Hello,
I know most of you guys are mechanics, but I'm wondering if you know whether or not they put special supports around the top of the frame before they put one of those "bubble" hitops on a Dodge van.

Thanks.

 

I do not think they do. My fiberglass roof was attached with drywall screws, and 3/4 of them disintegrated upon removal. The double sided tape was doing more to hold the roof down.

They did leave the very back support , 2.5 feet in front of back doors on mine.

It was useless. I cut it out. My last roof removal, I put a piece of angle iron in the top rail over the side doors, and used a 3/4 inch piece of plywood as front and rear shelves. They tie the toprail together nicely, and the side doors no longer shake the whole side of the Van.

These things are nightmares in a rollover. The fiberglass roof gives no support. It will break off easily and yard sale your contents.

While you have the roof off, spend the time and completely fix all the rust and use a quality paint(not rustoleum) to prevent it. The fiberglass roof will accelerate the rust so do everything you can to slow it down.

 

I have removed several tops from Dodge Ram conversion vans and all of them had 11/2 inch wide 1/4 inch thick angle iron around and 3 steel cross members to support the F/G bubble top.

 

Hmm -- kind of like the lip or rim on a tin can, I guess. I wonder if welding some "rebar" around the top would accomplish the same thing?? I guess you're trying to stop the top from bulging out??

 

Sort of in laymen terms,,,designed by structural engineers to maintain the
structural rigidity of the body and approved by DOT. If you copy the same structure and have photos taken in all steps, you should be able to get DOT approval if needed. There should be additional 11/2'' X 1/4'' flats welded on top of each door as well.

 

I've been thinking of putting a junkyard FG roof onto my van and this is good info.

Anybody have any idea how much of a MPG hit it'll have?