RS 38-40
Gobles , Michigan
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Joined: 12/01/2007
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I have made an appointment to have Sportmobile install a Penthouse Top on my 06 Ford E250 and was wondering if anyone else has had this done and if everyone was happy with it . Any down sides or things that have "popped up" to be concerned about .
George & Donna
1998 E150 Ford Van
1995 Gulfstream Sun Voyager
1985 Southwind
1986 GMC School Bus ( converted )
Jayco Tent Trailer
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ennajean
Wisconsin
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Joined: 05/19/2006
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We have the penthouse top and love it. SMB in Huntington did our whole conversion.
Anne and Dick
DABEE a 2006 Ford Sportsmobile Penthouse top.
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qjane
Indiana
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Joined: 05/31/2004
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My PH roof was chosen by the previous owner, and I thank him for it. Has anyone reading used one of the the SMB plants to install a penthouse roof on a van they already own?? Do tell.
QJane
Sportsmobile RB30 w/pop-top
inside a 2002 Ford E350 2WD
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ARcruiser
Benton, AR USA
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Joined: 12/19/2001
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The top on my Chevy was installed by the previous owner. He bought a used cargo van and had the Indiana SMB facility install the top.
Looks to me like they do nice work. I have no complaints - of the three pop-tops I have owned (SMB, Traverse, Westy), I like the Penthouse by Sportsmobile best. The Traverse and Westy are sleeker on the outside but the Penthouse is vastly superior in usability, openess of the interior, ease of use, etc. I like it.
2 Big Cruisers, The Little Man, and Bailey / ARcruiser's Class B's (the first 8)
Rig #8 Under Construction! / Here's the Project Thread - I'm actually working on it again!
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RIA
NEW YORK
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Joined: 09/28/2003
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I just had a scan @ Sportsmobile's price for the penthouse. Almost $5000 installed is no small price. I also notice that they no longer do Dodge vans.
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ga_slinky
GA
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Joined: 09/04/2007
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We have a 1982 Dodge w/ a Sportsmobile PH top which was installed after the owner bought the van in GA and drove it all the way to IN for the conversion. So maybe I can offer some insight into the longevity of the top, with the caveat that I haven't seen a recent SMB top and all my knowledge is from my 1982 vintage van.
The canvas has held up remarkably well. Unbelievably well, really, considering it's 25 years old. No leaks whatsoever. As far as I know, the previous owner never treated the canvas in any way. Only two very, very small holes, both of which are due to abrasion. One hole is from the latches (see below) and the other is from the bungee cords which go around the outside.
The plastic windows are another story. They have cracked/torn in several places which seem to be primarily along the folds that occur when you put the top down. So I guess the moral of that story is to try and make sure the folds occur in slightly different places if you can. Two of the four windows with plastic on them have cracks/tears.
The plastic zippers around the windows in the top are also shot. I have no idea who wanted to use plastic zippers, but maybe that's all they had in 1982. They are pretty crappy and none of them work. The pull tabs long ago gave up the ghost, but the zippers won't work anyway, so we haven't bothered to replace them.
Another issue is the rust on the tongues and latches which secure the top in its down/collapsed position. Over the years, the paint has flaked off the tongues which are attached to the body of the van, and the exposed metal has began to rust. This is pretty easily solved by a coat or two of Rust-O-Leum, but in the meantime, the rust has started to discolor the canvas and there are rust spots on the canvas. Additionally, the places where the tongues and latches touch the fabric (when the top is down) are abraded. Just the constant leveraging from the latches has made some weaker spots in the canvas. We're going to experiment with some "cozies" over the tongues and see if we can't figure out some way to slow down the abrasion.
The body work has also held up well, and there are no leaks between the PH top and (what used to be) the roof of the van. We do have a leak around some window seals on the side door, but that's a separate issue.
Anyway, hope that helps out some. We really enjoy the PH top on ours.
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mellowbo
Carlsbad, CA USA
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Joined: 06/30/2002
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RIA wrote:I just had a scan @ Sportsmobile's price for the penthouse. Almost $5000 installed is no small price. I also notice that they no longer do Dodge vans.
I'm not sure where the mistake is but I just talked with Sportsmobile and they definitely are installing the penthouse on the Dodge. They just finished their first 2008 today. Sorry for the correction.
EJ and Carole
Dillon, Vinny and Lulu (furkids)
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Lynne Jayzee
Asheville NC
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Joined: 04/01/2003
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2008 Dodge = Sprinter (a.k.a. "Mercedes Benz Freightliner") 
Is that correct?
- LJZ
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RS 38-40
Gobles , Michigan
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Thanks for all the replys . If the one I'm having installed lasts half as long as the one ga_slinky has I will be happy . Huntington , Indiana SMB is the one putting on mine . We made a trip down to their shop and talked to the people there . Everyone was very nice and they took us into the shop and showed us a couple units they were working on and let us operate the top on one . They gave us their big envelope with all the floor plans and prices to take home with us . They said they would do any or all of our conversion . We had a 98 E150 Ford van with a lot of miles on it at the time we visited them . A couple weeks later we bought a 06 E250 Ford van with a lot less miles and called them to have the top put on it .
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mellowbo
Carlsbad, CA USA
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Joined: 06/30/2002
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Lynne Jayzee wrote:2008 Dodge = Sprinter (a.k.a. "Mercedes Benz Freightliner")
Is that correct?
- LJZ
yup, that's the one!
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