With the roof down there'll be little difference. With it up, it will be colder but with a diesel heater you'll be fine. Can get external roof wraps for the canvas which makes a huge difference.

 

Thank you, I will also have a look at the external roof wraps.

 

I have a camper with elevating roof and in the cooler weather at night, I lower the upper bed board, the difference it makes to the warmth and omitting external noise in the van is unbelievable.

 

Thanks for the info, its good to know that even dropping the upper bed helps

 

You shouldn't have any problems, just use the diesel heater if it's cold. That will give easily enough warmth for just sitting in the van. Warm bedding at night needed assuming you don't keep the heater running over night.
We spent several weeks with night time temperatures dropping under 0C and didn't have a problem. Heater goes on as soon as you wake up and van should be warm enough in 10 minutes or so. The important thing is to make sure you have enough battery capacity to start the heater. Not usually a problem for a single night out, but could be an issue if you are staying in the same place for 3 or 4 days without running the engine.
We never lowered the roof at night. Just close up any vents to minimise draughts and stop all the warmth escaping.

 

Thank you, I am looking at upgrading the electrics as well, want some extra off grid capacity so also eventually want to add a second battery and solar panels, thats why I want to decide on my roof first !

 

We lower the bed board at night and I made a shelf that fills the access "hatch" so the roof is fully sealed

It really is amazing how the surrounding noise is instantly muffled, especially at festivals. I sleep with ear plugs in anyway but still it's much quieter.

Basically like having the van roof back on. It's obvious it also then makes the van warmer.

So if you are considering a pop top then I would definitely have the bed board option even if not sleeping up there.

Our Vamoose pop top roof is fully insulated but in any pop top the fabric doesn't hold heat very well, it's basically a roof tent.

I have slept up there in Summer season and not been cold but it would be a different matter in January!

I did purchase the pop top thermal silver screen though just in case ( Vamoose roofs use a neat bespoke inner rather than outer silver screen so it doesn't get wet..)

We do also have a diesel heater, again not fully used yet apart from drying damp clothes off grid.

If we are on hook up then we tend to use the trusty little Dimplex. Tiny and warms the van nicely.

Amazon.co.uk

 

We lower the bed board at night and I made a shelf that fills the access "hatch" so the roof is fully sealed

It really is amazing how the surrounding noise is instantly muffled, especially at festivals. I sleep with ear plugs in anyway but still it's much quieter.

Basically like having the van roof back on. It's obvious it also then makes the van warmer.

So if you are considering a pop top then I would definitely have the bed board option even if not sleeping up there.

Our Vamoose pop top roof is fully insulated but in any pop top the fabric doesn't hold heat very well, it's basically a roof tent.

I have slept up there in Summer season and not been cold but it would be a different matter in January!

I did purchase the pop top thermal silver screen though just in case ( Vamoose roofs use a neat bespoke inner rather than outer silver screen so it doesn't get wet..)

We do also have a diesel heater, again not fully used yet apart from drying damp clothes off grid.

If we are on hook up then we tend to use the trusty little Dimplex. Tiny and warms the van nicely.

Amazon.co.uk

Thanks for that, I will look at the vamoose roof and the Inner screen, never really thought about the extra noise with it up so will think of that as well!

 

This is a big part of what has stopped me having a poptop for a while now .
So i can spend 3k+ and let all the heat out but the diesel heater will make up for that? .
Or i could put the bed board done to keep the heat in but then not be able to stand up inside . .....am i missing something? 🤷‍♂️
Not to mention noise or rigidity......

 

This is a big part of what has stopped me having a poptop for a while now .
So i can spend 3k+ and let all the heat out but the diesel heater will make up for that? .
Or i could put the bed board done to keep the heat in but then not be able to stand up inside . .....am i missing something? [emoji2369]
Not to mention noise or rigidity......

You've been spoilt with the world of motorhomes! [emoji23]
For me we have 2 boys who now love camping etc so needed the extra sleeping space! Not got room for a bigger van and like the usability of t5 lwb sized vehicle

Don't find ours too cold but only really used it in spring/summer so not really winter cold.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

In all honesty i still love 'little un' more than 'biggun' in so many ways .
We use ours all year and in all weathers so a poptop would need to really work for us at all times to justify it.

 

We would have had a diesel heater even without a pop-top. Two of us don't generate enough heat to make it comfortable to sit inside in colder weather, so the heater goes on even if we stop somewhere and the roof doesn't go up. Might be an age thing (creaky old bones) but I don't care.
The pop-top is so that we can stand up inside but still get into height restricted parking, which you can't do in a high-top. The downside is that you end up with the solar panels always facing the wrong direction.

 

Just how much walking around are you gonna be able to do inside ?
Poptop will no doubt add value to your van and you'll be able to stand up to pull your pants on in the morning and cook your bacon/make a brew .
But in reality you're probably more likely to be sat down or asleep when inside your van .
You will lose heat through a poptop , be more noisy and i dont think that cutting the strengthening ribs and steel out of your roof and replacing it with fibeglass will ever be as rigid yet it seems its the done thing .
I think a thermal wrap would make things more cosy but we do notice quite a few people close the roof at night through the early/ late part of the season .
The other side of that is that they vent the warm air in the summer i suppose so swings and roundabouts.

 

I'm in agreement with you B&T - I'd love to get a stealth pop-top fitted to my van. Personally, I'm not a fan of the fibreglass lump on the roof look and then there's the expense.
It's a massive chunk of cash to splash just to be able to stand up in your van. I don't cook in mine - that's what the awning is for so it's hard to justify the outlay.

 

I'm in agreement with you B&T - I'd love to get a stealth pop-top fitted to my van. Personally, I'm not a fan of the fibreglass lump on the roof look and then there's the expense.
It's a massive chunk of cash to splash just to be able to stand up in your van. I don't cook in mine - that's what the awning is for so it's hard to justify the outlay.

I'm with you both on this, pop top looks the part when up but £3-4k is a bit of a wedge particularly on an old(er) bus. Only me and the Mrs, we don't cook in the van and luckily I'm still capable of pulling my kegs on from a seating position. I can get it if you have a couple of kids for the extra sleeping arrangement but other than that it's a bit of a luxury nice to have..

 

I've been on the fence about getting one, first time I stood up in a pop top was a novel and cool thing, although I did feel like a meerkat surveying the land!

I would have gone for the hi-lo one was I prefer the stealth look, but as documented on here, they've got into administration and have very questionable reviews.

The extra head room would be nice, but for the brief few seconds while I'm getting dressed or undressed, I just can't justify the cost, it's just me in there so space isn't really a problem, at least it won't be in build #4 🤞

On the flip side, I do get a little envious when I see other Transporters with the roof up, but then that's more into the territory of keeping up with the Jones'.

 

My next van is going to be a medium high roof! I cant be bother stowing all my c£@& when I have to drive off and now I dont have kids in tow I could fit cupboards and storage over the cab or down the back, I remember camping with the roof up and just popping next door to see my folks in their high top van... there he was, feet up, toasty warm with the telly on.... I didn't go back to our van for a hour...or so..