Maggiolina access port revisited

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John B
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
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Maggiolina access port revisited

Post by John B »

Three years ago, I asked the question "Maggiolina; anyone ever mount one directly to the roof?"
My search for info on this mod was birthed out of frustration with my many efforts to squeeze more space out of my beloved short wheelbase Safari GT mini-rv. Paying to have a pop-top installed was going to cost around $10,000 once options such as paint match, top bunk, etc. were added.
Even if I could find a derelict factory conversion, I doubted whether I had the skills needed to replicate the transfer of the pop-top from the wreck to my van successfully (was it T.Low that did this?).
I'm still unwilling to bail on my Safari. It's in immaculate condition, has all of the finest accessories installed, and meets all of my criteria for the ideal camper van, except for one; it's too cramped. Which brings me back to the Maggiolina.
It occurred to me some time ago that if I bolted a Maggiolina directly to the roof of my van, and cut an access port at the "foot" end of it, I could then move back and forth to the top bunk without leaving the van, and essentially build a pop-top conversion for, say $5000.
I looked for some evidence that this had been done before, in order to learn from the efforts of braver souls who might have pioneered this mod, but nobody came forward at that time.
Still using my Safari, cramped as it is, I've wondered if since that original post, maybe somebody has finally pulled of this installation.
Any brave souls out there who have bolted a Maggiolina directly to the roof of their van, then cut an access port thru the van and the roof-top tent?
Thanks for any insights shared.
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Herbie
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Re: Maggiolina access port revisited

Post by Herbie »

You may be thinking of me.

I originally purchased a Maggiolina with the intent of doing as you describe, but returned it to the US distributor after I was able to find a donor GTRV pop-top van. I believe the Small-Extra-Long size was about right for a 2003 ("Extended") length van. Compare their data for a shorty...

The conversion was not exceptionally difficult, but was made easier by having access to a lift. (I literally pushed one van under, disconnected the top, raised it on the lift, then moved the other van underneath it, and proceeded to do the work of cutting holes and reattaching). Aside from the help of a highschool neighbor who needed some work, I did it almost 100% solo.

Doing a job with the Maggiolina will mostly be complicated by the fact that the van roof is VERY not flat. It crowns front to back AND left to right, not to mention the "ribbing". You'll have to mount the Maggiolina and then probably add fiberglass or similar to mate the flat bottom of the tent to the curved roof.

The smaller the hole you plan to cut, the better. The GTRV system replaces a couple of the cross-ribs under the roof with a steel ring. You may need to do something similar if you end up having to cut a rib. You'll also need to install some sort of flange so that you can drop a panel back into the "access hole" so you'll have enough room to sleep. (Since you'll probably end up with a Small-sized Maggiolina.)

The upside, is that this has definitely been done at least once before. I decided to go down that path after seeing photos of a Volvo C303 with a Maggiolina grafted on. (There's a sample in the first post or two of my build thread.)

Hope that helps you. If you do decide to tackle a GTRV/LuluIsland swap instead, don't hesitate to ask questions, I can provide more detail about how I did the swap.
"My minivan is cooler than your bro-truck"
2003 Astro AWD Astrolander/ZMB - GTRV Top Transplant, 4" OLV Lift, NP233 T-case, evolving interior
1995 Safari GTRV Organ donor - gutted and gone.
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