I'm picturing you doing this and wondering if it would not be helpful to
put a support of some sort to keep the pop top partially open, rather
than removing it entirely?  Seems that if tension is the problem,
holding the top open a couple feet may be useful, but then, what do I
know?

Karl Wolz

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
Behalf Of
> Matt Barclay
> Sent: Monday, August 01, 2005 4:30 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: new pop top canvas installed
>
> "White Man's Burden" got a new pop-top canvas and lived up to its
name:
>
> http://gallery.openfbo.com/PopTopCanvas
>
> My recommendations if you get a new canvas:
>
> 1.  Take the damned pop-top off the camper and screw in four screws
per
> corner.  The corners are the tightest part of the canvas.  I tried to
save
> time and effort by installing the canvas with the pop-top still on the
> camper.  HUGE mistake.  Wasted a good 10 hours altogether.  Once I got
> the pop top off, it was a 5 hour job.
>
> 2.  With the top corners holding the canvas to the pop-top, put the
> pop-top back on the camper.
>
> 3.  Screw in the middle of each bottom side.  The bottom of the canvas
has
> a rubber strip that butts up against the metal tacking strips.  Work
your
> way out to the corners stretching the canvas out a little bit at a
time.
>
> 4.  Screw in the rest of the top of the canvas, taking up slack in the
> fabric.  My canvas has several inches of slack at the top:
>
> http://gallery.openfbo.com/PopTopCanvas/img_3898
>
> 5.  Find a local supplier for the screws and pop-top attachment nuts.
> Those screws get stripped or lost in the grass easily.
>
> I sure am happy with it, now that its done.  The breeze through the
three
> windows is great during these hot summer days.
>
> Cheers,
> Matt