Hi all Hoping I don't sound to stupid, the previous owner of our recently purchased '73 Devon did show the roof up, but several weeks later I am trying and can't seem to get it to stay up?(no joke please ) Can anyone provide and advice with popping up the Devon roof and staying up, and process to lower ? Seems very hard to push up also and wants to fall down easily.
There are springs in the telescopic arm that should keep it up. New/extra strong springs are available from Just Kampers (or were last time I looked.
@Vincent Union push it up in the middle. then push up from the front. Perhaps you will hear a 'click' when the springs/arms are fully extended then push up from the back. Again hopefully you will hear a noise when it is fully extended hopefully it will then stay up. On the outer diagonal arms (towards the horizontal arm) you will see a little 'hole that you can see the inner arm through. It's possible that they have something to do with the clicking/holding into position that you want. I'm not sure what they should look like when fully extended, but have a look at all of these and compare to each other, perhaps you just have ani issue with one arm or spring that needs an extra shove. The last point may be nonsense, but worth a look. On mine i just push the devon roof up, sometimes i haven't pushed up one corner enough so it starts to slowly drop. Yours may be completely caput or you may just need to push it up until it doesn't fall back down!
Certainly looks like, from the first photo particularly, that it isn’t pushed up far enough - those ‘limiter’ straps are slack and should be taught. Maybe lack of use has just made it stiff. PO probably just used to how much to shove it. I know as a new owner I was timid with everything. My roof has a fibreglass cover and is super-heavy, yet still the springs alone keep it up.
All looks a bit tired, probably wants new springs, new canvas, does it not leak through the rivets ? Has it had new seals on top between the outer and inner.
Mine has 4 steel pins to hold it in the erect position (snigger) Removes the reliance on just the springs. Stirlingmoz
Looking at the photo you posted of yourself and your van on a different thread, I'd hazard a guess that you have a 'roof cap' over the original Devon pop top - which would explain the weight of the roof when you try to push it up. It might also explain why it won't stay up, if the springs at the side are a bit tired. JK do make heavy duty springs to replace the ones in your existing tubes. Its not the easiest of jobs, and is better with more than just yourself doing it. As a temporary fix, get four pieces of wood with a notch at one end to sit over the edge of the roof hole, and hold the roof up that way. It's not pretty, or a permanent solution - but I camped with mine like that for my first year of ownership until I sorted the new canvas and overhauled the actual roof (it had a big sag in the fibreglass)
Paul got me wondering. Mine just boings up, but has the uprated springs. Top tip, open a window or the door first.
Mine certainly doesn’t boing, or pop up at all, but with the fibreglass it’s much heavier than my old one. Thinking; as I bought it like this i’ve no idea if the guy I got it off put updated springs in. He possibly did, since it does stay up of its own accord. Is the window/door trick to do with vacuum pressure?
Exactly that, it's almost impossible to push mine up with everything closed. My springs just about held it up and I don't have a roof cap, so I fitted uprated ones before I put a solar panel on top. I thought the solar panel or wind would make the difference and I didn't want to be propping it up if it was fixable.
Hi Thanks for the input I agree it's a different cover looking from above in which making heavier, and with springs tired makes it difficult to stay up. I will have to investigate new springs and canvas as permanent fix and the wood idea in the shorter term. Cheers
