LRCC

Bit of an update on my conversion. A couple of weeks ago I spotted a Land Rover Dormobile roof and a Dormobile van roof for sale on one of the Facebook Land Rover groups, this weekend I collected them both, sadly I forgot to take of PTV with 3 roofs on.

The Land Rover roof is complete with a new vent cover but no windows but the other roof has those so next project is to swap those around.

Has anyone got some decent photos of the clamps that hold the roof down when shut and also how they mount?

The bad news is I'll now lose the Carawagon awning but looking at the Dormobile roof it has lost the extended rain gutter over the rear door so hopefully there is enough gap between the Land Rover roof and Dormobile top to fit another awning.

The original Dormobiles have a gutter kind of thing where the the roof falls in to at the back. It is from the same material as the Dormobile roof. We use that gutter for our rear awning tent.


Michiel

Were those roofs near Bridlington? I was told about them a couple of years ago, but never had the spare cash to go get them. My roof was held down by leather straps from new, so has chrome Staples on the fiberglass. What do you have on your roof? staples? Hooks?

What does the van roof look like?

DrivingDutchman I've seen the rear gutters but if I fit one I'll not be able to fit the Carawagon style awning frame and I've got used to just sliding it out as a shelter.

Yes Jabbawocky they came from near Bridlington. After a bit more research I found out the roofs are held in the closed position by straps on the inside and the 2 catches on the outside but as of yet I've not seen any close up photos of them and how they mount. The van roof is very similar to the Land Rover one but it is just the fibre glass top, supports, frame for canvas and a worn out canvas that is only good for a pattern. There is no roof frame for it all to bolt too but that may be able to be fabricated using angle iron, the rear of the roof will need trimming to allow the rear door of a Land Rover to open.

Dormobile used three different ways of holding the roof down on the outside. They used the over center toggle catches, rubber bonnet catches and as on mine, leather straps. You need to look at your roof, if is has an over center catch hook on the fiberglass, then you will have to get some new over center catches. You will need to then make up some top hat shaped spacers to move the catches out away from the bodywork to allow the catches to clear the gutter.
Toggle catches were like these.

Mine always had these.

Cheers for that. I think looking at what remains on the roof it may of had the rubber type outside. Do your rubber ones pivot on the roof and lock on the body?

I remember our family VW Dormobile which my parents bought new in 1972 had rubber toggles like these on the outside:




You pulled them down from the roof and hooked them on the body


Cheers,
Robin.

As Robin says Re the rubber toggles.

Yes from memory what remains on the roof is the bracket with the pin in, the rubber has long since gone. Any idea how long they should be please also is there meant to be a packing piece between the cup and the body to allow clearance of the gutter?
Many thanks

I've replaced my Dormobile roof cap latches with a rubber hood latches from RS Components. Their stock number ref is 3399151. These are all stainless steel and an exact size match of what was fitted before. No spacer required to get round the gutter!!

Hope this helps.

Kind regards
Chris