Adding a roof hatch to a LC and other modifications

[slwcs]

Hi, I want to add a roof hatch to the rear section of our Landcruiser (BJ70-3door) so that people can get up for filming (we can mount a tripod on the roof). Due to restrictions in the parks here (in Sri Lanka) they have to have a covering overhead -so it can't just be a standard opening and needs to be something similar to the attached. A cover that can be raised about 4ft from the top of the roof and have just four supports on the sides with padding for support.

Has anyone tried anything similar? we should be able to take it down quickly for on-road running without leaking or losing Air-conditioning.

Also the rear windows are very small and I have seen pictures of vehicles in Africa where the windows have been extended. Does anyone know where I can get technical drawings for how this is done.

thanks for your help,

 

[Ruffin' It]

I would think that doing something along the lines of a pop-top camper (sportsmobile/VW Westy style) without the canvas would suit your needs. That should be fairly straight forward to install and not cost too much - as long as you weld in some structural support before you start cutting away at the roof. There is even a thread in this Land Cruiser board that has links to some nice examples that should turn up if you do a search.

Hope this helps