Canvas in california pop-top too tight

CaravelleSven · Feb 3, 2025

Hi, i recently bought another 1991 california with the pop-top as i cant seem to stay away

When testing the poptop the h-bar was really hard to get to lock in the upright position and i had to use a lot of force the last few centimeters.
It is possible to lock with a lot of force, but the canvas feels like the skin of a drum, really tight and it looks like its about to burst. This has never been the case from previous pop-tops that i had and the previous owner was supriced about and said it had never been like that for him.
Also the locking of the bed under the upright roof was off by just a little and i couldnt get it to lock to get "standing hight" in the bus.

Something is off with the roof/canvas.
I would be happy for input and maybe someone had similar issues.

The car had been parked outside and not used for a year or so when i bought it, it was in winter and cold conditions.
Could the cold temperature or moist create this problem? or could something have happened to the fabric to make it shrink?

Ch1pbutty · Feb 3, 2025

Gas struts might have been replaced with higher NM / force rating if previous owner carried roof loads on a regular basis.

CaravelleSven · Feb 3, 2025

Ch1pbutty said:
Gas struts might have been replaced with higher NM / force rating if previous owner carried roof loads on a regular basis.

Thanks for your reply! This version has the H-bar and no struts and i think the problem is that either the h-bar lifts "too high" or the fabric has shrunk. Since there is also the thing that the bed doesnt lock in place i wonder if something could have happened with the springs in the back or with the h-bar so that the roof doesnt align right thus making the fabric tighter. If the springs in the back doesnt lift enough, could it make the front fabric tighter? if so, is there any way to adjust this?

CaravelleSven · Mar 15, 2025

Does anyone know what happens if the cable inside the h-bar is broken?

I am now suspecting that my roof has moved a few mm towards the front and i got ahold of instructions on how to adjust the roof so i might try that. Also will install additional struts and then se if i can adjust/modify the h-bar.

Lamox · Wednesday at 7:56 PM

Hello Sven,
Did you solve your issue? It seems like I have the same problem.
Extremely tight fabric and the bed doesn’t connect with the lock.

Brgds Anders

sidepod · Thursday at 6:52 AM

The original canvas was always a good fit and tight as a drum.
Bear in mind it’s been impossible to get original quality units for a few years now so if your canvas has been replaced recently it might be a lower quality item?

If the roof bed won’t latch to the roof in the raised position then that deffo suggests something is amiss.

I did find a company making these recently and they looked pretty good.

I’ll see if I can find the link.