularly travel for the next xxx years.

The only real pro for us was that they're off the ground.

We've paid the deposit on and looking forward to December delivery of a Cub Spacevan hardfloor with bunks as an option. We seriously considered a Drifta DOT (not enough undercover area) and the Ecomate forward fold (heavy, not enough storage, liked the two awning idea but not enough space with the main one on).

Lil

[lockyer]

We use to have a Cub camper for about 10 years and in that time I had modified it twice, and both times it was to make it easier for over night camping/ setup pack up times, in the end we could be in bed in less then 10 min's. We only recently sold it, and it is because I have a lower back issue and loading and unloading some of the gear was taking a toll. Our friend's have a Jayco Dove and we had a good look at it but decided for many of the reasons above not to go with it, all our travels now a days in on the black stuff and our 4wd is gone.

We bought a 1978 Millard Pop top c/van and spend $$$$ restoring it, which I loved doing, and our last pet has pasted away so we can do lots more weekends away and extended weekend travelling as well. To give you an idea we are heading to Bribie Island (SE Qld) for 4 nights but will free camp(over night) between home and Bribie near Woodford because with the van it is less then 5 min's and we are having afternoon drinks and watching the sun set. One of the good thing with a pop top van is you can do some shopping for food and can load the fridge/cupboards without crawls around.

Cheers ( this maybe my very last post on here, has been a great resource over the years Thanks Guys/gals)

[Jen, Sprogs n Him]

Safe and happy travels Lockyer :-)

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Red1]

Over 10 yes we had a hawk and 2 swans. 4 months ago got a 20 ft expanda. MUCH more room, kids are bigger now so they have their own space now with bunks, we have a shower and toilet, and pack up and setup times are gone. We loved the campers, but this is Great.

[glenm64]

Had a Coromal Pioneer PS421 for 6 years.
Sold it primarily for the following reasons
After a few days of rain bedding gets wet.
The canvas flaps too much for sleeping in windy conditions.
In cold weather the cold comes through the mattress and it is freezing.(Mrs. starting to get arthritis)
3 way fridge in van meant you have inbuilt vents which caused dust issues when on long off road trips.
We're getting a bit older now and an ensuite onboard for the Mrs. makes life so much easier, as we free camp mostly.