Van camper pop tops - White or Body Color?

[Herbie]

Hey everyone, as I get closer to pulling the trigger on a Pop-Top for my Astro van project, I'm finding myself a bit stuck on whether or not to paint the popper to body color or leave it white... Cost is a secondary concern, one vendor quoted me ~$700, others less, so my main concern is aesthetics vs. function. (Although $700 could easily be well spent elsewhere in the van!).

Since I'm in Southern California, and a lot of my camping will likely be desert or other warm-weather camping, the idea of reflecting as much heat as possible seems like a good one (at least until I cover the top with solar panels or a rack or whatever...) I'm acutely aware of how much energy the body-colored top is absorbing, since I've been driving without a headliner this week. On the other hand, while the white top on a Westfalia seems like a natural fit, I'm worried it'll be a bit of a sore thumb on my Chevy! Body-matched tops on Sportsmobiles and GTRVs look much more low-key, which I like.

Opinions?

Stock

Photoshopped Vanagon roof, White

T.Low's body-colored GTRV, conveniently the same color!

 

[rotor]

I say go white, mostly because my astro is white. I think it would look really great on my van. :sombrero:

 

[vanderpooch]

I Have a Vanagon and I painted it a slightly lighter shade of the same color for the form.

What i plan to do is paint the top a silver color for function like so:

 

[wrcsixeight]

While I always appreciate something visually pleasing, function always trumps fashion in my way of thinking.

I painted my roof white within 6 months of purchase for a huge temp reduction over the dark gray. A couple years later I painted the whole dang van white, with a roller....

 

[Riptide]

I think Vanderpooch has the right idea. I too like the matching color, but since a majority of the van top cannot be seen from the side, paint that a reflective or light color to reduce the solar gain. Then paint the side edges to match the van...

 

[ihatemybike]

There is some paint additive that is supposed to help keep the interior cool. The RV and Skoolie guys use it. I'll try to find a link for you tomorrow.

 

[partsflyin]

I to am very interested in this, for the exact same reasons.

 

[alosix]

Body color (or a hair lighter light 'pooch)

Then cover the top with solar panels

To me .. if there wasn't going to be much on the top I'd go with white. If it was going to have a rack or mostly be covered by other stuff I'd go with the body color.

Its not like you're driving a black van, so I doubt there would be a lot of difference between white and body color for heat inside.

Jason

 

[ihatemybike]

There is some paint additive that is supposed to help keep the interior cool. The RV and Skoolie guys use it. I'll try to find a link for you tomorrow.

Found it.

http://www.hytechsales.com/insulating_paint_additives.html

 

[Adventurerider]

I totally understand the delema, but Alosix has got it, I've done a roof and it would have looked really funky if it wasn't painted to match but mine sticks up/out a lot higher/further then yours will and my van is almost black (dark blue). I agree totally that you can feel the heat, but I'm wraping our complete interior in a product called www.quietride.com, I'm amazed at the insulaton and sound deading, that will completely take care of any worry!!! They claim a 40 degree differce from the outside temp to your interior, and so far there claim is holding up... Great product, totally easy to install and killer kits, they provide everything needed and priced really fairly for what's included/provided.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Found it.

http://www.hytechsales.com/insulating_paint_additives.html

I expected to see a ridiculous price, and was very happy to see a product whose existence I was unaware of is actually affordable.

Next time I bust out the roller, I'm gonna add some of that product to the paint, and modify my ridiculously white paint scheme.

Thanks for the link.