TheSamba.com :: View topic - Single, Double Cab Tilt,Canopy,Canvas,Hardware Parts Supply

Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:35 pm

I wondered the same thing...

Yes, it seems to be in good condition.

Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:41 pm

Hey Guys,
Goes anyone know who is making Canopy/Bows for a DC Split ute?
Any help would be appreciate... contacts, pics or diagram, sizes etc etc
Cheers Matty

Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:53 pm

Shaven wrote: Hey Guys,
Goes anyone know who is making Canopy/Bows for a DC Split ute?
Any help would be appreciate... contacts, pics or diagram, sizes etc etc
Cheers Matty

http://www.busware.biz/HOME.html

Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:10 pm

Fwiw I bought a busware one in sunbrella and have been pretty happy with it. The hardware rusted after about 4 months. It is a garaged, well cared for weekender. The leather is also starting to crack.

Other than that, excellent product. Double stitched where it needs to be. Made to order in the USA (a rarity these days) from my understanding. Id buy from them again.

One thing would be to NOT get the cotton blend. I can't imagine how quickly the material (just by the inherent nature and type of use) would self destruct.

Thu Nov 23, 2017 10:55 am

I guess I'll revive this thread. I'm looking for COTTON canvas material kinda original like to patch an original tilt.
Any idea of specs or sources?
More than 10Oz, I think, more like 15-18 oz?
I might just do the whole center.

Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:08 am

I know some guys use canvas painters drop cloths (like you find at Home Depot) to make home made covers. I would stop by and take a look at those as they are pretty thick canvas.

Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:52 am

I've been real tempted here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1917861

He uses natural canvas. I hesitate only with international deals. I've talked with a buddy about going in with him on a couple of Jacek's nice truck items. Definitely check out his heat tube wraps and hardware.

Martin's points about Busware are important ones. I want the hardware to look good forever. As he knows, Busware does offer the neat awning flap extension. My problem is I've owned a Thing for over 30 years with the original top (thus grommets). As a thing owner you can spot a repro top at 30 yards away when the little grommets are simply "wrong." Jacek's are just a little closer to original but I've read nothing about rustability.

Sun Nov 26, 2017 9:10 am

I got mine from these guys... https://nlavw.com/body/639-heavy-duty-canvas-for-vw-t2-splits-single-cab-and-double-cab.html

They had a one-off discount day on ebay, so I got it for about £80.00 less than their current list price. It looks (and weighs) the part. Came in a nice holdall made from the same material.

Did the same with their hoop set earlier in the year.

Sun Nov 26, 2017 9:19 am

I bought a new canvas cover from this company in the UK and had it shipped to me in the US. I was very impressed by the fit and the quality, but I have not compared it side by side with an original one. I can not speak about the longevity as I have only owned it about 3 months.

https://nlavw.com/t2-split/642-heavy-duty-canvas-for-vw-t2-splits-crew-cab-and-double-cab.html

They also remove the VAT tax when shipped to the US so the cost for my cover was just over $800 US including shipping.

They also sell the metal frame assembly, but that is not exactly the same as stock as each hoop unbolts and does not need to be welded to ship them. Once the hoops are on my truck they fit exactly the same as an original one.

Sun Nov 26, 2017 9:33 am

hitest wrote: I've been real tempted here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1917861

He uses natural canvas. I hesitate only with international deals. I've talked with a buddy about going in with him on a couple of Jacek's nice truck items. Definitely check out his heat tube wraps and hardware.

Martin's points about Busware are important ones. I want the hardware to look good forever. As he knows, Busware does offer the neat awning flap extension. My problem is I've owned a Thing for over 30 years with the original top (thus grommets). As a thing owner you can spot a repro top at 30 yards away when the little grommets are simply "wrong." Jacek's are just a little closer to original but I've read nothing about rustability.

Hi all,

I bought a reproduction canvas cover for the Westfalia roof rack that Jacek came out with early in 2017. I visited his booth at the June 2017 Hessisch-Oldendorf Vintage weekend, and his items look great. I like the thickness and feel of his canvas, and would love to buy a future reproduction of the Brazilian low-profile tilt cover in canvas that he is thinking about making. Nice guy too! I personally wouldn't worry about his reliability.

Bill

Wed Feb 20, 2019 1:59 pm

I can't believe I never saw this post until now, 7 years later,but here is some relevant info for Canopy/hoops desirees!

I have now been making the canopies only for 17 years and have made over 500 in that time, + invented a side awning kit, & a patented tonneau kit for DC & SC'a 1952-79.
I used OG hoops & canopy to make our 1st patterns & have strived to make them exactly like VW did, except in cases where I have gone more heavy duty, like Stainless steel gutter clips instead of the painted steel ones that VW used.

VW originally used an 18 oz. treated cotton canvas, & we still will make them like that, but don't recommend that natural fabric as it shrinks 8 times as much as the Sunbrella Marine grade boat cover fabric we use for 99% of our orders nowadays.
Cotton fabric also is highly susceptible to mold & mildew, unlike the Sunbrella fabric.
FWIW, the cotton fabric is less than 1/2 the cost/yd as the Sunbrella, & the HD Vinyl materials are about twice the cost of the Sunbrella.
We also only use OEM German grommets & Loops. & because they come plated in green zinc, we have them stripped & replated in Cadmium to look like the OG hardware which was made of aluminum, but was too soft, so VW went to steel during the T3 era.
To set the 33 grommets in each SC canopy w/ use special custom made dies that now cost us over $2100 a set so that the grommets are set very tightly to the fabric & won't pull out easily like when they are set w/o the dies.
Using an NOS canopy for a pattern sounds like the way to go until you discover that it has shrunk about 4" in length in a SC version from the new fabric! So the new pattern has to be made to acommodate the individual shrinkage rate of each type of fabric. The hardware must also be placed so that after the fabric shrinks,it will now fit nicely w/ only a 1/4" tolerance.
We use different patterns for each fabric to acommodate the shrinkage rate which is determined by testing each fabric. We make 5 different size canopies for T 1 & 2 trucks including the Binz DC which has an extra pair of gate loops & is 1.25" shorter than a VW DC,
I would love to make less expensive canopies, but refuse to compromise on the quality or go off shore to have them made less expensively. I have the same 2 guys who have made all the canopies for the last 14-16 years, & they are the most experienced VW canopy makers in the world, IMHO!
YMMV

Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:08 pm

P.S. I have made a new canopy for a customer in FL who ordered hoops & canopy from someone in The UK. The problem was the canopy did not fit after it got wet & the hardware pulled out. The customer wanted to send it to me to repair! Alas, I declined that offer, & the customer had me make a new one that did fit & still does! There is no substitute for experience in making these. It took us about 15-20 canopies to make them fit just right, & we still tweak the patterns once in a while. YMMV

Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:57 am

I made my own and used Top Notch 9 fabric...having done industrial sewing for many years and coming from a background in sailing I can say that this fabric is far superior to Sunbrella and is 100% waterproof with less than 0.2% shrink/stretch rate. I once hauled my truck home (I had used it as a display piece and had two cars at one time I had to get home) in an absolute driving rain where multiple times I could not see...horrid winds and pounding rain for almost 3 hours...when I got home and opened the canvas the back of the truck bed was completely dry...I mean not a drop of water had made it through and I was running 70mph when I could and was worried the entire trip that everything in the back of the double would be soaked...I never expected it to perform so well. It is available from Sailrite.com (I have no affiliation with this company). I have used this fabric for multiple projects including my Double Cab and it's matching Apache Raven Tent trailer and I can not praise it enough.
My top fit perfect the first time, it has been on two years and I have not had a single issue with it, still fits like the day I made it.
You might consider checking it out...very light weight and sews like an absolute dream.
I'm not in the business of making them and don't want to be! Just thought I would share!
peace

I also made a self supporting awning using the same fabric and again I am blown away at it's construction and ability to reply water, yet breathe (youtube link below).

Hit me up on YouTube: marcijunebug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TV4DyWb31M&t=52s

Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:53 am

marcijunebug wrote:

I also made a self supporting awning

Neat idea. I'm guessing you made the frame? Do you have any pictures of how the brackets attach to the uprights on the hoop?

The support for the drop gate is interesting too. Is it stuck in the jack point?

Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:09 pm

Yes I made the frame, there is an entire build video on my YouTube channel (marcijunebug on YouTube) should be pictures of it there...but next time I have it up I will snap a couple of pictures, the brackets don’t really attached...just slide onto the hoop uprights and then counter-pressure keeps them in place. It works perfect and we have camped in 50mph winds with it up and as long as its tied down during winds it doesn’t even move or act like it’s going to fall. There is also a video about the drop gate support, yes it uses the Jack point and the hole where overrider was on bumper (Dbl and sing cabs didn’t have overriders because of gates, I had a bumper with them so just removed, and lucky for me there was the bolt hole perfectly placed!!!)

Mon Sep 09, 2019 5:39 pm

Hey all,
I have a hoop and canopy for my double cab, but I cannot fit it in the garage and have no place to store it, so every time I want to repark in the garage I have to dismantle my entire set up. Wondering if anyone knows about modifications to the hoops so I can lower the legs. Any custom jobs or know anyone with a good set up?

Mon Sep 09, 2019 6:02 pm

marcijunebug wrote: ......(Dbl and sing cabs didn’t have overriders because of gates, I had a bumper with them so just removed, and lucky for me there was the bolt hole perfectly placed!!!).......
Actually, all trucks delivered to the US market had overriders starting in ‘59.

Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:26 pm

vwnut_98 wrote: Hey all,
I have a hoop and canopy for my double cab, but I cannot fit it in the garage and have no place to store it, so every time I want to repark in the garage I have to dismantle my entire set up. Wondering if anyone knows about modifications to the hoops so I can lower the legs. Any custom jobs or know anyone with a good set up?

I started with hoops that bolt together, but I can't see why this wouldn't work for welded hoops...

I cut about a foot off of the top of the uprights and had a local metalworker bend some steel in to u-channel that fits inside the existing u-channel of the cut out sections to span the cut.

The hoops I have already have a u-channel 'tongue' where they bolted together at the top and that allows me to bolt them down to the cut down uprights when I'm not using the inserts...

..but if yours are the traditional weld-together type, you could just get u-channel inserts made and bolt or weld them in that position.
When I want to run with the hoops at full height (usually only for shows) I bolt in the sections I removed...

I've used dome-head machine screws with the heads on the outside, so they don't cut the canvas. If you're really worried about rubbing, you could sew rubbing strips in to the inside of the canvas, but I don't think they're necessary.

Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:01 am

marcijunebug wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TV4DyWb31M&t=52s
My wife doesn't fabricate anything for my busses for me. I'm definitely judging her.

She just watched part of your vid and said, "Yeah, but she doesn't have red hair." (I don't know how she knows that when you werent on screen.)

Awesome youtube channel. Thanks for posting it.