Hi @hilo.
I did think about the generic risks of replacing the tin top with any brand pop top roof.
I was confident in the remaining and indeed added structural integrity of a well engineered product like the Hilo.
The performance of the material used to manufacture a roof skin on any pop top roof was of more concern. Whether it's carbon fibre, GRP or alternative blend or combination of plastic laminate. Would it be subject to loading whereby it would shatter or fail, leading to razor sharp edges entering the cabin.
If you study the NCAP crash test footage of the T5, you can see an induced shock wave travelling along the roof skin. The elastic limit of the steel isn't reached and it pretty much returns to is manufactured pressed form. Would material used for the roof behave in the same fashion without failing and the risk of sending sharp edges down into the cabin.
You can also see the A pillar and door frame flex. There would come a point at a higher speed or with greater load where that structure is most likely to fold as it absorbed the kenetic energy from behind. The floorpan on vans can often be pushed upwards as there higher centre of gravity makes them ride up over lower cars. This can move the occupants head towards the roof line.
However, whether we realise it or not, as drivers we take risks with our safety on a daily basis. Everytime we pass an oncoming vehicle on an A road, we're 6 to 8 feet away from potential death every time. Consider how many cars we pass daily. I'll add to that, that I'm a road cyclist, mountain biker, motorcyclist and snow boarder so not averse to risk by any means. In addition, I'm planning to install furniture in the van most likely made of plywood! I'm sure that won't crash too well.
So would the securing bolt put me off the purchase of the Hilo. No. The bolt was the only thing that I wasn't keen on but it certainly didn't put me off a purchase.
But I know, each time I looked at it in front of me, I'd get flash backs to deformed A pillars and crushed roofs that I've witnessed over the years with the resulting injuries to people, fatal or otherwise that people have suffered.
While I commend the work NCAP does wholeheartedly, as far as im aware, it didn't crash test the T5 into a 10-12 inch diameter tree. It doesn't roll it down a motorway embankment. Or slide on its side along the tarmac into a bollard. It didnt crash it head on into another van or wall of similar height. My point being that 64kph into a deformable object is not always what happens in the real world.
Just my opinion here, but M1 pull testing has it's place and is certainly worthwhile. But there is much more to 'Crash' testing than analysing the performance of the B pillar.
Airbags and seatbelts are essential bits of safety kit. The NCAP video shows how effective they are but despite these, by far the most common fatal injury I've seen in a vehicle, is from the lower rim of the steering wheel being pushed into the chest. Not every collision will result in the head going forward into a soft airbag. Especially where there is secondary impacts. Very often, components and parts of a vehicle will come to you rather than you going to them. It's all relative of course. In collisions where millimetres can make the difference between life and death, I just think there is a better, safer solution to having the bolt infront of your scalp.
However, It may well be just me that thinks like that, given things I've encounted in days gone by. May not be the issue for everyone. Certainly the Hilo seems to be popular and well liked by many. Like I said before, I was quite taken by it myself. My post above was written in response to
@Mairy post where there was mention of the bolts.
