Pop top roof blowing open at motorway speed fix

The Problem

The owner wanted to know which securing methods for pop top roofs were most reliable at motorway speeds. The popular aftermarket pop tops — SCA, Hi-Lo and Reimo — are fitted across a wide range of platforms (VW Transporter T2 through T6/T6.1, plus Sprinter- and Transit-based conversions), so the securing approach below applies to any of these elevating fibreglass-lid roofs rather than to one specific van. At least two SCA roofs had blown open on the motorway due to poorly adjusted locking cables and neglected cam straps.

Solution

1. Inspect the cam straps for fraying and replace them every 1–2 years regardless of visible condition.

   • Keep a spare set of cam straps in the van at all times.

2. Fit a QuickPop fastener (sjb.design) at the front centre of the roof, using it alongside the standard side cam buckles as the primary supplementary securing method.

   • This requires drilling through the fibreglass pop top lid and sealing the holes with Sikaflex or equivalent sealant to prevent water ingress; confirm your roof has at least 40mm between the outer staple edges before ordering. This 40mm clearance check applies to all of the common lid types (SCA, Hi-Lo, Reimo) across the platforms listed above — measure your own lid rather than assuming, as the staple spacing varies between roof variants.

3. Thread a rated webbing strap through the existing OEM strap loop and clip it to the interior roof grab handle with a climbing-grade screwgate carabiner, limiting any accidental opening to around 4 inches.

   • Use only load-rated hardware for this; a hollow press-rivet buckle is not adequate for this application. Choose a carabiner with a major-axis rating of at least 20kN (the standard minimum stamped on climbing-grade screwgate carabiners) and check that figure is marked on the spine before buying.

4. Check and adjust the cable tension on any cable-operated latch (such as on SCA roofs) so the locks positively engage when the roof is pulled down.

   • Incorrectly tensioned cables were identified as the root cause of the motorway blow-open incidents described in this guide.

5. Keep the roof fully closed rather than relying on any method to arrest it once it has started to lift, as even a few inches of lift at motorway speed is likely to cause structural damage.