electric roof, 1996 slg5 model

[steve480]

hi everyone just registered on bongo fury, my name is steve & im from AYR , ayrshire in bonnie scotland. i've had my bongo about 1 year, its a really nice van but the only thing that gives me problems is when i raise the roof. its goes up fine untill when its almost fully locked in it hasn't got the power to lock in. i have to give it a helping hand just to lock in at the last few inches. sometimes i go up & down untill it finally locks in. its very annouying, does anyone know what could be causing this ???

cheers........steve

[francophile1947]

Welcome to the madhouse - don't forget to put your location in your profile.
Do you have the engine running when raising the roof? If not, that could be your problem.
Also, lubricate both sides of the bottom rails and the struts.

[missfixit70]

Welcome Steve It's a common issue, as Franco says, if that's all that's a problem, you're doing ok Mine gets particularly reluctant after it's been up in severe weather, I guess it blasts off the lubrication?

[mikeonb4c]

Some seem more prone to it than others but its not uncommon I think. Mine responsded to some appropriate lubrication and has remained fine ever since (2 yrs later). Worth doing all that and seeing what happens. Not sure what the correct/best lubricants are esp. on the gas struts but I used spray on chain wax on the roller gear and (from memory) some PTFE spray on the gas struts (I'm not sure if anything helps struts much as it seems to me the seals remove it v. quick anyway, and of course you don't want to use something that might damage the seals). The other factor is the tent material. In cold weather this may make it harder for the roof to go up fully as the material is stiffer and more likely to offer resistance to straightening out. Have you tested to see whether unzipping the tent allows the roof to go up easier. I believe some peeps store their tent unzipped and rolled up, though I've never needed to and - for some reason - don't like the sound of storing it like that.

Oh and welcome steve480 - hope you are enjoying the Bongo.

[haydn callow]

Yep...unzip the tent and roll it up

[steve480]

hi,
THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR QUICK RESPONSE GUYS & YOUR HELPFULL ADVICE. I HAVE ALREADY TRIED TO LUBRICATE WITH SPRAY GREASE, MAYBE NOT USING PROPER GREASE. ANY IDEAS FOR BEST LUBRICATE TO USE. ALSO WILL TRY TO UNZIP TENT.
CHEERS.......STEVE

[francophile1947]

hi,
THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR QUICK RESPONSE GUYS & YOUR HELPFULL ADVICE. I HAVE ALREADY TRIED TO LUBRICATE WITH SPRAY GREASE, MAYBE NOT USING PROPER GREASE. ANY IDEAS FOR BEST LUBRICATE TO USE. ALSO WILL TRY TO UNZIP TENT.
CHEERS.......STEVE

Did you lubricate both sides of the rails? - I use a PTFE spray.
Don't forget to put your location in your profile

[Bob]

I think the Bongomeister has done a Youtube video of this, but all the advice given is good.

And a very warm welcome from down here.