Canopy Questions D40

Hi,
I'm about to purchase a canopy (smooth finish and flush with the roofline) for my D40 and have a few questions about the overall strength and reliability of them

Q1: I've noticed that a couple of manufacturers’ are stating that there are no hole's to be drilled and theses units "clamp on"; Just wondering how they hold up over time and corrugated roads, do they stay fixed or do you constantly have tore- tighten them?

Q2: strength of the shell; are they strong enough over time, cracking, warping etc

Q3: Paint, does the paint hold its colour over time or does it fade, ie, quicker than you vehicles?

Hope someone can shed any light on these.

Cheers,

Tuccamore

No holes to drill is really no different to using what most companies call a "J bolt" it's just that the "J bolt" uses holes or anchor points already in the tub from manufacture. Also if your getting it fitted no holes or "J bolt's" probably wont make a difference as it's someone else s job to make them work. My canopy says to check the bolts are tight every 1000ks, I've checked them once in 18 months and they were only loose after the first week which is to be expected as the foam and seals bed in. Even so it doesn't take much to check any bolt with your fingers every now and again and with lift up side window you should be able to reach every bolt easily.

Shell strength is one of those things that can vary however none of the leading canopy's are that bad that they will suffer just because of the weather. Lets face it if canopy manufacturers were making canopy's that warp and crack constantly no one would be buying them.

Paint is another one of those possible issues, yes it could happen but if it was happening constantly to canopy's a few years old word would get around and the canopy makers wouldn't be in business. You'll get some horror stories like with any other product but none of the canopies I've ever used or had anything to do with (5 different manufactures) have suffered such issues.

My advice when buying canopies is to do your home work, understand your needs and what is available. Don't go for sliding side windows if you ever want side access, go for one with a sliding front window to allow for air flow (unless you want to seal your canopy totally which Nissan make near impossible due to their construction of the tub), ensure the hinges and struts are of good construction because they will get a work out, and make sure that if you want a roof tent or roof bars that you check with the manufacturer that it's ok to fit them. Nothing worse than spending $2000+ on a canopy only to find you could have spent $2500 and got one that suited all your needs.

^^ Ditto. Can't add to that at all, except to say that I'm bloody glad mine has lift-up windows and not sliding. I can reach any part of my tub standing beside the ute.

Only bastard thing about mine is the locking mechanism. I hate it. It doesn't lock firmly and on rough roads it will shake loose of its catches. It won't open, but it will shake itself free and that annoys me greatly, especially when I've locked the damn things. Make sure yours has a positive locking system that won't let go.

That is one thing that mine has never done driving on corrugated dirt roads or just around the farm however the ARB the old man has does it on bitumen if it's not keylocked, the door never comes open because of the direction of air flow but it will turn the mechanism to open.

KraftyPg said:

That is one thing that mine has never done driving on corrugated dirt roads or just around the farm however the ARB the old man has does it on bitumen if it's not keylocked, the door never comes open because of the direction of air flow but it will turn the mechanism to open.

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Mine is an ARB canopy with lift up side windows....not only do all three windows positively close under the gas struts but the locks all turn to bring give a better seal and each of the two locks per window is keylocked. To date I've had no problems on the corrugations.....and boy has it seen a few out on the Gary, Heather and Gunbarrel!

Thanks all for the replies and advice.

I've been leaning to the lift up windows, due to better accessibility and i didn’t think about the locks rattling loose/open, I’ll keep that in mind

I'm also looking at a canopy I can mount a decent roof rack on, mainly to get the OZ Tent out of the tub, 6ft long and can’t be folded!!! and free up a bit more room.

Cheers,

Tuccamore

PS Pete22, scary corragation pics there, hopefully i dont encounter too much when i go accroos the Plently Highway soon, but i am sure i will ;-)

Tuccamore said:

Thanks all for the replies and advice.

I've been leaning to the lift up windows, due to better accessibility and i didn’t think about the locks rattling loose/open, I’ll keep that in mind

I'm also looking at a canopy I can mount a decent roof rack on, mainly to get the OZ Tent out of the tub, 6ft long and can’t be folded!!! and free up a bit more room.

Cheers,

Tuccamore

PS Pete22, scary corragation pics there, hopefully i dont encounter too much when i go accroos the Plently Highway soon, but i am sure i will ;-)

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The ARB canopy can be fitted with internal supports and roof racks. I've also put a Rhino flat pack on mine.
(PS: Old photo and those crappy OEM side steps have now been replaced by ARB steelies)