HiLo Surf roof unhinged

[seewhy]

My cup runneth over...

The nearside hinge of our HiLo surf roof has just popped off! Has anyone else had a problem like this? They are held on by 2 rivets and I'm not sure how to go about fixing this... Any thoughts (on the repair)? I think it will need to be a 'blind' repair in that I can't get into the back of the attachment point. A high stress point at that. I'll post some pics when the van limps home... Obviously it did this when I wasn't in it.

Unfortunately our friends at HiLo have not been replying to my emails or letters for the past 6 months so I'm not holding out any hope of them assisting. They will have their hands full soon as their final deadline has just passed.

However, this is probably the final straw for this roof.

If you have a Surf roof, can I advise you to check the hinges... It's pretty catastrophic... First sign of trouble is the misalignment of the screw in locks at the front...

Feel free to contact me directly.
I'm not aiming to turn this into another opportunity to bash HiLo, so please refrain from that if you're tempted

 

[True Romance]

Got photos?

 

[seewhy]

So I got sent some photos and it turns out to be the hinge itself that has failed. This is even more serious than I thought. I would say the chances of fixing this might be quite slim. I've not seen it in person myself but these pictures probably tell the story.




Apparently it snapped as the roof was being lowered and 'landed' at this ridiculous angle.


With some additional assistance it was possible to shift the roof into position and lock the front down. Which avoided a breakdown truck.

If you've got a HiLo Surf roof
CHECK YOUR HINGES!

If you know a possible replacement I would be very grateful. Answers on a postcard...

Thanks

 

[Insert Coin]

I think HiLo gave up on the Surf, even by their own shitty standards that roof was a disaster for them.

Might be worth trying Simply Surf Bus, Jaibow or Vision Tech as they are all good HiLo fitters and see if they have any experience or advice.

 

[seewhy]

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll contact these folk. I'll report back on any progress in case anyone else finds themselves here. It would be too much of a coincidence for ALL the Surf problems to manifest themselves on just one roof...

Do you have a Surf on your bus @Insert Coin ? I'm collecting first-hand experiences of the Surf roof as part of a little 'project'...

 

[Trouts]

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll contact these folk. I'll report back on any progress in case anyone else finds themselves here. It would be too much of a coincidence for ALL the Surf problems to manifest themselves on just one roof...

Do you have a Surf on your bus @Insert Coin ? I'm collecting first-hand experiences of the Surf roof as part of a little 'project'...

i believe he has the Sport...

on page 2:

Hi Drama Lo Quality Roof - Sinking In The Surf

Cheers all, @seewhy @Farnorthsurfer @Andyf. Keep telling myself things will improve. And to top things off just when I was starting to manage to deal with the mental health issues that the roof caused, my sister had a near fatal accident, smashing 19 bones including two vertebrae and 3 breaks in...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Insert Coin]

I know it’s not what you want to hear, but if push comes to shove the guys at Skyline can fit their roofs where a HiLo once lived.

I had a chat with a Skyline factory fitter when we were away last year and he said they could fit their roofs to cover up previously fitted roofs.

He offered to get mine swapped over, I politely declined as my Sport has been fine.

 

[Trouts]

I know it’s not what you want to hear, but if push comes to shove the guys at Skyline can fit their roofs where a HiLo once lived.

I had a chat with a Skyline factory fitter when we were away last year and he said they could fit their roofs to cover up previously fitted roofs.

He offered to get mine swapped over, I politely declined as my Sport has been fine.

well that's good news if all else fails...

 

[seewhy]

Thanks @Insert Coin and @Trouts for your contributions.

I think the frame for the Surf is smaller than the Sport, so if the Skyline theoretically fits a van with the Sport then it might work with the Surf. I'll bear this in mind as an option... Interesting turn of phrase 'if all else fails'... couldn't possibly comment in public!

 

[t0mb0]

I'd ring around as many fitters as possible to see if anyone has a spare hinge, given the firm themselves appear to have disappeared I wouldn't imagine spare parts will be in circulation for very long. If not, might be a case of finding a metal fabricator to try and get one custom made?

 

[seewhy]

I'd ring around as many fitters as possible to see if anyone has a spare hinge, given the firm themselves appear to have disappeared I wouldn't imagine spare parts will be in circulation for very long. If not, might be a case of finding a metal fabricator to try and get one custom made?

Thanks - in progress!

 

[AndyStripes]

I see Hilo are in liquidation. We’ve been chasing them for a repair and now understand why they’re impossible to contact.

 

[seewhy]

Oh great. Thanks for highlighting this. It will be a long list of private creditors to add to those already published.

 

[Bav]

I'd ring around as many fitters as possible to see if anyone has a spare hinge, given the firm themselves appear to have disappeared I wouldn't imagine spare parts will be in circulation for very long. If not, might be a case of finding a metal fabricator to try and get one custom made?

@seewhy, sorry to be late to this thread, but Vision Tech recently told me that they have direct access to HiLo's former suppliers. VTA only fit the Sport roof, but if HiLo were using the same suppliers for the Surf roof then this may be a route to get a spare hinge. Good luck.

 

[seewhy]

@seewhy, sorry to be late to this thread, but Vision Tech recently told me that they have direct access to HiLo's former suppliers. VTA only fit the Sport roof, but if HiLo were using the same suppliers for the Surf roof then this may be a route to get a spare hinge. Good luck.

Thanks @Bav

I haven't heard back from VTA, but things have moved on... HiLo surf roof dimensions wanted (and that's got a point in it that VTA might want to bear in mind, from another thread you posted...)

To update this thread, in case it's relevant to anyone, and to save some of the head scratching if you find yourself here:

Jason at Jaibow very kindly offered to send me a hinge (and spent some time talking through the options). Here's what the original / spare looks like (Jason's photos)


The sharp eyed will notice that HiLo installed the hinge 'inside out' - Always possible that puts additional stress on the short arm because it's essentially sitting backwards from its design position, but that's just my opinion, not engineering fact.

But looking at that made my eyes water - replacing the long arm means raising the roof (or removing it) and finding a way of detaching it (I think it was set in resin, but I might be wrong).

Option 2 would be to take out the pin and swap the short arm, putting a new pin in my hinge on the van. But that means (at least) taking the rear door off to get at things comfortably, and removing the short arm from the van.

I had a long and helpful conversation with Ady at Crystal Custom Campers to discuss how to replace that hinge and that highlighted a problem, which is access to inside of the rear frame where they drilled to put the rivets through the short arm. Basically you can't get at it, so no hope of bolting it. So there's a risk that by drilling out the rivet that is a 'terminal solution'.

Bear in mind that the gas strut is trying to extend (which is why the hinge is skewed in my original image in the previous post) - so I'd have to deal with that and support the roof somehow, and align the roof precisely.

These factors put it beyond my capabilities and we were going away in the van for a few days, so I had to do something...

My approach (for which read bodge) was to fabricate a temporary bracket by drilling through the short arm and bolting above and below. It's neither pretty nor functional (I can't open the roof) but at least it is safe to drive. Camping in it is less fun.



I will tell you it's a really fiddly place to work and the clearances for a drill and spanners are marginal (without taking the rear door off) - as you can see from the paint. That took me about 4 hours - maybe a sign of my incompetence.

So my options for 'permanent' fix? Well given that I live near Aberdeen, that's 300 miles to any reputable converter (such as Jaibow or Crystal Custom Campers, for example). Probably a couple of days labour and then 300 miles drive home. Plus loss of earnings for 3 days, plus accommodation... So well over a grand. And that would leave me with a roof that still has serious problems (some of which are outlined in the other post) that are still likely to cause failure. I call that beyond economic repair.

Hence my search for a replacement roof that might fit a hole the size of a Surf (unknown dimensions and location on the roof). I think SCA would fit, but people seem to have stopped dealing with them when I ask. Reimo is a possibility - to be confirmed if I get those dimensions, or take my van to my nearest Reimo agent for a look-see (800 mile round trip I think). Skyline have gone quiet on me, so I suspect not. And then I'm into other territory of a small outfit 'having a go' with their product, which, with all due respect, I'm not sure I fancy given my experiences. If anyone can assure me otherwise, I'm all ears.

This is a bit long and probably tortuous to read, but maybe it gives you an idea of the challenge to Surf Roof owners...

 

[t0mb0]

Might be worth investigating a Reimo Easyfit - they come with the roof and subframe as a unit so maybe it’s more tolerant of an existing hole being cut?

On another note, I feel for what you’re going through here, the amount of pain HiLo have caused in the camper community is pretty grim.

 

[Insert Coin]

I only know what one of the Skyline fitters told me and that was that they do fit their roofs (I’m not sure what model) to existing vans that have had a pop top previously.

I hope you get all this sorted and that the HiLo brothers get kneecapped or worse.

 

[seewhy]

Reimo Easyfit - they come with the roof and subframe as a unit so maybe it’s more tolerant of an existing hole being cut

Thanks @t0mb0
Yep, that's on my radar. I think a common comment that's coming back from converters is that if anyone has to try to remove the existing HiLo frame it will start to get painful (mostly to my wallet), so the first option is to try to find a roof that will sit on the existing gubbins. And then widen the field if that's a non-starter. I guess that's why I'm opening this up on the forum to get a breadth of experience - HiLo surf roof dimensions wanted

Anyone that has experience but would rather protect their Intellectual Property (or more like Practical Experience 'Property'!), you can contact me direct and I'll just share the outcome, not the method

 

[Bav]

things have moved on... HiLo surf roof dimensions wanted (and that's got a point in it that VTA might want to bear in mind, from another thread you posted...)

I presume that you're referring to my post where I said that VTA were going to rebadge the HiLo roof as their own, and you're highlighting the risk in this approach given the Pendlebury's litigious nature?

I've been thinking about VTA's response to me informing them that HiLo had gone bust. They said they weren't aware, but also said they had been making alternative arrangements for the previous few months - which suggests to me that they at least knew the writing was on the wall for HiLo. Given that the HiLo Sport is the only roof VTA fit, I don't believe it's credible that they wouldn't have a viable (i.e. legal) plan for continuing trading beyond the demise of HiLo and I suspect that plan was an agreement with HiLo/ All Things Custom/ the Pendlebury brothers to continue to rebrand the HiLo Sport as their own.

My suspicions have since been reinforced by this post...

I have also been looking at getting a quote for a hilo. Spoke to one company who said they (hilo) are starting up again with a couple tweaks and they are only going to be supplying a handful of fitters. (about 5 in the uk from memory). just going to be polished hinge, 1 colour of fabric. Pretty sure it was also mentioned that Hilo were letting the fitters brand it as their own so there could be some truth to VTA's comment.

 

[seewhy]

Thanks @Bav - yup, that's the one.

All Things Custom Ltd has been on the go for over a year and HiLo sold their assets in May 2022, I believe. I note that VTA are not listed as a creditor to HiLo, so they must have been very lucky with the timing of any purchases they made, and it is surprising that they were unaware of the liquidation. Maybe they were already dealing with the new owner of the product, who may have forgotten to mention it. That kind of thing is very easy to slip one's mind.

I have no opinion on VTA as I have not dealt with them and they have not responded to my enquiry regarding my Surf Roof.