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As in the title ,just bought a cheap Mercedes viano and need to work out whether it’s worth fitting a poptop roof , which would double the value of the van. I don’t need the extra bed but looking at it for headroom as I’m 6’ 3”. Do I just cook on my knees and save a fotune😀.
Ive also been looking at rooftop tents as an alternative to the pop top in case I ever do need a extra bed space any advice on these would be great.
thanks for any advice
Do I just cook on my knees and save a fotune
How much to sell the van and buy one you can stand up in? Working out of low roof vans in my early 20's has a lot to do with my back issues.....
Even with a pop top you'd be cooking on your knees..they don't raise the height of the stove. My van has a pop top and I just sit down to cook...which is far more civilised than standing to cook. But it's great to stand up in especially when getting changed or organising the van...and of course somewhere for the kids to sleep.
Not sure it is worthwhile paying to have a pop top put in... they're about £3k aren't they...do it if you want it- it's a need thing not a value thing, but I don't think you'll see the value back int he resale of the van.
Depends how much you are going to use the van. It would piss me off having to bend over every time I moved around on the van, let alone cooking. Plus they give loads of light to.the interior.
I've just got my first low top work van in 12 years...I can't imagine spending too much time in one trying to cook/dress. Sell it and get a high top! And at 6'3", you might still want a nice big rooflight where you stand to cook/wash up etc unless you get an extra-high.
Moved from getting dressed lying on my back and cooking on my knees to a hi top
Won't be going back
Only reason is fit a pop top is if the van was a daily driver
Ruins alot of sneaky camp ups when you have to be obviously "camped" rather than just parked up
If it's going to be anything more than a bed get a hi top
Just put the cooker by the side door!
Good idea Like the old vw bay westfalla I was parked next to in Harris.
**** me it looked miserable trying to cook in the evenings rain.
We had in put on our van and it transformed spending time inside. Unless you build the cooker in the floor you shouldn’t be cooking in your knees. Having the space and ventilation is fantastic for extended periods away.
Depends on age of the van - it’s a lot of money on an individual bus if it’ll let you down in a few years.
hi top is the Only way to go. Vanlife is a total game changer 🙂
It's cooking in a van, never gonna be a luxury experience, like cooking in a tent but more expensive, despite what TR tells you about his Winnebago!
No way that big red bus ever looks like it's 'just parked up' Terry btw! 🤣
At 6'3" you'd be mad not to do it unless the van is a big rust bucket.
We have a motorhome (7.5m long) and the biggest problem we face visiting places now is height restricted car parks. Most 'beauty spots', a lot of town centre car parks etc all have barriers now (well in the South anyway) to prevent travellers moving in. We have a dog so tend to go to outdoor places when on holiday and walk with the dog which just makes things worse compared with going to a national trust type house or whatever indoor attraction with a staffed car park.
It's got to the point where we're considering a campervan with a pop top as a replacement - just so we can use it as transport when we are on holiday and not spend time driving places where there's nowhere to park.
So, consider a hi-top but also think about where you use it and what restrictions it would bring with it.
just bought a cheap Mercedes viano
How cheap? Fitting a pop top is quite an expensive thing to do, might not be worth it if the remaining life expectancy of the van is fairly short.
Pop top has got to be superior to a hi-top.
Sneaking under barriers for a cheeky camp gives you so many more options.
6'4" and on those occasions when I "cant be bothered" to pop the roof, moving around or cooking in the van is far less comfortable.
Extra light, air, sleeping options and space to move and stand up all make the pop-top a definite yes from me.
Camping for 1 or 2 nights when it’s generally nice enough to be outside: don’t bother
Camping for longer whatever the weather: yes or get an awning
Another option, and it is what I did, is that you can always get it fitted after you have converted it and used it for a couple of seasons to see how it goes. But this depends on being able to temporarily strip out your conversion.
£100 on an awning buys you a lot more space. Admittedly not as convenient as a pop top but much better if you are spending a few nights in one place. We normally just cook outside anyway.
</span>No way that big red bus ever looks like it’s ‘just parked up’ Terry btw! <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">
😂
Sorry, have to agree with this. Nothing subtle about TRs behemoth bus.
You spelt parcel force van wrong. I never claimed it was subtle.... It's pretty much a mobile asbo.... But it is not obvious if anyone's sleeping in it or not.
It certainly looks alot more parked up In a carpark on the occasions I've needed to park in a town (gigs) night and have a cheeky kip than if I had to pop my top.
Each have their plus and minus and I guess it depends where you live as I was down your way no beer. They fair like a height barrier. Although they were not too clever about it down Irvine way you can just drive round them if you want to watch the sun set. It'll stop the lowered van brigade perhaps
Simply don't have the height barrier issue up here anywhere you'd want to sleep.
Top tip.in towns park outside a graveyard.....the residents don't moan about it much.
Depending on internal layout and number of occupants you may not have to raise the roof for a cheeky park-up.
Thank god you bought a Mercedes Vito this would be a total different thread if you bought one of those VW vans
VW make vans ? I thought they only made lifestyle vehicles 😉
I went from a Hi Roof Transit to a low roof Transit. But I will get a pop top fitted soon. Being able to stand and do stuff is great. Parking restrictions didn't affect me enough to be bothered by it. I may also fit an awning, then Ive got all the options covered.
If you want a high roof van you can have my old one for peanuts.
Pop top for the win gives you so much more space the 3K ones will give you a bed upstairs!
We fitted one to ours , worst thing we ever did. Like putting a single skin tent on top of your van. Opening it up on a cool day would drop the temp in the to make it a bit chilli to say the least and the eberspacher had no chance of heating that ice cube. At night the amount of ventilation you had to have to stop the condensation on the inside of the pop top made it a little fresh. The extra height you gain inside is only in a very small area due to the triangle shape of the roof. As others have said if you want more space/ height get a high top and you can insulate that and it will be full height the length of the van.
so we all agree one thing.
standing room is king.
how we achieve it is personal opinion and circumstances
In typical contrary fashion...
Having had a pop-top-less T5 camper for seven years now, we've managed quite nicely without. However, there are only two of us, so we don't need any extra bed space, and the layout is such that the stove is next to the sliding door, so it's easy to stand in the awning and cook (although it's also perfectly easy to sit on the bench seat next to the stove and cook too). When we're inside the van we're either sitting down or lying down, so the restricted roof height doesn't really matter. I'm 6'1", FWIW.
so we all agree one thing.
standing room is king.
Nope 🙂
We use our camper with pop-top in the Scottish winter and we've never had any issues with heating it up, or with condensation. Insulated wraps/covers for pop-top roofs are available though.
Hi-tops do give additional storage possibilities.
TBH I was pretty much 50:50 on the choice of hi-top or pop-top but we already had a standard height van so decided to convert rather than swap to a different vehicle.
Definitely worth it, it transformed our van. The living space is so much more comfortable and airy with it up. It makes getting changed and making a brew/cooking a much less painful experience.
Whether you'd get your money back is another thing though I suppose (but does that matter if you get the use out of it?). What companies do roofs for your van?
Would never get a high top van, too many height restrictions around now a days and just plain dont like the look of them, but can see the appeal.
The op doesn't want the pop top for sleeping in, so the high top is better for cheeky overnighters argument doesn't really work (unless he sleeps standing up) as the roof would be down if he's trying to keep under the radar. A low roof van with pop top closed is a lot more inconspicuous than a big high top van.
One of the main benefits of these type of vans to me is that they can go and park anywhere a car can. Mines only 1.85m high with pop top fitted.
Awnings are good but a lot of faff (im on my second at the minute) especially if it's raining and you have to pack up. It's that sort of faff that having a van should eliminate, ie. no set up time, always ready to go, can cook inside etc etc. Each to their own though of course 🙂
I have owned a Hi-Top Hi-Ace camper for well over a decade and lived in it for 6 months with the Mrs, so I'll chip in!
I'll probably echo what others have said...
Daily driver? Leave as stock or pop top.
Van you plan to do extended trips in and/or live in for a bit: Hi top.
With a hi-top, lots of car parks are out due to pikey barriers, they are also not as nice to drive day to day.
One thing you might want to consider is a slide out cooking station thing on tracks that slides out of the tail gate. Means you can cook out side if the weather is nice, or with a tailgate awning if the weather is pants.
High top with pop top anyone 😛
Yeah, worth it IMO.
I rarely sleep in mine as because at 6’2 the bed is too short up there my feet hit the lower part of the roof, but it transforms the van as a space.
I often rough it overnight and dont bother with it, but as soon as there’s 2 of us in there or a couple of nights or more it’s great and I’d not go back now. Turns it from a tin box to a room.
We're all doing it wrong, how about a extra high top van, with two more hightops grafted onto the roof and rear doors, and a little pop top to finish it off? You think I jest - but it actaully doesn't look as silly as you'd expect!
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(thats a 3.5 ton van and I'd make a guess it weights about 5 tons with all the stuff they must have in there!)
My stove setup is in a movable cabinet. Not raining set up by back door or outside. Raining. With by back door with tarp between the doors or fully inside but sat down. 6'1.75"
Never a issue for me, but it's what you are comfortable with. I would not sink the money into a old van.
Good idea Like the old vw bay westfalla I was parked next to in Harris.
**** me it looked miserable trying to cook in the evenings rain.
It’s OK when you’ve got an awning though.
I'm 6ft3 and drive a vw mid top, it's about 6 inches more than a standard van. I've got by for 9 years.
Most of the time I cook outside. Even if I had a pop top I'd still cook outside especially if I'm cooking a fry up or a curry etc.
My van has an awning bolted to the side that extends out.
If the weather is terrible we just sit on the front swivel seats or the bed and cook.
The trade off with a high top is problems parking, side winds and they don't look as good.