FAQ

Our do-it-yourself kit allows our customers to have an inexpensive yet very high quality retractable roof, which is manufactured under fair working conditions in Germany. The customer saves a large part of the costs that would be incurred for an elevating roof plus installation from other manufacturers by performing the installation work himself.

Other advantages:

• Buy the original, 100% Made in Germany. Our proprietary development has been on the market for several years and has proven itself countless times with our customers. Worldwide on already all 5 continents
• Maximum standing height and a lying width of 133 cm
• Our lifting roof runs in line with the A-pillar and raises your Defender by just 14 cm
• Low weight of only 45 kg. This is especially noticeable offroad positively
• Our aluminum frames are made in Germany from laser-cut aluminum profiles (3.0 mm material thickness) using the TIG welding process. High-quality weld seams are a matter of course for us.
• Design waterproof HD aluminum profile hinge. With our lifting roof, you do not need a rubber cover in front of the hinge
• The original roof shell remains undamaged and is not shortened (the conversion is therefore 100% retrofittable!)
• High-quality tent in the color of your choice, with 3 huge window openings, 100% Made in Germany
• Our tents are made of breathable and very pleasant to the touch tarpaulin fabric from the yachting sector; we attach great importance to excellent fabric quality. You will look in vain for Airtex materials or similar. You feel comfortable in our tents and don’t have the feeling of sleeping in a plastic tent
• Our tent is waterproof and yet breathable. All zippers (YKK) of our tents are covered with fabric from the outside and thus protected from rain. All seams are also additionally waterproof sealed from the inside with a special seam sealing tape. All windows can be opened and rolled up and are equipped with a high quality mosquito net. Our tent is riveted to the lifting roof frame by means of piping strips and aluminum profiles, and thus does not lose its pretension and shape. This type of tent fastening has many advantages over other fastening methods such as Velcro, especially in windy conditions.
• All supplied fastening materials (exclusively stainless steel V2A/V4A) are included in the set
• Any standard roof rack can be used, thanks to individually selectable strength of the gas pressure dampers
• can be registered by individual acceptance without any problems, a parts certificate is not necessary. We are happy to advise you
• Our concept also allows the customer – if necessary – to make individual changes or modifications. The material thickness of 3.0 mm allows the attachment of, for example, awnings. The closed frame construction of rectangular profiles also offers the possibility of invisibly routing cabling within the lifting roof frame. For example for solar cables and 12V charging sockets
• We are available by phone 7 days a week – before and during installation – and can be contacted by you

We only use high-quality tarpaulin fabrics from the yachting sector for our tents. You won’t find Airtex and similar fabrics here.

All tents Made in Germany

The saddlery we trust makes each tent by hand. With the most modern machines and expert knowledge, our tents are unique in shape and design. And best of all: you can choose the color of your tent individually in black or anthracite

Arguments that speak for themselves:

• waterproof and immune to rust stains, rotting and insect damage
• very pleasant, robust and warm feel (no thin and rustling tent material)
• very good weather resistance and durability (high accuracy of fit even after years!)
• very breathable (water vapor permeability from inside to outside over 400g/m2⁾
• excellent protection against UV radiation
• bactericidal and fungicidal, gives mold no chance
• dirt, grease and oil repellent, very easy to clean
• salt water resistant
• excellent dimensional stability and tear resistance
• Water pressure resistance

Our current delivery time is 2-4 weeks for the lifting roof frame plus all small parts. Depending on the desired color, the tent can take up to 4-12 weeks to produce. If you want to start the conversion before the tent is finished, this is not a problem, as the tent installation is one of the last installation steps. The lifting roof or the vehicle is ready to drive again even before the tent is installed.

Experience has shown that most of our customers want a paint finish in the color of the car, so our lifting roof frames are delivered to our customers unpainted. We always recommend our customers a 2-component paint structure, powder coating is not recommended for quality reasons.

Other reasons for the lifting roof frames delivered by us unpainted:

Unfortunately, the manufacturing accuracy and gap dimensions of Land Rover Defender vehicles leave a lot to be desired, so it is often necessary to place the lifting roof frame on the vehicle several times before assembly in order to transfer the attachment points to our lifting roof frames. As every Defender is “different” (unfortunately it is often a matter of a few millimeters!) we do not pre-drill our frames. Our customers have to mark the attachment points of their vehicles on the lifting roof frame themselves and then drill the holes themselves. This is the only way to achieve a clean and precise result.

Unlike other manufacturers, we have deliberately decided against so-called “slotted holes” and “counter plates” on and in our lifting roof frames, even if this means additional work during assembly. Only with precision do we achieve a result that is good for our sensibilities.

Therefore, we recommend painting the lifting roof frame only after the holes have been drilled and adjusted on the vehicle. This means that nothing stands in the way of a high-quality paint finish (e.g. in the color of the car).

One of the main reasons why we do not recommend powder coating is that potential aluminum corrosion (e.g. caused by road salt/salty sea air) or moisture infiltration (e.g. caused by stone chips/scratches on the powder coating) underneath the powder coating can only become apparent very late. Another reason is UV radiation. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will dull powder coatings and cause them to chalk. The liquid part of the coating is reduced and the coating becomes whitish. The color brilliance disappears and so does the gloss, especially with silk matt coatings.

You can easily fit an awning (e.g. a 270 degree awning) to the lifting roof frame. The material thickness of 3.0 mm on the lifting roof frame is strong enough for awning fastenings, e.g. using stainless steel blind rivet nuts. You can find suitable awning brackets in our store.

Yes, the necessary mounting materials are included in the delivery. All fastening materials included in the scope of delivery are made of high-quality V2A and V4A stainless steel (sealing blind rivets, screws, pull-in nuts, etc.) and are sorted and numbered in separate bags. This way, you always have an overview during setup. You will also need approx. 2 cartridges of sealant (e.g. Sikaflex 521 UV), which we do not supply.

Assembly takes approx. 20-30 working hours, depending on individual working speed and personal skill. It is therefore possible, for example, to carry out the conversion in a weekend.