Devon Roof Refurb

[andthepand]

Hi, the interior swimming pool is nice but cant be doing my van any good
does anyone know someone who could refurb my Devon pop top, preferably south wales & west sort of area?
Cheers, steve.

 

[Matt_B]

Have you looked at the roof cap from justkampers ? That's what I'm doing

 

[stokeseys]

i had a devon before and stripped the old covering and brought a refurb kit. also rivited extra aluminum strips to the frame work. brought parts from
http://campershop.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[ozziedog]

Hey guys,, check out HotRod`s build thread on here, he has possibly got OCD about some of the stuff he`s done to his bus, he must have to get it so bloody perfect :evil: He has done a real nice job on his roof and he has used a roof cap but I don`t know whether he stripped all the other crap out before he put it on. From a roofing point of view, the early Devon is a roof waiting to leak because it is virtually flat and has a gasket all around just inside the perimeter that will hold the water on your roof so it can eventually find it`s way through the failed with age gasket for that full on waterfall effect :roll: or just through the rivets for the more subtle and gentle morning shower scenario. The other problem is being flat ish it eventually will sag and become a bit like lake Ontario :evil: Not good in the whole scheme of things when trying to keep water out of your bus ,,, and we all know the more that water gets in the more them little tin termites (brown ones) try to breed The roof cap seems to sort most of this out being a lot lighter and with the ability to overcome all those ^^^ little issues and just glue it on. If I was doing one, I think I`d look at the possibilities of getting rid of most of the roof and just using the frame with the roof cap and starting again because the roof won`t be supporting it too much anyhow because it will have sagged in the middle :shock: Check out that thread and after writing this ,,, I hope he actually mentions it :lol:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,, Don`t get me started on roofs ! :evil: ,,,,,,,,,, :lol: :lol:

 

[Tony123]

Hi think your looking at spending tons of cash by not doing it yourself would assume in the region of 1k+++ for parts & labour.
I have a Devon roof leaks like a sieve started to use sealent were I would suspect leaks & then onto gaffa or duck tape over the inner seal especially around the back end was saving up for a JK kit but Luck has it I found a roof cap on ebay for a bargain (99p) so far after a bit of work & a little more to do its brill, do need to sort out headlining & vent + uprated springs need fitting but blocks of wood hold roof up for know.

 

[andynods]

Hi think your looking at spending tons of cash by not doing it yourself would assume in the region of 1k+++ for parts & labour.
I have a Devon roof leaks like a sieve started to use sealent were I would suspect leaks & then onto gaffa or duck tape over the inner seal especially around the back end was saving up for a JK kit but Luck has it I found a roof cap on ebay for a bargain (99p) so far after a bit of work & a little more to do its brill, do need to sort out headlining & vent + uprated springs need fitting but blocks of wood hold roof up for know.

Bloody hell. 99p!!!!!!

 

[andthepand]

Thanks for al the posts. It seems that these poptops could have anything form a refurb to replacement, and everyone has their own personal preference! I love Hotrods thread!
Personally. I love standing up in my camper and my daughters love sleeping in the hammocks! also i must be one of the few that likes the way it looks too!
My roof just needs the a new vinyl to be glued on then new rubbers to seal it. It was keeping the water out until recently when the vinyl just suddenly peeled off!? It seems a straight forward job but fiddly, and needs to be done right. I don't even think the roof or even the cap needs to come off? Also hoping it wont cost as much as a new roof cap! Anyway it is a bit out of my league.
Does anyone know of anyone who could properly glue down a new vinyl for me?
Thanks all, steve.

 

[stokeseys]

Dont know handy you are, but as i said i done mine and i found it quite easy, just a bit time consuming taking the old vinyl off. from what i can remember there is a rubber seal around the edge which had a rubber lace i side that that spreads the rubber seal in place. i think if you want it to stay dry you really need to strip it right back imo. you could always call the last link i gave you for advice

 

[andthepand]

Thanks stokeseys.
I will give them a call tomorrow.....

 

[AGPlant]

Do you tuck wrap the vinyl under the seal around the edges of the roof?

 

[Gwar72]

I change the rubber seal on mine, have a look on my thread. It's a fiddly job but not a bad job you couldn't do yourself. Just do it a section at a time.

Is the vinyl your talking about going on the outside? Mine was just painted?

 

[AGPlant]

Have spent many hours looking at your thread Gwar72. I have exactly the same van as you, 72 Moonraker crossover. Could do with leaving her in your hands for a few months, very impressive.

The main top of the roof needs some good attention. Previously its had like a mastic plastered over all the rivets, and possibly duck tape that has since come off, the skylight has been covered and filled in too. Have given it a good clean up but ideally needs covering, and Devon conversions recommended covering the main part in vinyl. Then replacing the joining seal. Have replaces the J seal. Before I do anything i need to purchase new concertina sides as theres nothing at present. Wasn't sure how the vinyl would fit under the seal.

Andrew

 

[Gwar72]

Have spent many hours looking at your thread Gwar72. I have exactly the same van as you, 72 Moonraker crossover. Could do with leaving her in your hands for a few months, very impressive.

The main top of the roof needs some good attention. Previously its had like a mastic plastered over all the rivets, and possibly duck tape that has since come off, the skylight has been covered and filled in too. Have given it a good clean up but ideally needs covering, and Devon conversions recommended covering the main part in vinyl. Then replacing the joining seal. Have replaces the J seal. Before I do anything i need to purchase new concertina sides as theres nothing at present. Wasn't sure how the vinyl would fit under the seal.

Andrew

AGPlant - The vinyl would be fine with the seal as vinyl ain't that thick and that part of the seal goes in fine, it's PUTTING in the middle seal cord which is the hard PART..!!! Wished i'd known about the vinyl as i would have done that to mine before doing the seal..!!?? :roll: I'm going to re-paint the top section of roof with a flexible roof paint next to seal those damn rivets..!!
Cheers for the good comment, glad the thread helps others..!! 8)

Sorry for hi-jacking thread "andthepad" but i hope it all helps..!!??

 

[andthepand]

I went for the full monty and took the roof off. I dragged two brothers into helping me get it off and on, and the mrs wasnt too happy for a couple of days, but replaced the vinyl in one go. Its the rivets that let in water apparently and the vinyl can help stop this.

The answer is to your question AGPlant is to trim it off at the edge, not tuck it under. My advice is get the best glue and get plenty of it, right up to the edge.

After a new inner seal goes in you should be ale to get a thin bead of sealant under the seal just for luck! Mine hasnt leaked and we've had a few downpours.

Havent been wealthy enough to change the bellows yet...! And Gwar72 - theres no hijacking, i loved your rebuild thread you've done brilliantly. Our Devon Conversions need a little more lovin!!

 

[AGPlant]

Thank you everybody, just need to get on with it now! Wish she fitted in my garage! Cheers.

 

[Gwar72]

Cheers guys for the good comments on my build thread..!! I'm only learning as i go and the wealth of info from over peoples threads is a great help so i'm glad it helps others..!!

What type of vinyl do you use?? :?: Got a link to it?? Cheers

 

[andthepand]

I was recommended two places, Woolies and Martrim, easy to google. Both sell similar stuff, and both were really helpful. Think I went with Martrim in the end. Make sure you get external vinyl. And get plenty of the best glue too, with the highest heat resistance rating. Good luck with it.