Hi all,

!I drove past a junk yard, and saw a Dodge Ram Van which seemed to look similar to my van, but more pertinently it had a fibre glass hi top which is something that I think will really benefit me as I am building the van into a camper van. I immediately pulled in, and noted down the VIN number, and chatted to the owner who indicated that I could have the hi top for CAD 100 which seems a bargain. According to the VIN, this van is a 1983, and the body style is the same as my 2000 Maxi extended.

So will this fit on the roof of my van? There will be a bit of effort to remove the hi top off the scrap van, and get it back to my house as it is located about 5 hours away, and I will need to rent a trailer and fit a trailer hitch to my van to transport it. Obviously, I do not want to get it home and find that I have wasted my time.

The hi top has obviously been in this junk yard for a while. The only damage I can see is that the fan is missing from the roof, leaving a gaping hole, and I expect that the windows may require resealing to prevent leaks.

Any thoughts / similar experience out there?

Thanks for any advise!

 

From Wikipedia: The body shell and most fixtures would be one of the longest running of any US vehicle, remaining nearly identical from the vans' introduction in 1971 through their discontinuance in 2003

So, looks like it'll work for you.

 

I think you can sit it down on top of the van before you cut anything. I would pull my van up beside that one and do a test fit. If it's good move it back, cut the hole, and screw it down to your van.

 

Thanks for the advise guys. I will have a think about it some more - the biggest con to the whole thing will be that I need to rebuild the entire interior that I took months to install :-)

 

So it should go faster the second time around, since you are now 'experienced'.

Good Luck. And, We Want Pics.

 

Thanks!

 

Depending on how it mounts you could almost make it into an independent 2nd floor. Just cut a "small" hole in your roof to crawl up into the cavity between the van and the hi-top. My parents had a 1960's Ford van with a sort of pop-up roof that allowed two people to sleep up above everybody else.

https://bringatrailer.com/2016/08/23...er-conversion/
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/install-high-top/