VC and BD both sell Jack Bombay’s product. He has a good description of which strength to choose: www.poptopshocks.blogspot.com.  Every Vanagon should have these!  Regarding the wear you mention, if you can see the inner cams sticking out when the top is raised (they welded to the ends of the upper arms) then that cam is cutting though the cross bar and need it needs to be repaired before it completely fails.  Easiest way is to remove the bar and weld the cuts in it, then grind to fit back in. 

 

Pmail me if you want more info.

 

Stuart

 

From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of David Bjorkman
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2016 8:36 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Poptop lift assists

 

 

Hi all;

Had to back off a while and did some lurking, but I'm back on list and finally planning that Route 66/California/Washington coast and back across the top trip.  I will probably be looking for driveways to park in as I and my lovely wife Diane cross country, so I'm looking.  I'm talking early May start from the Boston area and about 2 1/2 months on the road.  Does that time frame sound reasonable to you folks?  Those who have done this trip or parts of it could help me plan my time by telling me how long it took them and points not to miss.  Thanks for that.

Now to the point mentioned in the subject line.  Due to wear on the poptop  mechanism and aging springs, I have decided to go with the hydraulic lift assists.  I am looking at the Bus Depot "regular" shacks and the Van Café "medium" shock setups.  Any thoughts on either of these choices, or another one?  I hope I am not opening a can of beans with this (maybe) oft asked question.

Dave B.