For those that have poptops, what are the benefits, what are the pitfalls, does the canvas rattle at night, are they hard to put up, are they more prone to leak, do the strutts cause any problems. Is the aircon quieter on a cabinet as compared to the roof. Are they cooler or hotter ?

We are looking at a full van but its right on the limit of our tow vehicle and there are so many options, so many poptops now with showers and toilets and so easy to tow.   Oh dear......which way ?

Peter & Marjorie

Our first van was a 16 foot pop top (Millard 1983) when we bought it in 2007, left Darwin and travelled 18,000 kls in it back to Gold Coast, never had a problem, put it up in 2 minutes down in 2 minutes, our next van we went for a full van with shower and loo combined but we plan to live in it for at least 2 years on the road. I will say my hubby says you never knew you had the poptop on behind but with the full van you definately feel the difference, and as the passenger I have to agree. We decided we needed the extra space if we were going to be living in it full time, so I don't really know what the answer is..............oh and WELCOME.

Sorry I now see that you have been here for awhile.

-- Edited by pauline on Thursday 10th of November 2011 09:24:41 PM

Have had both, I found advantage with full van is more cupboards up top, advantage with pop top is generally easier towing, however the flyscreens in the pop top aren't the easiest thing to keep  clean.

From my research & experience I'll list the pro's & con's of a full size van as I see them.

Solid van pro's:
# Stronger construction
# Better insulation
# Many say they have a better sense of security as it is a solid shell.
# There is a growing opinion that modern full size vans are so streamlined that there is negligible. difference in wind resistance compared to a poptop.
# Less moving parts to deteriorate with age.
# More cupboard space
# They are easy to set up or to access at a moments notice.

Solid van Con's

# Maybe more wind resistance over the top of the tow vehicle but, with the newer aerodynamically designed caravans on the market today, this may not be true anymore.
# There is more surface area on the side of the caravan for side winds to hit so in high wind areas there may be more buffeting & possible sway. I recommend always use anti-sway devices.
# Garaging often is a problem due to the extra height
# There is less ventilation in a solid van due to the lack of the upper vents in the vinyl skirts that poptops have.

I went a full size van with no regrets.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Jon

We have had both, we had an A Van (Robina) pop top and loved it ,very easy to tow- up in a jiffy, down in a jiffy, it had ample cupboard space and I think the layout was more efficient than our full van - just no shower and toilet. The plus for a pop top is that you can pull it into that more obscure site if thats what your into, we had to give up the most amazing beachfront spot at inskip becase we can not get the full van under the trees to get in.

The aircon was above the bed and not quiet, you also had to remember it was there if you were tall (it took Geoff twice:-0) you can fit inside most pop tops without popping the top if your not so tall it's a bonus, so pulling up for cuppa is no drama, there was a porta loo cupboard for storage and emergencies.

There are things to set up and put back in place in any van so poping the top was really only one extra two min job, we loved the cross flow of air through the top and had no problems with flapping or leaking, you have the tops of all the cupboards to use for storage too when the top is up (You know the tea pot, torch etc).

Our new van is a lot bigger Geoff doesn't mind towing it at all, the air con in any van is not quiet, and we need a fan in this one for summer because the windows have curtains or blinds for privacy and while they have the four season hatch on top it's definately not the same as the top window cross flow in a pop top. Don't get me wrong we love our new van it is fantastic to be able to pull over and have a shower and use a clean loo, and we are loving more room.

When alls said and done you just need to think about what suits you they are all Great fun - just don't buy youself anything with water marks anywhere unless your very handy.

Hope this helps

Yup, we had two full first, then pop top - back to full

Oh Boy How could I have forgotten our first Van She was a pop top, an old cabana boy we had some fun in that old girl, took her up to Cairns, Milla Milla Roleston etc.

So we went Pop, Full ,Full ,Pop ,Full

-- Edited by Geoff n Jen on Friday 11th of November 2011 07:24:18 PM

Had a full and went to a pop top, the full van had a lot more storage but very often acted like a wind-sail and fuel consumption was something I would rather not think about especially when out in the sticks, the price per litre is astronomical.

Elle on Wheels wrote:

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I got a poptop because of the towing and fuel economy. Mine is a old old Viscount and her springs had not been oiled for a while so I popped several arteries when I put her up by myself - no worries with 2 people but I am a solo traveller. A bit of a spray with wd40 made all the difference but i'm installing gas struts anyway so I only have to take one hand off my walking frame to lift her up.

I reckon poptops are great especially for towing. They only rattle if the inhabitants snore and i'm sorry Marj but Billeeee told a few tales from Greens.

---

 He must have been listening to himself Elle, as we were never parked closed enough for him to hear if I snored. There were always at least 5 other vans between us.

But then we know he does tell Porkies. lol

Well.....we decided to buy a pop top with shower & toilet. Our other full van was very close to the limit when fully loaded so we have opted for lighter, lower profile and modern.  Did find when went away in the Westport, we took too much food, too many clothes, too much junk so this time we have to cut down.  There seems to be nearly as many cupboards (Westport was over done). We're heading to Glendons camping area next week for the first time, pick the van up next Monday.

Many thanks to all who replied