Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 12:22:17 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: New owners requesting advise on replacing canvas poptop
In-Reply-To: <20011023.201053.-234305.19.wilden1@juno.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> /www.aabestco.com/convertibleltopsi.htm
> Westy Canvas $259.00 with three windows.
> Go Westy for your canvas. $255.00
There is only one major manufacturer of poptop canvas, and just about
anywhere you buy it you will get the identical product from the identical
factory. So you might as well get it from the cheapest supplier - which is
me, at $228 with listmember discount (for the 3-window canvas, available in
tan or gray). Save the other $30 to pay for the stiff drinks you will need
by the time you're done with the installation. :-)
The manufacturer offers the canvas in stock cotton or Sunbrella. The latter
adds about $60 to the price. It is a fade-resistant synthetic fabric often
used for marine applications. Im my personal opinion it is not worth the
extra cost, as it is harder to fold when closing the top, and fading is not
really much of an issue since the canvas is not exposed to the sun 16 hours
every day like a boat canvas might be. I have friends who put the cotton
canvas on five years ago and it does not have any noticable fading at all.
However, we can provide the canvas in Sunbrella for additional cost if you
prefer.
The installation is time consuming but not difficult, requiring only a
staple gun and a screwdriver. Getting it positioned "just right," so it has
neither too much give nor is too taught, is pretty much a matter of trial
and error - putting in a few staples, raising the top, trying again if it
doesn't look quite right. Therefore the job can get quite long and
frustrating if you happen to get it right the 20th time instead of the first
time. But it takes no incredible skill to do it right, just lots of
patience. Also it may be worth noting that the replacement canvas is, even
when properly installed, a bit taughter than the original; in fact it
presses up against the metal bar when installed. Personally, if I were
making the pattern I'd have left an extra inch - but they insist that their
pattern is copied directly from the stock pattern, and as I said, there is
only one manufacturer, so this characterisitic will not vary regardless of
where you buy it.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
(215) 234-VWVW
www.busdepot.com
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Toll-Free for Orders Only: 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
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