Bongo Fury

Some months back on an impromptu Bongo daymeet, I'd spent the day with the roof up - as one does when in a row of others, but had a spot of bother getting the roof down again at the end of the day. It dropped okay until the last couple of inches then ground to a halt.

With the help of a few pairs of hands, we managed to get it to close, enabling me to drive home. Not had it up since, fearing burnt out motor or siezed runners or the like - until today.

It seems the last time it was lowered, the main body of the drivers side section hadn't folded in as it should & became trapped in the runners thus tearing a fair few chunks out of the material.

Further investigation reveals the roof mattress had shunted forward a couple of inches, blocking the vent hole in the little round flap by the hatch, thus making the fabric puff out rather than collapse inwards when dropping the roof.


Lesson learnt. Keep that little hole clear. It does a good job!

Luckily, my silver roof tent is about the same colour as gaffer tape so a discrete repair will be fairly straightforward. Just be aware that this can happen & can be costly.

Bad luck
That's why I always check around mine when the roof reaches it's first stop. I've noticed the fabric not properly folded in on a couple of occasions, due to my fault for leaving things in the roof

I always close the roof with the hatch folded open, so plenty of room for air to escape - Also you can keep your head up there til its more or less shut and make sure all is OK.

Good advice MM - How many of us lower the roof without a quick check at the halfway pause. Me for one.

So THAT'S what the round hole is for?!!!

Mind you, seemingly like most on here, I keep the complete hatch open to benefit from the sunroof light.

I have taken my hatch off permanently by drilling of the ends of the hinge pins with a dremel. I store the hatch in the back of the Bongo roof side by side with the piece of Memory Foam used to cover it when shut with the silver Screens in the front of the roof. So far I have not had any problems closing the aft roof or had the slightest bit of damp in it.

Tony

madmile wrote:I always close the roof with the hatch folded open, so plenty of room for air to escape - Also you can keep your head up there til its more or less shut and make sure all is OK.

Ditto. And because I have a fair bit of stuff up there I keep my head inside the roof and look around for anything amiss, and listen for any sound of motors straining as it does the last bit (by which time I have removed my head from the roofspace.....obviously!).

Bad luck MM but at least - as you say - silver gaffer tape should enable a reasonable repair. Thinking about it, what about silver gaffer tape on the inside (or maybe, with a bit of teamwork, iron on wonderweb and fabric) and clear 'greenhouse' tape on the outside as I've found greenhouse tape adhesive has last longer (esp. where wet weather is concerned) than gaffer tape.

Again, thank you Mike. Theres wisdom in them words.

Im glad I didn't buy an AFT, have managed to drive with the back door open.

Sorry to hear that chris, i remember the incident... There was no apparent evidence of a problem with the tent material sticking out on the side i was looking at (passenger side i think) And there was somebody (can't remember who now), checking the other side for anything unusual when you started to experience problems in lowering the freetop.

A lesson learnt for the rest of us... Keep that hole clear!

The handbook says to always keep the hatch open when lowering to roof.... If I remember rightly I think it might even say it's a good idea to keep a door open????

I might have dreamt the last bit tho.....


Phil

The problem is that with a thick memory foam mattress in the aft you cannot keep the hatch open unless you lift up the matress and tuck the hatch under it, the hatch will stick up at an angle and prevent the roof from closing. This is why some people rely on the vent and I have taken the hatch off on my Bongo.

Tony

MountainGoat wrote:The problem is that with a thick memory foam mattress in the aft you cannot keep the hatch open unless you lift up the matress and tuck the hatch under it, the hatch will stick up at an angle and prevent the roof from closing. This is why some people rely on the vent and I have taken the hatch off on my Bongo.

Tony

I've got one of the thicker JAL mattresses up in the roof, which is blocking the vent in the hole meant for passing beer cans through (worrying 'cos the kids sleep up there!). I've also been closing the roof with the hatch closed. Glad I read this thread - an accident waiting to happen. Anyway, I went out this afternoon and lifted the mattress and opened the hatch up underneath it. There's obviously a bulge in the mattress where the hatch now is, but the roof still closes down securely, squashing the mattress as it goes. So, that's the way I think I'll do it from now on!

which is blocking the vent in the hole meant for passing beer cans through (worrying 'cos the kids sleep up there!)

....is that worrying because of the potential lack of ventilation or your kids potential lack of beer???

My 9 year won't go to bed up there unless he's taken a 4 pack of kronenbourg with him!!!

Isn't the mattress blocking the hole, the same as the hatch blocking the hole?