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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 6:50:39 GMT -8
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 6:54:59 GMT -8
I was tired of repairing the tent for the pop top every season, especially when the bugs would come in. The zippers were corroded and two wouldn't open. The front hinges were working loose and I could see some rot starting in the front wood rails the tent attaches to so time to refurbish it.
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:01:15 GMT -8
 For those unfamiliar with 1972 pop top, it attaches to the van with metal rails that are screwed through the tent's plastic edge. Most of these screws are easily removed with a few hard to get ones in the corners. The top of the tent is stapled to a narrow wooden framework. rails |
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:02:56 GMT -8
 To make the tent removal easier I ended up cutting the old tent away. Here you can see the two front hinges, central hinge and the end of the upper bunk/cot. |
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:08:33 GMT -8
 I recommend undoing the forward two of the three bolts on the front hinges first leaving the rear bolt in place to hold the top while you undo the screws holding the two rear spring loaded arms in place. Then remove the central hinge screws. Once I had the rear arms free from the van I zap strapped them to prevent them flopping around when we lift the top off. Then I lift the top a bit and removed the final bolts. |
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:10:35 GMT -8
 Once my daughter and I lifted off the pop top I removed the rear luggage carrier by undoing the three screws at the front and the three inside the carrier at the back. |
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:12:29 GMT -8
 I cleaned up the bus top and now have an awesome sunroof! Maybe I will leave it at that... Looks like two tone white paint, some chipping and rust happening. |
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Post by cooldad on Apr 11, 2020 7:20:19 GMT -8
 An example of the rotten wood structure. Have to fix that bad boy and the other side as well before I can reattach the new tent. This is in the forward end of the bus. The wood at the rear was okay. |
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Post by Volktales on Apr 13, 2020 18:25:54 GMT -8
Nice to see your old bus getting some TLC. Hope that job goes smoothly. And hope that this pandemic thing ends ASAP, so we can enjoy things like camping again...
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