I am doing some serious design on a hard top to replace the soft canvas top. This includes the popup sides as well. It is looking very promising and should be no more expensive than the canvas version but a lot easier to pop up.
Thank you for your input. The initial production pop-up top will have an insulated hard top with insulated canvas sides. We may eventually offer hard sides, the soft sides appear to be the most practical solution at this time.
I will be posting some photos of the new pop-up top this week. We are very pleased with the prototype, its ease of assembly, light weight and the finished feel to the interior.
The hard roof is a real challenge. First, and foremost, to make it economical. So far, my efforts to reproduce the prototype roof in actual production has resulted in costs that put it way out of the ballpark. Add in the complexity of making a sectional roof waterproof, and the difficulty factor goes way up.
We will be introducing the Teal Camper with a soft top over an metal frame for now, but we will continue to research ways of producing a hardtop version.
There may also be the possibility that a do-it-yourselfer could apply a hard skin, such as sheet fiber reinforced plastic or aluminum, to the soft top roof frame.
Research into an affordable hard top will continue, but I cannot guarantee when or if it will be made available.
I agree. With it being modular, one can always DIY a hard top (or any kind of top one wanted [like a non-popup hard top?]) in the future or when one wanted to put the extra time and effort in it.
Good News! - All Teal Camper models now have a hard pop up top available. Side skirts are still canvas. Making foldable hard sides is a bit more challenging and not likely to be offered any time soon.
You can, however, drop the top at night when sleeping, or for security when leaving the campsite. The lifting mechanism is fast and easy to operate. There is approximately 5'-2" of head room with the top down so there is plenty of room to move about.
