cross-shopping high top installers...

hansu

Member
Howdy, folks. I'm probably going to have a high top installed on my Express this years. I'm aware of FIberene and Wasatch Overland. Anybody worked with hightopvan.com in WA state?
 

whith

Active member
Wasatch installs Tufports I believe. Haven’t heard about the outfit in Wa state but would be interested to.
 

RVflyfish

Fishing is life. The rest is details.
Those Hightopvan tops look good. They look to be a reverse flange design. Have you talked with them? I’d be curious to know about that and how much install and supplies run.
 

Scotty D

Active member
Wasatch installs Tufports I believe. Haven’t heard about the outfit in Wa state but would be interested to.
The nice thing about getting it installed in canada is paying in canadian dollars
Not sure what prices are now but before the pandemic the deals were surprising good
 

hansu

Member
I put in a deposit with hightopvan.com folks today. I'll report back when I know more. The install will be pretty soon. For now, the major thing was that I liked the HTV slope front-to-back better than the Tufport and I sort of hit it off with the owner. Also, they did work for Slow Roamers @ YT and I've been talking with them and they are quite happy.

For anyone who finds this interesting, I'll be getting/building a roof rack, painting the whole van, and then building out the inside first as a moto transport van and then as a camper van. Once the camper van is built I'll be finishing out the rear suspension with a custom spring pack. That's likely to be down the road quite a bit though as I'll also be building out the inside of a util trailer for moto before I get to interior/camper build.

This is not likely to ever be a gnarly offroad 4x4 van. It has an Eaton LSD, a 3" lift from WeldTec, and will do dual-duty as a sometimes camper van and often-times util trailer tow vehicle.
 

RVflyfish

Fishing is life. The rest is details.
I like the looks of both, but I don’t think the Tufport is quite tall enough in the front half if you’re over 6’1” and have insulation and flooring.
 

frank73

New member
I put in a deposit with hightopvan.com folks today. I'll report back when I know more. The install will be pretty soon. For now, the major thing was that I liked the HTV slope front-to-back better than the Tufport and I sort of hit it off with the owner. Also, they did work for Slow Roamers @ YT and I've been talking with them and they are quite happy.

For anyone who finds this interesting, I'll be getting/building a roof rack, painting the whole van, and then building out the inside first as a moto transport van and then as a camper van. Once the camper van is built I'll be finishing out the rear suspension with a custom spring pack. That's likely to be down the road quite a bit though as I'll also be building out the inside of a util trailer for moto before I get to interior/camper build.

This is not likely to ever be a gnarly offroad 4x4 van. It has an Eaton LSD, a 3" lift from WeldTec, and will do dual-duty as a sometimes camper van and often-times util trailer tow vehicle.
I had a fiberine top installed a year ago and love it. One upgrade they offered was top and side reinforcements using plywood so you could support up to 250lbs on the top and have the support to install stuff on the sides. Do you know if they offer something similar?
 

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hansu

Member
I had a fiberine top installed a year ago and love it. One upgrade they offered was top and side reinforcements using plywood so you could support up to 250lbs on the top and have the support to install stuff on the sides. Do you know if they offer something similar?

I'm planning to supplement with a some 1x1 Al attached with 3M auto tape. I don't anticipate the top carrying any load other than MaxxAir and perhaps, at some point, a custom solar panel install. The 1x1 ought to do a good job of helping it from getting floppy as it ages at the very least.
 

hansu

Member
Click on any of the tops and they say price doesn’t include installation and supplies.

Correct. And I'm having some extras installed...windows and MaxxAir. Although I have not done any research with Fiberine recently, I'd say the spend is comparable between the two companies.

I am not doing the high gloss finish, which saves a little bit of money, because I'm going to paint the top soon anyway.
 

hansu

Member
I had a fiberine top installed a year ago and love it. One upgrade they offered was top and side reinforcements using plywood so you could support up to 250lbs on the top and have the support to install stuff on the sides. Do you know if they offer something similar?

From memory, they will do some reinforcement but its just as easy to do it yourself and it allows you to not be subject to the placement if the reinforcements are molded into a place which might interfere with your build plans. Because my van is going to be very custom layout unlike anything available commercially I will do the reinforcement myself. What little should be required anyway.
 

rruff

Explorer
From memory, they will do some reinforcement but its just as easy to do it yourself
(y) Wood slats glued in place... prettier too. I've heard it isn't good to completely encapsulate wood.

FRP angle or square, aluminum, handlaid FG over foam, etc. if you want to eliminate any water concerns.
 

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