Reimo roof out of alignment/Twisted

[Nige_g]

My reimo roof has gone out of alignment, as you can see below. You can see that it doesn't sit straight at the front and the hinge has moved on the offside of the van, which makes sense as the roof is skewed at the front to the nearside.

The hinge is fixed in the right place on the nearside and doesn't appear to have shifted at all.

Having loosened the 2 bolts on the offside hinge base it doesn't want to move that easily and I don't want to go in too heavy handed with a hammer to start with. Any tips on moving it to get the bolts back to where they were positioned before?

It wasn't like this until recently so something caused it to shift.

Nearside front


Offside front





Offside rear hinge base





Cheers

 

[paddy26]

I found with the hinge bolts loosened the hinge did not initially slide easily on the rubber strip. It's almost like it's stuck to the rubber. I removed the middle bolt fully until I had the roof aligned. I think you must do this as in your last pic it looks like your hinge has had the hole for the bolt enlarged as it is slightly off center.
The rear bolt only needs to be loosened ~5mm. The front bolt needs to be loosened ~10mm.
The strut that holds up the roof will be working against you and trying to move the hinge in the opposite direction than you want. When you loosen the front bolt the hinge may move fully forward.
So you will need some strength to move and hold the hinge in place while tightening one of the bolts. 2 people make the job easier but I managed it on my own.
To move the hinge towards the back of the van I applied downward pressure on the front of the hinge and this then took the pressure off the bolts and allowed me to slide the hinge towards the rear of the van.
Reimo supply aluminium rivnuts with the kit so be careful you don't strip the threads.
And allow yourself enough time to readjust the hinge a few times until you're happy with the roof alignment.

 

[Nige_g]

Thank you. You say middle bolt. The hinge is only fasted with 2 bolts, so are we talking different roof fixings, or are you talking about a bolt in a different place to the ones securing it to the roof?

 

[Alan Watts]

Another thread for some info

adjust Reimo Easy Fit

Hello everyone, I have noticed that my roof is more one side than the other, do you know if it is possible to adjust it? Thank you

www.t6forum.com

 

[paddy26]

Note, instructions I gave above are for a superflat roof.

 

[Nige_g]

Another thread for some info

adjust Reimo Easy Fit

Hello everyone, I have noticed that my roof is more one side than the other, do you know if it is possible to adjust it? Thank you

www.t6forum.com

Ahh thank you. I didn't find that when I did a search!

 

[drinfinity]

Mine had the same trouble, and I moved the bolts back the same way, but to no avail. By heaving it sideways when putting it down, I got it to shut straight. However, after driving over some bumpy roads, it migrated back of to the side again.

 

[paddy26]

Would an anti vibration washer help prevent it moving?

Easyfix Steel Shakeproof Washers M6 x 0.7mm 100 Pack

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www.screwfix.com

 

[drinfinity]

No, the hinges are in the same place. The roof walks itself sideways regardless.

 

[Bargy62]

No, the hinges are in the same place. The roof walks itself sideways regardless.

I would have thought if the hinge has not moved it would either be a hinge is bent or binding so needs lubricating or a strut is failing and the other one is stronger forcing the roof sideways the reason i said about lubricating the hinge is my roof started going up wonky first thoughts strut failure but all it was the hinge was too stiff to work correctly fine after an oiling

 

[drinfinity]

Struts having different force is an interesting idea, I’ll follow that up, thanks.

 

[Bargy62]

Struts having different force is an interesting idea, I’ll follow that up, thanks.

lube the hinges first i even slackened the bolts on the hinge off a tad mine has nyloc nuts thats not the bolts that connect to van

 

[Bargy62]

missed one top right under roof

 

[Nige_g]

Having read this and the other thread together with a PM I received, I have decided that rather buggering it up using brute force etc, I have got it booked into Bodans next week. He said they are a sod to do, but not that bad when you know what you are doing and have done it before.

So a day trip to Shrewsbury next week. Might make it an overnighter too.

 

[MATT WHEELS]

Hi had the same problem
When I was at a Reimo authorised dealer / installer in Kent having the multi rail fitted
I mentioned that the roof was now out of line , they used a rivet fixing on the rail between the bolts that attaches the scissor section to the roof of the van, had no problems since

 

[Nige_g]

Hopefully, mine will be sorted. Bodans are authorised Reimo installers.

 

[Nige_g]

Took it to Bodans in Shrewsbury. Took him a matter of minutes to get straight and then secured either side with another screw to stop it moving again. Glad I decided against doing it myself. FOC too.

 

[Nige_g]

Struts having different force is an interesting idea, I’ll follow that up, thanks.

I asked him why the roofs move. He said it was the struts being under pressure and by their nature exert pressure outwards. Obviously bolts not being tight enough or working loose won't help I guess.

 

[DXX]

New Wave Custom Conversions just did some work on my Reimo roof, they also corrected some misalignment at the same time.
They stated that they now use an additional long screw to anchor the hinge and it is also bonded to the roof to prevent movement once aligned.
The screws that hold the top of the hinge to the GRP roof are also adjustable, NWCC advise that these are checked every few months as can come loose. My thoughts on that is to use a stainless steel spring washer and a Nyloc nut, that should prevent them coming loose.
The only way to take the loading off the hinges is by removing the struts, these struts are very powerful and you may have great difficulty compressing them to get them back on.
If you have a panoramic canvas this can be unzipped to allow the roof to lift slightly higher to get the struts back on when they are fully extended.

 

[bobbybasic]

@DXX is back!

We've been worried sick. You don't ring, you don't call.