So, what DO you leave upstairs?

[Frank_Butcher]

Clearly, not much if anything but interested to know what the best practice is. I believe guidance is for a few millimetres so I'm thinking a sheet and/or mattress protector would be OK to leave on with the roof closed? Then again, is there any risk with gathering under the mattress especially under the corners?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Epigram]

I use engineering common sense with the roof. From memory what I do is contrary to the instructions, so copy at your peril
The bed base pulls up against the roof and is held with the straps. Provided nothing overhangs, what is between it and the roof does not interfere mechanically with the opening and closing. The closing mechanism is then dealing with the roof and not squashing something on the bed.
I get away with an IKEA mattress topper for the lower bed which is slightly narrower than the upper bed mattress and similar thickness. I also put the Bandrup thin internal insulated screens up there.
I take the base up to the roof to close, double check both mattresses (with protectors) are aligned and nothing is overhanging. I also pull the second mattress slightly forward to ensure there is no leverage to squash it at the back.
In addition to a window, I open the side door to eliminate any possibility of the bellows being forced outwards.
If I am in the mood when raising the roof I undo the straps for the bed base to ease the load on the screwjacks and when the roof has extended I push the base up and reattach it. This is probably unnecessary but I feel guily about the screwjacks when they make their whining noise and there is the slight extra weight of a second mattress. The electro hydraulic system on the earlier Vitos must have been much quieter although I understand a pig to repair!

 

[SteveR]

I just keep the magnetic cab screens laid flat on the upstairs bed.
I always open the sliding door when raising / lowering and always have the upstairs bed in the 'down' position while doing so.
Just my way

 

[Steve B]

Nothing stored for me, just the cover on the mattress. I also unhook the bed before raising (Mr Compliant!)

 

[Grand Tourismo]

Me too, I always unhook the bed before raising the roof.
I find it odd that no-one has advised we all do this, yet we independently have all decided not to stress the hydraulic system and jacks...I can't help but think that we must "feel" that they are straining.

It's that old engineering adage "if it looks right it probably is right"

 

[Epigram]

And conversely, if it looks wrong it probably is. I am surprised more problems are not caused by the exposed microswitches.

 

[Frank_Butcher]

Thanks everyone - the benefit of experience

 

[Samebutdifferent]

Simple, it's all in the supplement.

"When you open the pop-up roof, the weight of luggage on roof including roof rack must not exceed 50kg"

"Before closing the pop-up roof, always fold down the bed frame and straighten the mattress. The bellows could otherwise be damaged"

Doesn't look like anyone stows in excess of 50Kg up there, so no need to worry about the load when raising the roof, but unhook and lower the bed frame before lowering the roof.

 

[Method7]

Ha SBD I was looking for that magic number, we might not stow 50kg in the bed space but that value also applies to what’s on the roof, we often have a big parasol, several surfboards and all the clobber that goes with them on the roof rack.

I’m gad you posted that snippet, it makes perfect sense… We have a Horizon so none of those motor issues but lifting all our clobber attached can be difficult, fortunately you can lock out the struts so there is little chance of it closing on its own and it’s a handy to leave stuff up there, it cannot be stolen easily.

Good point about releasing the attached bed before lowering, I bet that is how people’s bellows have been damaged..

 

[Epigram]

"Before closing the pop-up roof, always fold down the bed frame and straighten the mattress. The bellows could otherwise be damaged"
Yep. I straighten the mattress(s) etc in the lowered position butI don’t follow the instructions to the letter, I then attach the bed base back up to the roof before lowering. That way nothing can move or come out on the way down.
The pressure build up when the roof closes is enough to force the bellows outwards into the scissor mechanism and the front lock. Although cracking a window satisfies the interlocking for lowering IMO this may not be enough to ensure adequate outward airflow hence I open the side door. One moment of inattention can result in an expensive repair.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

Simple, it's all in the supplement.

"When you open the pop-up roof, the weight of luggage on roof including roof rack must not exceed 50kg"

"Before closing the pop-up roof, always fold down the bed frame and straighten the mattress. The bellows could otherwise be damaged"

Doesn't look like anyone stows in excess of 50Kg up there, so no need to worry about the load when raising the roof, but unhook and lower the bed frame before lowering the roof.

That's a surprise to me, MB truly advise that you can lift the roof on the motor with a 50kg external weight applied to the roof!
I see that some roofs have cracks in, even without any external extra weight, goodness knows what would happen if we all had roof racks and accessories attached to our roofs.

 

[Method7]

Yeah GT the forces involved in cracking the roof like that must be huge, It’s a bit of a concern really. Again the horizon is fully man-powered so lifting and lowering the roof means you have to be up there watching and feeling, however when we got the car, on the first couple of times we closed the roof the bellows were getting trapped under the roof seal at the rear.. only when I got up in the roof to look at the corrosion recall I noticed the elastic tether was disconnected. I reconnected it and all has been ok since.

SBD those extenders look great, Back in the 90s I used to surf, party and sleep in the boot of my Opel Manta, it was very stuffy and I used a wooden stick to prop the boot open a little, this would have been perfect.

 

[Steve B]

SBD those extenders look great, Back in the 90s I used to surf, party and sleep in the boot of my Opel Manta, it was very stuffy and I used a wooden stick to prop the boot open a little, this would have been perfect.

Similar here, kayaking was (still is) my thing, in the mid 80's I had a 1980 Cortina MK5 estate, my first camper! None of the luxuries such as blinds, mattress, diesel heater, just a single burner gas stove, sleep mat and a musty ex US army sleeping bag. Great days though.

 

[Samebutdifferent]

Ha Ha... Can't believe how much planing goes into a trip and how much gear we have to take now.

In my late teens early 20s we quite often decided to go camping at closing time. I remember getting an old tent and heading off to the coast. Never put the tent up the whole weekend, just lay it on the ground and we all climbed in like a giant sleeping bag.

 

[Steve B]

Can't believe how much planing goes into a trip and how much gear we have to take now.

Yes, all our stuff was ex army and you had a mess tin, canteen with cup, and spoon. Your knife was your pocket knife which did everything, and our luxury item was a kettle so that you got cleanish water for your tea.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

Yes, all our stuff was ex army and you had a mess tin, canteen with cup, and spoon. Your knife was your pocket knife which did everything, and our luxury item was a kettle so that you got cleanish water for your tea.

This is turning into a Monty Python sketch ...." Kettle! Kettle! that was a luxury, in my day we used to drink tea from puddles and be very grateful "
But seriously we used to head off to Denmark for the weekend from N Germany in my mates Peug 305 and try to doss down on any sofa we could blag or at worst doss in a sleeping bag in the bushes somewhere...I remember after a heavy night on the ale and a poor show regarding blagging a floor somewhere, my mate Lee stood up out of the bushes in the morning, yawning and letting his sleeping bag drop to his knees ...he was surprised to find we had chosen a bed on a roundabout in Sonderburg...not as surprised as the local rush hour traffic was!!