Up next in 10
Ford Transit Pop-Top by Colorado Camper Van | Adventure Van Expo Chattanooga, TN 2023
447 views
May 2, 2025
Join me as I interview Caleb and Annie of Colorado Camper Van as they showcase their custom high roof Ford Transit pop-top camper van build at Adventure Van Expo Chattanooga, TN 2023. Don't forget to check out Odyssey Custom Vans latest build currently for sale here: https://www.odysseycustomvans.com/ Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways we can help you: 1. If you need a vetted parts list, download our → FREE DIY Van Build Cheatsheet to help you save time and money on Van Parts and Gear: CLICK HERE: https://van-builder-hq.ck.page/846c83ab54 2. If you want to get Done-For-You Van Build help, book a → FREE Consultation with my Calendly Link: CLICK HERE: https://calendly.com/odysseycustomvans/intro-call?month=2023-07
View Video Transcript
0:00
[Music]
0:08
hey guys Nick here we got Caleb hi and
0:11
Annie we're going to pop this up in a
0:13
second but this is a Colorado camper
0:15
band camper van this is a high roof Ford
0:18
Transit and that's kind of rare to have
0:21
a high roof pop top on a Ford Transit
0:23
it's also not the what do you call it
0:25
clam shell this is the all the way up
0:28
mhm um and then in a second we're going
0:30
to talk about some self reinforcing
0:33
members that they use to I mean
0:35
effectively make it stronger than and
0:39
self supporting as well we have a steel
0:42
lifting frame it's a Halo top and bottom
0:44
the bottom is L angle that marries to
0:46
the roof of the van uh so this actually
0:48
creates support to where we can actually
0:50
cut the entire roof out if needed so for
0:53
our taller folks even in a high roof fan
0:55
if they're 6'8 they can actually stand
0:57
up in their vehicle and have a
0:59
comfortable experience during the day
1:01
with a removable panel system that will
1:02
stack in the back we can also do uh
1:05
smaller access holes uh to whatever size
1:08
needed for the build um we do custom
1:11
coloring as well so we can actually
1:13
detail this to make it work with your
1:15
specific build or your logos as well
1:18
cool and something I didn't know is it
1:20
actually has an actuator it's not you're
1:22
not physically having to push the whole
1:24
thing up right it's it's and it's not
1:25
pneumatic or hydraulic it's actually a
1:27
worm gear actuator that runs off of 12vt
1:29
you only need 20 amps to run our top it
1:31
takes 2 minutes to lift that's on
1:33
purpose cuz we want to give these
1:35
actuators a good fighting chance to last
1:36
for 30 years um they lift up our top and
1:40
actually support extra weight as well we
1:42
can add AC systems roof racks vent fans
1:45
solar uh skylights uh so we can actually
1:49
customize these for the specific
1:50
experience that we're looking for great
1:52
do you know the weight of the unit so it
1:55
depends on the van and it depends on the
1:56
wheelbase uh but it can range anywhere
1:58
from 200 to 600 lb
2:00
okay mhm gotcha mhm cool cool well let's
2:03
uh we're going to hop inside it's going
2:05
to take a minute for it to go up but
2:07
we're all hanging out right here so no
2:08
big deal yeah right on but uh we have
2:11
one opening actually Annie go you take
2:13
it take over you're going to have your
2:16
latches here these are manual latches
2:19
and you never ever ever want to pop your
2:21
top with your latches locked so both
2:24
sides they'll keep it sealed down from
2:26
wind when you're going down the highway
2:28
at high speeds so you don't get that
2:30
whistle from from that air brushing
2:32
underneath but once these are down it's
2:35
a push of a button I don't know if you
2:37
want to get in here so you can see
2:38
that oh oh nice push butt it's
2:42
simple so we have dimmable LED lights
2:45
one's for the upstairs and one's for the
2:48
downstairs
2:50
so and there's a Max fan in there mhm
2:54
and what was in the back um there's
2:56
nothing in the back of this one um but
2:58
we're going to put a AC sciss system and
3:00
solar yeah that's probably what I saw
3:05
online and it's very quiet by the way
3:08
also if you want you can just push a
3:11
remote so you could be doing other
3:12
things in the van and still lifting that
3:15
top
3:17
gotcha and the top frame is a tube steel
3:21
uh it has guiders in there so no matter
3:23
what the tops height has it's as stable
3:25
as ever been so you could stand on it at
3:27
any height if you wanted to for instance
3:30
uh so it keeps it in position so our
3:33
tops not going to move and Howl in the
3:35
wind uh so is the same thing with our
3:37
canvas it's rubberized it's not a nylon
3:40
material it's it's called an aqualon and
3:43
it's very taunt so I was sleeping in a
3:45
very windy environment this weekend had
3:47
no issues with wind noise uh this isn't
3:49
like a tent it's a insulated canvas uh
3:52
that's going to give us a sleep ability
3:54
and extreme cold temperatures and hot
3:57
temperatures yeah and it was extreme
3:59
extremely windy yesterday uh couldn't no
4:02
way to put the awning up
4:04
impossible um and you guys had it up all
4:06
day yeah yeah absolutely all right so
4:09
I'm going to hop up here yeah we have
4:11
extra bedding up there it's okay it's
4:13
typically not standard but uh obviously
4:16
can close down with that extra bedding
4:17
up there so that's nice and yeah First
4:20
Impressions here we go Colorado camper
4:23
van First Impressions is it's a lot of
4:26
space I'm used to the clamshell like
4:29
walking up in here and kind of have that
4:30
taper but this is much this is very
4:34
open um the panel that you guys have the
4:37
lighting in uh is it like a a sandwich
4:41
to wear is it like a piece of wood or
4:45
where inside how you're able to mount
4:47
that or is it like a a foam like how
4:50
you're able to inset the lights oh okay
4:52
so it's a wood puck uh we we take and CN
4:55
see a just looks like a hockey puck oh
4:58
so like the fiberglass has a chamber mhm
5:00
well we we Glu that directly to the uh
5:03
fiberglass so the way that the
5:04
fiberglass is constructed it's very
5:06
similar to a b boat hole the outside is
5:08
going to be gel coat injection molded
5:10
the inside is going to be a chopper gun
5:12
the inside is reinforced with wood
5:13
stripping down the uh passenger and
5:16
driver side channels there's ribs that
5:18
go across for extra support as well uh
5:21
and then we insulate that raw uh uh
5:24
insulation or the raw fiberglass on the
5:26
inside um gotcha so that that insulation
5:29
is I guess what I'm saying with uh the
5:32
that's how you're you cut that out and
5:33
that's where the Pug goes up into y got
5:35
absolutely absolutely and it it glues
5:37
directly to our raw fiberglass on the
5:40
inside that puck we cut a channel on the
5:42
backside for our wiring to go through um
5:45
and then they're just Daisy chained
5:46
together we can do different lighting in
5:48
our tops we're a very flexible company
5:51
we've been doing this style top for 14
5:53
years so this just works very well for a
5:55
general uh Market but if we want to get
5:58
more specific with different light
6:00
different textures different uh
6:02
Aesthetics on the Finish we can make
6:04
those uh accommodations so is it a I'm
6:06
assuming like a 1in polyiso that's glued
6:10
um what is that now like the foam uh
6:13
it's thermite insulation okay it's got a
6:15
metallic backing how thick is it it's
6:17
about an inch thick got got maybe maybe
6:20
a little less than an inch it depends on
6:22
where we get it from sometimes the
6:24
consistencies is not the same dimensions
6:27
U but we'll use this Heather carpet it's
6:29
a fourway stretch carpet so even though
6:31
we're dealing with a concave on the
6:33
inside it stretches and forms and fits
6:35
for a nice finish yeah and uh some other
6:39
videos on the channel I've mentioned
6:40
four-way stretch fabric it's in my
6:42
personal van it's super easy to work
6:44
with and if it does get messed up it's
6:47
easy to replace yeah and it also looks
6:49
super pro cuz you can Contour it to
6:51
almost anything um it almost has like a
6:53
memory to it it does we have an embossed
6:55
logo up in the top there with our logo
6:58
there we can do other compies
7:00
Loos that's awesome and uh the bolts up
7:02
there that is the solar coming through
7:04
no that's going to be uh it's really
7:06
cool the way that we actually adhere our
7:08
top to our our frame um so we use a
7:11
Unistrut system on the top so that's our
7:13
roof rail but what we do is we Beetle
7:15
and seal the whole bottom and then we
7:17
bolt through the fiberglass with that
7:20
that metal c channel the Unistrut and it
7:23
creates a washer effect and it marries
7:25
to the still frame so it sandwiches and
7:27
squeezes that down so you're not going
7:29
to get any uh Spider cracking or
7:32
vibrational wear from your pop top
7:34
adhering to
7:35
metal H got it I got it I got it you're
7:38
not relying on the fiberglass not at all
7:39
it doesn't hold anything it's just
7:41
getting sandwiched up there and now we
7:42
can adhere roof racks crossbars whatever
7:45
rooftop attachment and you can get it
7:47
without the roof rack just plain
7:48
absolutely most of our customers do um
7:51
we do offer paint to match options we
7:53
offer A two stage clear coat if you come
7:55
to our shop and get it installed in our
7:57
kit we offer a raptor liner textured
7:59
paint that could be tinted to the color
8:01
of your vehicle or an accent color I
8:04
really recommend the textured paint
8:05
because it's going to uh prevent UV
8:07
degradation and it's also going to
8:09
create a scratch resistant uh uh
8:11
material on the outside because these
8:13
are tall Vans you're going through
8:15
places that have trees you're going to
8:16
snag a branch yeah uh so if you dig good
8:19
damage into your fiberglass this is very
8:21
easy to repair and it's not costly on
8:23
your budget gotcha and then as far as
8:25
length of van is it specific to a 148 no
8:28
we do them on all fans okay cuz the
8:30
gasket is doesn't care about where it's
8:32
landing on so we make a custom top for
8:35
each vehicle so we have a mold for each
8:37
vehicle that we work on and then some
8:39
Vehicles we have to take two different
8:40
tops marry them together uh make a
8:43
custom top and custom fitment which is
8:45
pretty easy to do for our shop gotcha
8:47
gotcha cool we can open up some of if
8:51
you want to get the windows and um yeah
8:53
here I'll come down you want those we do
8:56
want two of those and I think that might
8:57
be it all right that might be all we
8:59
need but um yeah this this is great uh
9:02
so it doesn't matter if it's a 148 or
9:04
148 extended I'm just only talking about
9:06
transit for to day we can also do 130s
9:09
we can also do the short wheelbase the
9:10
118 I believe is so the extended
9:12
wheelbase it doesn't matter because
9:14
wherever the sandwich seals is where it
9:18
right we make a lifting frame that fits
9:20
that roof and then the canvas fits
9:22
around the lifting frame and then our
9:24
top is going to fit in the The Gutter
9:26
channels on top so it's going to fill
9:28
the space as much as possible we get the
9:30
the widest bed possible how much of the
9:32
van do you have to cut out is it what
9:34
I'm looking at right now the only part
9:35
that was cut out yeah that's it so we
9:37
didn't even cut ribs out on this one a
9:40
so this this is actually in between our
9:42
ribs uh so some folks are still worry
9:46
even though we've been doing this for a
9:47
long time and we're adding reinforcement
9:49
into these vehicles we've cut the whole
9:51
entire roof back on high roof fs and had
9:52
no issues ah got you because of our halo
9:55
support that's bolted down through the
9:57
that's that's why so you can have have
10:00
this top on like a low roof where you're
10:02
standing and it's all cut out you can
10:04
have it on this fan where it's just this
10:06
portion cut out between the ribs or
10:09
gotcha so it doesn't matter cuz assuming
10:12
correct me if I'm wrong but the gasket
10:14
is going to be the home of where
10:17
everything's sealed mhm below that is up
10:20
to you if you wherever you want to go
10:22
correct you're your your your hole will
10:24
always be encapsulated by the canvas so
10:26
it will not it will not leak gotcha cool
10:29
cool cool um yeah let's look at these
10:31
Vents and then uh then we we'll we'll
10:32
sign off perfect it's the end of the
10:34
vent guys so we're we're all trying to
10:36
go
10:37
home not just these guys so even your
10:39
windows have the insulation in between
10:41
the two layers of canvas mhm then you
10:44
have your Diamond
10:45
Glass which won't fog or I mean it
10:49
really doesn't does wild up that
10:51
temperatures and
10:54
then all right now if you do get a hole
10:56
through this it is fully removable
10:59
oh that's great and then oh nice you
11:02
just get in rep placement right so then
11:04
that way you're not changing out an
11:05
entire canvas for a little hole in a
11:07
mesh screen gotcha and this is kind of
11:10
just to kind of hold that if you want to
11:11
do that or higher yeah I mean this is
11:14
kind of helps hold the canvas all in so
11:17
you shut the canvas if you C oh so it's
11:19
sand sandwiches together and then air
11:21
out your vent fan it'll create a vacuum
11:23
effect and just shut it all down nicely
11:25
so you're not having to ever tuck canvas
11:27
yeah actually that lighting right now is
11:29
really good you open that up you can see
11:30
like I mean I'm a tall person and I've
11:32
got that's pretty good pretty good head
11:34
height in here yeah everything it's it's
11:37
a simple design but that's good for Rel
11:39
reliability yes oh and you got a little
11:42
hose back there to so that's going to be
11:44
your solar that comes through there and
11:46
then your electrical wiring that heads
11:47
down to the base that is great battery
11:50
system that's really
11:52
good awesome guys thank you well I'm
11:55
going to uh actually Annie you can sign
11:58
it off it's all good so um I'll wait
12:01
till you get down do you want me now
12:04
yeah just uh let them know uh let them
12:06
know where they can uh find you
12:08
guys Loveland Colorado Colorado camper
12:11
van um you can come to our website
12:14
Colorado camper van.com um or you can
12:16
head up Caleb or myself Annie n color
12:19
camper.com or Caleb color camp.com yeah
12:24
all right guys thanks so much for this
12:26
uh quick tour if you guys have any
12:27
questions put those in the comments coms
12:29
below they'll come to me and uh happy to
12:31
answer them for you but uh yeah thank
12:33
you so much for the tour
12:35
guys thank you so much awesome so nice
12:38
to meet you see you
12:41
[Music]
12:53
absolutely
#Campers & RVs
#Convertibles
#Custom & Performance Vehicles
#Hatchbacks
#Motor Vehicles (By Type)
#Trucks
# Vans & SUVs