83-84 Fleet -- Pop Top Mechanism recommendations

[BBZ]

Hey All.. new to the forum as we just got a camper about a month ago. Made our first trip over Thanksgiving week and very happy with it. We have it in a 14 F-150. Had to make a platform and make extenders for the jacks, but its so light you hardly feel it back there, if I can keep it under 70, MPG's are only effected by 1 mpg.

My biggest gripe.. the front pop top mechanism? Anyone make anything different that isn't as bulky? Currently we have to remove the mattress from the bed to get it down. We are planning a long trip in January to Baja and really want it to be simpler.. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[longhorn1]

Can you post pictures. Not heard of the FWC lift panels not working. Is this some different mechanism than the original? It is hard to provide in put without knowing what is in your camper. Thanks, jd

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

To have to remove the mattress doesn’t sound right at all! Is it oversized (thick)? I wonder if someone before you added a little extra to make it cushy.

If you have a bed extension, it’s normal to remove the cushions from the extension, push it in, then bring the front down. After the front is down, you can pull the extension back out and replace the cushions, or you can leave them down if you want.

 

[BBZ]

Sorry, for the confusion, it works fine.. its just bulky and in the way when down and we have to remove the mattress to get it to close.

I do believe it is original, will try to get a pic uploaded.

 

[BBZ]

Well.. tried to upload pics, but this site requires very small pics.. and not working currently.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Well.. tried to upload pics, but this site requires very small pics.. and not working currently.

If your photos are hosted on another site like Flickr or Google, you can just link to them. No size issues doing that.

 

[BBZ]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP2AIli3oHg9ke9BXcvwPVI6v0UHZ0WQWiY0iop


Here is a photo...

Wandering Sagebrush edit: Here are both of Bill's photos.

 

[BBZ]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNB0QxDRD4WJBouw96hZnJBzu7YyB6HXcgX8srg


And another showing how the mechanism is inhibited by the mattress

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNB0QxDRD4WJBouw96hZnJBzu7YyB6HXcgX8srg


And another showing how the mechanism is inhibited by the mattress

“404. That’s an error.

The requested URL was not found on this server. That’s all we know.”

I suspect you haven’t made the permissions public...

 

[BBZ]

hmm. says they are public? This site sure makes this hard, I swear I am highly computer literate but this is challenging...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

PM on its way.

 

[takesiteasy]

hmm. says they are public? This site sure makes this hard, I swear I am highly computer literate but this is challenging...

I've had this problem and since discovered that Google Photos does not support sharing photos on forums- very frustrating. I used to do it using Picasa but Google discontinued that. Lately, I either put the photos in a blog posting or upload to the forum gallery. Not totally satisfactory.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I've edited one of the original posts to include the two photos. Let's see if one of our FWC sleuth/gurus can spot what the issue is.

WS

 

[PokyBro]

BBZ,

It's difficult to see an obvious reason your lift panel is interfering with the mattress when you try to get the top down, just by looking at the two photos above. I do see that the lift panels have been redone, so one possible problem would be if the center hinge isn't placed properly it may be binding and not allowing the panel to fold completely in half when the top is down, causing the lift panel to push into the mattress. I know this because my rear lift panel doesn't fold completely flat and sticks down a little when the top is down, but it doesn't pose any problem in the back of the camper. The front panel is okay and rests fine on my mattress up front.
If your lift panel folds easily in half, then that probably isn't the problem. I was just taking a stab at it for you.

Poky

 

[BBZ]

Thanks Poky.

I am not sure its broken or anything, works great if the mattress isn't there, I am mostly just wondering if others have found a different solution so that the bed area can be used to store mattress and maybe bedding there while top is down. Would be curious to see other ideas of what people have done.