Get the hightop. It will keep the van out of the landfill and of course it's 100% healthier for you! You'll be able to stand up straight, get more light, and cool your van down faster. The summers are only getting hotter.
Decades ago I drove a VW bus with the Westfalia pop-top camper setup. Basically it is a fiberglass top that is hinged to the top of the van. When it's closed, it stands about eight inches higher than the factory van roof. When open, the Westie top creates about thirty inches of additional headroom in the van, and it opens into a sort of tent arrangement. Imagine a tent on top of your van, with a fiberglass roof over tent fabric sides. Air flow and light inside are lovely! When I bought a 1996 Chevy conversion van, I wished that I could stand up like I could in the old VW. So I got out a tape measure and determined that the westfalia tops would fit on my Chevy van. I found one in a scrap yard for a couple hundred dollars. I was able to mount the Westie top to my van myself, and it turned out beautifully. The Westfalia top has pros and cons, of course. Compared to the high top from Fiberine, the Westie top creates much less wind resistance, because it only raises the top of the van about eight inches when the top is closed. When the top is open, it creates an interior ceiling about thirty inches taller than the factory ceiling in the van. They are intended to be closed while driving, and then you can quickly pop the tent up when you park, in a matter of only seconds. So you can pop the top as easily at the grocery store while you put your groceries away as you can at a campsite. With a Fiberine style fiberglass top, you wont be able to get your van into a garage. But the Westfalia top will still allow you to fit under most garage doors. There is also a company called Sportsmobile that makes Westfalia style pop-tops to fit modern vans. Like Fiberine, they will install their top into your van.
I bit the bullet and added a Fiberine hightop to my 2019 Ford Transit low top. It was either a high top or I needed to wear a helmet inside my van . It’s been 4 years and I love it. No regrets 🎈. P. S. I added all the extras! Well worth the investment in my quality of life 💞
Hi, Nan. New sub here. Let me offer some thoughts: Like Chico said, a high top is a game changer. That was a must-have for me, and I was lucky enough to find a van that already had one. The Fiberine top IS expensive, but they know what they're doing, and they'll have you in and out in one day....which is obviously a big deal when your van is also your home. You mentioned in one of your videos that starting a RUclips channel is hard. I just passed two years since I started mine, and I decided at the very beginning to keep it as simple as possible. I wanted it to be fun, and if it got to be too much work, it wouldn't be fun anymore. I run the whole thing off my phone, and the only other piece of equipment I have is a $7 phone holder from Walmart. My channel is an "old man" channel, and I am up over 500 videos on a variety of subjects, with 4,200 subscribers....and it's still fun. I have a "Van Stuff" playlist with over 50 videos. I am not a full-time vanlifer, but I support the lifestyle 100% for the folks who do it because they WANT to (rather than because they have no other choice). I wish you the best with your choice and your channel, and maybe I'll see you down the road....
WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!! YOU are on the right track!!! But the cost of a new vehicle that is the high you want cost way way more, and $600.00 dollars a month saved up can allow you to pay cash just under a year. 🎉🎉🎉 blessings!!! I build my own camper out of foam that fits my short bed truck and I am very very grateful I added the highest high to my set up because I am 6. 1. 😮
I am camping right now in the identical van. 120k miles. I'm a retired mechanic. The Dodge transmission is a real weak point and I just rebuilt mine at 117,000 miles. I'd wait on the high top and prepare for a transmission replacement in the not too distant future. Your van is still worth what you paid --- right now, I'd say $5000. Don't over extend yourself. You DO have a computer and problems WILL arise. I just chased down a broken wire in a wiring harness that was messing up the computer --- it's 25 years old! Plastics break down, wires fatigue, things wear out. Your water pump is probably a time bomb, too. Not too expensive, but could leave you stranded. The seals get old and leak from age. Your van was made before the internet! The Dodge is a good platform --- but you will have some repairs coming up due to age. The engine is awesome. No worries there. Best of luck! (I "walk around" on my knees in my van, lol)
Great info. The transmission in my van was replaced at 50,000 miles. So I've got 90,000 miles on the new transmission. The previous owner hauled a boat around in the Colorado mountains. Thank you so much for the repair list. Now I know what to watch out for!
Oh, the prices we pay for comfort! My friend Andy is a handiwoman living the van life too. She got a high top from the scrap yard and installed it on her van...it wasn't free and it wasn't easy, but it sure was cheap 😆
I did that to my van too. Amazingly, the pop-top from a 1970s VW van fit on my 1990s Chevy van beautifully. The top only cost me a couple hundred dollars, and a new tent fabric was only three hundred more. The rest of the job was my labor and a can of paint.
Agree with other commenters.. Adding a hightop is a much better investment than the current, new high-top vehicles. I am in my seventies and it made little sense to buy a Transit. I am enjoying my high top and learning how to frame out the interior. I like the higher ground clearance of the Ford E-250 and I will stay with two wheel drive. The almost total reliance on electronics of the new vehicles would bother me as well.
Very cool. Mine is one of those windowless morgue vans you mentioned. :) I perhaps see a window in my future. Good luck with your decision. I enjoy your videos. Love your sense of humor.
There are a lot of older Viking tops languishing on broken down Dodge vans. You could buy the whole van somtimes for $500, if you can find one. I have one of Gonzalo's masterpieces on my stealth camper, I fully intend to move it to another van someday if my current Ford becomes impractical to repair. People are aghast when they find out I put a $4000 roof on a $6000 van. That roof will outlast 3-vans.
Hey Nancy! I too went to fiberline to get my high top and I really like it. I have a Chevy Astro van 1994. I really like the crew and the exceptional service! 😮The only thing is I wasn’t able to insulate it which I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to do that. Any suggestions out there? Anyway, I love your videos. Thank you for sharing so much great information.
If they have the other one that's 4 inches smaller but it's the same mold for your truck wouldn't that be a lot cheaper because of molding already made!
Game Changer! Gonzalo is the best. 2 years in with our Hi top and no leaks with 2 windows and a maxx fan. No regrets.
Gonzalo is the best. Such a great guy.
Get the hightop. It will keep the van out of the landfill and of course it's 100% healthier for you! You'll be able to stand up straight, get more light, and cool your van down faster. The summers are only getting hotter.
Thank you! I never thought about the landfill thing!
Decades ago I drove a VW bus with the Westfalia pop-top camper setup. Basically it is a fiberglass top that is hinged to the top of the van. When it's closed, it stands about eight inches higher than the factory van roof. When open, the Westie top creates about thirty inches of additional headroom in the van, and it opens into a sort of tent arrangement. Imagine a tent on top of your van, with a fiberglass roof over tent fabric sides. Air flow and light inside are lovely!
When I bought a 1996 Chevy conversion van, I wished that I could stand up like I could in the old VW. So I got out a tape measure and determined that the westfalia tops would fit on my Chevy van. I found one in a scrap yard for a couple hundred dollars. I was able to mount the Westie top to my van myself, and it turned out beautifully.
The Westfalia top has pros and cons, of course. Compared to the high top from Fiberine, the Westie top creates much less wind resistance, because it only raises the top of the van about eight inches when the top is closed. When the top is open, it creates an interior ceiling about thirty inches taller than the factory ceiling in the van.
They are intended to be closed while driving, and then you can quickly pop the tent up when you park, in a matter of only seconds. So you can pop the top as easily at the grocery store while you put your groceries away as you can at a campsite.
With a Fiberine style fiberglass top, you wont be able to get your van into a garage. But the Westfalia top will still allow you to fit under most garage doors.
There is also a company called Sportsmobile that makes Westfalia style pop-tops to fit modern vans. Like Fiberine, they will install their top into your van.
That is awesome! I'm so glad I started a youtube channel just to get these great ideas!
@@naninavann I should probably start my own channel, and share the project! Until then, if you'd like to see photos, tell me where I can email them!
Naninavan@proton.me
Thank you! 😊
Do it, life changing.
I bit the bullet and added a Fiberine hightop to my 2019 Ford Transit low top. It was either a high top or I needed to wear a helmet inside my van . It’s been 4 years and I love it. No regrets 🎈. P. S. I added all the extras! Well worth the investment in my quality of life 💞
I hear you. The quality of life thing is huge!
Being able to stand up, plus the storage, sounds like a big deal, especially if you're spending a lot of time in it.
Hi, Nan. New sub here. Let me offer some thoughts: Like Chico said, a high top is a game changer. That was a must-have for me, and I was lucky enough to find a van that already had one. The Fiberine top IS expensive, but they know what they're doing, and they'll have you in and out in one day....which is obviously a big deal when your van is also your home. You mentioned in one of your videos that starting a RUclips channel is hard. I just passed two years since I started mine, and I decided at the very beginning to keep it as simple as possible. I wanted it to be fun, and if it got to be too much work, it wouldn't be fun anymore. I run the whole thing off my phone, and the only other piece of equipment I have is a $7 phone holder from Walmart. My channel is an "old man" channel, and I am up over 500 videos on a variety of subjects, with 4,200 subscribers....and it's still fun. I have a "Van Stuff" playlist with over 50 videos. I am not a full-time vanlifer, but I support the lifestyle 100% for the folks who do it because they WANT to (rather than because they have no other choice). I wish you the best with your choice and your channel, and maybe I'll see you down the road....
Thanks Chuck! You are so right. If it's not going to be fun, it's not worth doing! This whole lifestyle is about fun. 🙂
WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!! YOU are on the right track!!! But the cost of a new vehicle that is the high you want cost way way more, and $600.00 dollars a month saved up can allow you to pay cash just under a year. 🎉🎉🎉 blessings!!! I build my own camper out of foam that fits my short bed truck and I am very very grateful I added the highest high to my set up because I am 6. 1. 😮
That makes perfect sense to me. Thank you!
I am camping right now in the identical van. 120k miles. I'm a retired mechanic.
The Dodge transmission is a real weak point and I just rebuilt mine at 117,000 miles.
I'd wait on the high top and prepare for a transmission replacement in the not too distant future.
Your van is still worth what you paid --- right now, I'd say $5000.
Don't over extend yourself. You DO have a computer and problems WILL arise. I just chased down a broken wire in a wiring harness that was messing up the computer --- it's 25 years old! Plastics break down, wires fatigue, things wear out.
Your water pump is probably a time bomb, too. Not too expensive, but could leave you stranded.
The seals get old and leak from age.
Your van was made before the internet!
The Dodge is a good platform --- but you will have some repairs coming up due to age.
The engine is awesome. No worries there.
Best of luck!
(I "walk around" on my knees in my van, lol)
Great info. The transmission in my van was replaced at 50,000 miles. So I've got 90,000 miles on the new transmission. The previous owner hauled a boat around in the Colorado mountains. Thank you so much for the repair list. Now I know what to watch out for!
Oh, the prices we pay for comfort! My friend Andy is a handiwoman living the van life too. She got a high top from the scrap yard and installed it on her van...it wasn't free and it wasn't easy, but it sure was cheap 😆
I did that to my van too. Amazingly, the pop-top from a 1970s VW van fit on my 1990s Chevy van beautifully. The top only cost me a couple hundred dollars, and a new tent fabric was only three hundred more. The rest of the job was my labor and a can of paint.
That is awesome! I'm so glad I started a youtube channel just to get these great ideas!
Wow, that's pricy. Hope you do it cause it'll be cool to see but wonder if it makes sense to sell your van and get a hightop van.
Agree with other commenters.. Adding a hightop is a much better investment than the current, new high-top vehicles. I am in my seventies and it made little sense to buy a Transit. I am enjoying my high top and learning how to frame out the interior. I like the higher ground clearance of the Ford E-250 and I will stay with two wheel drive. The almost total reliance on electronics of the new vehicles would bother me as well.
Right on
Very cool. Mine is one of those windowless morgue vans you mentioned. :) I perhaps see a window in my future. Good luck with your decision. I enjoy your videos. Love your sense of humor.
Thanks Charlotte! That's a great idea to add a window!
Do it!!! I'll contribute $100
There are a lot of older Viking tops languishing on broken down Dodge vans. You could buy the whole van somtimes for $500, if you can find one. I have one of Gonzalo's masterpieces on my stealth camper, I fully intend to move it to another van someday if my current Ford becomes impractical to repair. People are aghast when they find out I put a $4000 roof on a $6000 van. That roof will outlast 3-vans.
That's an excellent point. Thank you!
I'd pay 3500 high top no frills . Ty
I think I might not have to reinforce the roof.
Hey Nancy! I too went to fiberline to get my high top and I really like it. I have a Chevy Astro van 1994. I really like the crew and the exceptional service! 😮The only thing is I wasn’t able to insulate it which I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to do that. Any suggestions out there? Anyway, I love your videos. Thank you for sharing so much great information.
Hey rose! I was thinking of that wool insulation? But no idea how that would work. Anyone have any ideas?
If they have the other one that's 4 inches smaller but it's the same mold for your truck wouldn't that be a lot cheaper because of molding already made!
That's the one I wanted but they only have the 24 inch high top that will fit my van. Bummer
after 1985 all car have computers. You just haven't had that problem yet
7 grand minimum fir Hightop, total noteworth the money no way.
It is a lot of money 💰