LWB Pop top (west dubs) roof rails and roof bars

[Mwcard]

Hi all,

When I searched the internet a while ago for pop top roof rail options I couldn't find all that much so I thought I'd share what I have done with mine.
The pop top is from West Dubs, LWB version. I was able to drill through the drainage channel section of the pop top, which is about 5-6mm thick. Allows for easy access to tighten the nuts.

In order to do this though I did need to cut 20mm off of each cross bar. This is easy enough to do with a compound mite saw, once the end caps have been removed.
In standard form, the centre to centre rail mounting hole measures 2.7m. To fit in the middle of the draining section of the west dubs I reduced this to 2.5m.

The kit seems to be of good quality. I think the rails seem to be similar to those that are available from other retailers such as Van style. The lockable turtle cross bars are very easy to fit and again seem like good quality. I did replace the bolts that came with the kit for stainless steel ones and changed the length to suit the pop top. Two end bolts were M6, 45mm and the two inner bolts were M6, 60mm. You don't need to use all the plastic mounting parts in the kit as they are provided for fitting directly to the metal roof and standard VW mounting holes.

Roof rails - £64.99

VW T5 T6 Transporter Roof Rack Rails Set - LWB Black 2003-15-on

Buy VW T5 T6 Roof Bars Transporter Roof Rack and Roof Rails for your Transporter.

dstonline.co.uk

Lockable cross bars - £89.50

VW T5 T6 Transporter Lockable Cross Bar Set Turtle Pro 1 - Black 2003-15-on.

Buy VW T5 T6 Transporter Roof Bars Van Roof Rack and Roof Rails for your Van. Similar to the THULE Roof Bars but half the price

dstonline.co.uk

This might not be the cheapest option out there and it's not the slimmest but it works for my pop top. Recommended max load of the bars is about 50kg which is the same rating as the west dubs pop top.

 

[simbad]

Thanks for the post. Have been looking for a solution for west dubs pop top.

The solution that seemed to be suggested was fitting a rail system in order to spread the load across the pop top roof. Did you come across that?
The rail options are a lot more expensive that what you've done - closer to £300-£450.

 

[Mwcard]

Thanks for the post. Have been looking for a solution for west dubs pop top.

The solution that seemed to be suggested was fitting a rail system in order to spread the load across the pop top roof. Did you come across that?
The rail options are a lot more expensive that what you've done - closer to £300-£450.

Hi. Yes, I've seen the rail options but as you say they are more than double the cost.
I can see that the rail would help to spread the load however the rails I have used have quite a large footprint at either end which has a rubber seal around it which I guess reduces the point load and helps to spread the load a little more over the roof. I also have a large washer on the underside to help.

Time will tell I guess!

 

[simbad]

Thanks for reply. This looks like a good option ... couple of questions if I may

I see the roof bars have a 5-6cm adjustment, I assume you still needed to take 20mm off the roof bar length? Do the end caps come off easy enough?

Any height issue with these for car parks?

Thanks.

 

[Mwcard]

Thanks for reply. This looks like a good option ... couple of questions if I may

I see the roof bars have a 5-6cm adjustment, I assume you still needed to take 20mm off the roof bar length? Do the end caps come off easy enough?

Any height issue with these for car parks?

Thanks.

So whatever size you cut the bars to, you still get 5-6cm extra length by sliding the bars out of the end caps. Therefore you could remove more than 20cm and then extend the bars further to make them fit in the position I fitted mine. I wanted mine to have the longest bar possible so that the bar was fully in both end caps.

My van isn't lowered yet and now measures about 2.2m to the highest point. Obviously a 1.9m height restricted carpark will be no good. You'll need to plan ahead where you park.

This might be ok though if the van was lowered 40-50mm.

 

[simbad]

Thanks - that's really helpful.

 

[Jumjum_0214]

Hi, I'm thinking of adding roof bars to my west dubs pop top. Do you have any photos of the underside where you have bolted the rails please? This would be really helpful... many thanks

 

[Epic-Rob]

Just been looking at the vanstyle roof bars and they are saying more for decorative purposes and max 40kg....
what weight are you thinking of putting on??

my last roof rack on my pop top was just made with 4x60cm lengths of C section ally and roof rails, just thinking of something a bit more - stylish this time

 

[Mwcard]

Hi, I'm thinking of adding roof bars to my west dubs pop top. Do you have any photos of the underside where you have bolted the rails please? This would be really helpful... many thanks

Hi yes I'll try and get some pictures for you today

 

[Mwcard]

Just been looking at the vanstyle roof bars and they are saying more for decorative purposes and max 40kg....
what weight are you thinking of putting on??

my last roof rack on my pop top was just made with 4x60cm lengths of C section ally and roof rails, just thinking of something a bit more - stylish this time
View attachment 155080View attachment 155081View attachment 155082

I've had a random sit on top kayak on mine and they have been fine. Slight deflection when loaded but it was more of a point load with the kayak being on its side. A roof box with a more even distribution of weight would be even better

 

[Jumjum_0214]

Hi yes I'll try and get some pictures for you today

Brilliant, thanks very much. I'm just trying to picture where I am going to bolt the bars on.

Underneath there is a metal strip which runs three quarters of the length of the pop top.

There is room to drill through the strip and bolt but I'm unsure..

40kg will be fine for my needs, a 17kg kayak.

 

[Mwcard]

The front and rear bolts could do with being 10-15mm shorter and possible use some larger penny style washers. Anyway this set up has been on for a while with a large kayak on and no signs of bolts coming loose or cracks so must be ok.

 

[Jumjum_0214]

Brilliant, thank you for taking the time to do that. Massive help