Which Pop Top

[davidsmerv]

Hi guys, I've just bought a 16reg lwb t6 and want to put a pop top on it, I really like the look of LowLife and HiLo roofs, anybody have either of these and what are your experiences of them?? Considering the LowLife bullet as an option as well. Also ideally id like a sliding seat on rails, anyone have experience of Smartbeds slider or any other options??? Thanks Mervyn

 

[Pete C]

Lots of comments about pop-tops on the forum - the search function will be your friend.

This one stands out as an example: Hilo Sport Roof Review

Pete

 

[DaveyB]

To put it very simply, do not give your hard earned cash to Hilo.

 

[Ann3x]

To put it very simply, do not give your hard earned cash to Hilo.

Seems you are rolling a dice with Hilo.

I've got a carbon Hilo sport and really happy with it - no issues & great quality / performance product. Other people on here equally happy. However the people who HAVE had issues have had major, unacceptable problems with their after sales support and general attitude to customers. It's a great product when its well fitted but definitely a roll of the dice. As such DaveyB is right, cant really be recommended atm despite the product's strengths.

Lowlife has also had issues in the past with fitting & service but seen less of these being mentioned recently - whether that implies it's fixed or not - dunno.

The ones that are rock solid with fitting and customer services are unfortunately the "boring" ones. Reimo, Austops etc.

 

[Wills]

How much rear headroom do you have with a RIB bed and low profile roof fitted?

 

[DXX]

When I was looking to convert a number of professional converters rightly or wrongly said only Reimo or SCA were worth considering.

 

[JasonW]

My convertor only uses Reimo.... quality of material, quality of fit, longevity, etc etc...

I'm sure there are a few others to consider but when shelling out that much money for one, better off with a known good supplier with a proven track record.

Buying cheap doesn't always save money in the long run...

 

[j4ckal]

Well after much deliberation I went with a Reimo easyfit for my LWB.

Yes I guess a little 'boring' you may say as it's plainly obvious it's got a chunk of fibreglass bolted on the top. What that means though is no leaks, plenty of headroom, a quality, nicely finished product that will add value to your van.

Being a LWB your options are more limited than with a swb (ie. SCA don't do a 194 equivalent for it, no v-tec in the Reimo etc).

I went for the comfort (sprung) roof bed option, don't think can get anything like that in a Hi-Lo?

Also went easyfit rather than the classic/superflat (or whatever it's called) as it looks a lot neater (especially where the roof meets the front spoiler) inside and out.
Only thing I don't like are the visible fastener on the exterior of the roof.

I guess it boils down to how important the looks are and if you're willing to gamble with possible issues and the complexity of fitting a roof like that.

I'm sure there's loads of hi-lo's without any issues but you don't hear of many Reimo roofs leaking and big installation problems?
There's plenty of T4's driving about with 20ish year old Reimo roofs that are still working - that says it all for me.

 

[Lone Wolf]

You only get one attempt at it!
I went for riemo as didn’t want to loose the headroom inside van and also to not store bedding down deck!