Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:34:02 -0700
Reply-To: David Vickery <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Vickery <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: popup top seals
In-Reply-To: <D11759B80982471FB8429E14883B4653@RON>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
If your luggage rack seal is good, you might leave well enough alone and keep that seal for another time when it needs replacing. On mine, I pulled the luggage rack off and cleaned out a bunch of dirt but there was no rust, and probably won't be on yours unless you live in rustbelt. The reason I wouldn't pull it off (if I could do it over) is I did get a lot of wind noise. I wound up adding some silicone sealer under the front edge to quiet it, so much for drainage. The wind noise was very unpleasant and got a flapping noise to boot.
I liked the BusDepot seals and they were easy to put on and look very good. But I wonder if the "generic poptop seals" that have the bulb part on the bottom that others sell wouldn't have helped with the wind noise on the luggage rack section. Whatever water gets under the luggage rack is going to find some way out, which is why I wasn't worried about using some silicone sealer on the front edge.
Ron have you ever tried using your rear seal for the luggage rack area too?
--- On Fri, 4/15/11, The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM> wrote:
> From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
> >
> > My luggage rack seal is in ok shape and I'm not sure
> if i
> > want to replace it - why make things worse! So I
> wonder
> > which aftermarket seal matches better?
> >
> > My memory is fading but don't you have to remove the
> luggage
> > rack to replace the seal? And some have reported
> wind noise
> > afterwards?
>
>
> There is a HUGE difference between our poptop seal kit and
> GoWesty's.
> 1) It is the only kit that does not require you to glue
> anything to your
> poptop. Even the flat seal between the poptop and luggage
> rack just clips
> on.
>
> 2) Our kit seals better. The location of the poptop
> seal insulation bulb
> more closely matches that of the original insulation flap,
> providing better
> insulation and better protecting your canvas from rainwater
> intrusion during
> wiindswept rain when the top is closed.
>
> 3) The finish is smoother; closer to the stock look.
>
> 4) The luggage rack seal is designed not to impede
> rainwater drainage, as
> per the original design. The other vendors sell an
> additional length of
> poptop seal and call it luggage rack seal. Bad idea; the
> two seals were
> originally different for a reason, as they serve completely
> different
> purposes. The poptop seal is supposed to block
> rainwater; the luggage rack
> seal is actually more of a trim piece and is supposed to
> ALLOW rainwater to
> drain past it into the rain gutters.
>
> 5) The luggage rack seal can be installed without removing
> or loosening your
> luggage rack. You still may choose to remove it if you want
> to clean under
> it, but if you'd rather a quick-and-easy 10 minute
> installation instead you
> can go that route. (Sometimes loosening or removing the
> luggage rack creates
> new problems, because when you retighten it it doesn't snug
> down as well and
> you get wind noise.)
>
>
> Link:
>
> http://busdepot.com/details/canvas.jsp#seals
>
> - Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
> (215) 234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>
| 
