Dormobile roof removal

[Hodge]

Hi, Anyone got any advice for removing a dormobile roof. Looks like one side has 3 hinges and the other side has a rail securing the bellow down. Just not sure the best way to go about removing the spring loaded bars in the middle.

 

[sparkywig]

From what I can remember they weren't an issue.
I wedged the roof fully open and just undid one end carefully taking the tension off the spring.

 

[67panel]

Yes, just get some help to hold it. At least a 2 person job and 3 is better.

 

[Hodge]

Yep thought it would be best with a couple of people.
So with the roof fully up do you need to take the tension off the spring or can you just unbolt the strut from the mounting point.

 

[sparkywig]

You take the tension off the spring by unbolting the mounting.

 

[JLT]

I guess that this this is as good a thread as any for a question I have.

I'll be replacing the vinyl pretty soon, and was wondering how much slack I should be having when the new stuff is installed. As it is right now, the only way I can get the struts locked is when the slot at their end is in the uppermost position of the bracket. The other two slots are useless, since there's no way I can get the struts locked in that position. But it seems to me that the only reason for having the three slots is to vary the amount of tension on the vinyl. That would make sense if the vinyl itself wanted different tensions depending on how hot or cold it was.

The Dormie top I have is an aftermarket one, so the installers might have made it super-tight to begin with. Or the vinyl might have shrunk over the fifty-three years that the top has been in place. I don't know. But when I replace the vinyl, I'm thinking that it should be installed at normal temps like 30* C, with the strut in the middle slot of the bracket. Does this make sense? Or do the Dormobile people do it differently?

 

[Marvel]

Did you post in the dormobile Facebook page about this? My struts are on the top position and my canvas is pretty tight with no slack at all. And when I put up the roof I tend to not use the handle but push the struts by hand to lock them in.

 

[JLT]

Did you post in the dormobile Facebook page about this?

I did indeed. I'm casting my net as wide as possible. I've also written the Dormobile company directly but haven't received an answer yet.

My struts are on the top position and my canvas is pretty tight with no slack at all. And when I put up the roof I tend to not use the handle but push the struts by hand to lock them in.

Is yours a recent replacement and, if so, by whom?

That's the way mine is. It sound like the two lower slots in the strut bracket are as useless as they are in mine. I figure that there must have been a reason for those two lower slots.