Raising the roof...

So just one week and one day later and we're collecting the van. To say I was apprehensive about everything being 'just right' was a massive understatement. On first inspection I'm absolutely over the moon with the results - the bit I was most worried about; the trimming of the furniture had come out better than expected (I'll get some pics of this later next week), in the mean time here's a few external shots of the roof:

The Stone Blue paint looks to be a perfect match, the grey canvas is just dark enough, and whilst the Reimo roof might not be the slimmest in the world, it doesn't look out of place when down.

Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the solar panel on the roof too:

Something I was really keen to add when I noticed GT Campers offered this an option. It's rated at 90w so should be great for keeping the leisure battery topped up as well as charging phones, cameras and a laptop. This has a much narrower profile than I was expecting so should easily be car park barrier friendly.

Time to do all those last little finishing touches now. Maybe some new lighting could be on the cards too... definitely need to plan some camping trips, I can't wait to sleep 'under canvas'!

Goodbye tin-top-touring

After three and half years of van-ownership, we've reached another milestone; time for the van to undergo delicate surgery at the hands of GT Campers and have the pop-top roof installed. No more bending-double to get dressed or make a brew, no more condensation issues, no more using the front seats as storage.

Here's a rare shot of the van emptied, cleaned and ready to go at the weekend:

I also took the opportunity to fix a dodgy connection in the housing for the number plate lights; a bit of a fiddly job to get at all the bolts in tailgate but well worth the effort. I upgrade to some SMD lights from TransportersRus whilst everything was apart - hopefully no more bulb failures!

Watch this space for some updates on the roof, I'm going to ask them to keep me updated as they go along, so fingers-crossed for some progress pics.