Right lovely people I have taken the plunge and bought a new roof canvas (allegedly one that is the right size and fits). I've also bought a roll of that white plastic strip for fitting. I have a long roof propping stick, heavy duty stapler and screwdrivers. Anyone got any suggestions of what else I may need or tips?
i took mine off the bus to fit, less holding stuff above your head, only a few bolts to undo and it comes off easy (mark the location of the hinges with felt tip before you take off so you can get it back where it was) needs two people to lift off though. also means you can give it a good clean at the same time. soak the white plastic strip thing in hot water before attempting to staple through it - much easier if it's softer.
take the roof off and do it so the staples and white strip is hidden, as per factory. i think my thread has some pictures in it
There was an article in one of the camper van mags recently PM me your email address and if I find it I'll scan it in and send to you.
Whose westy canvasses are the best, I've got Majors to do at some point and don't want to buy a poor quality one
As I understand it the best are Wolfberg West ones (via Alan Schofield), but at £500 were just a bit much for me. There is then a second quality tier at around the £400 mark - NLAVW, VW Heritage and others all with exactly the same text on the website, suggesting its from a common supplier. NLAVW had a sale on (£350) plus still offer another 10% off for us, so went with them. I'll let you know how it fits. Lastly there is the £150-£200 ones which are apparently no good at all (probably no surprise). Various people have recommended sail makers/upholsterers etc as being cheaper (provided you have the old one as a template), but in Chester I couldn't find anyone who was enough cheaper to make the hassle and risk of it not being right worth it.
I bought a cheapy one @MorkC68 fits well considering I did it, I could have got it tighter but wasnt fussed, Mine was £139 I think
mine was from vw heritag ebut is a wolfburg west one, got it a few years ago for less than 300 quid, sounds like they have gone up in price!!
I've just sent @orangefeeling a pdf copy of a magazine article on how to fit one. If anyone else wants it let me have your email address by PM and I'll send it that way.
Well the @NLAVWParts canvas is on - not without a fight! Measuring up against the original the low panel and sides are spot on, but the high back panel is a little to wide and tall, so a right pain to get tight enough. Quality is mixed, stichwork is good, but canvas is a bit hit and miss, some pinholes in the fabric - for the money I was expecting better. A decent right angle screwdriver would have been helpful for the corners, but other than that basic hand tools are the order of the day. Machine Mart do a £12 Clarke staple gun that was more than adequate. Took 5 hours all in, including stripping out the old canvas. A one man job.
