toppola camper

Don't know where from, but I reckon it would go well on a T16S

What the hell *is* one of them Carl?

BTW

?sp-q=toppola&sp-a=sp0522cb00&sp-f=ISO-8859-1

Some usefull info here.

See my other post :)

Who'd like to see F900 lapping brunters with one of those on ;-)

Holy Shit!!

Nah, you want it on the Autobahn for a camping trip to Bavaria, and then go passing all the Golf GTi's at 130. That would stun them:)

As someone who has considered turning a 4-Door C900 into a wagon-back, a-la the Renault Combi Express, I've considered one of these.

I saw one for 15.000 SEK, they seem to be available in Scandinavia only.

Well, good is what you make of it. Scandinavians in general, and Swedes in specific, love to "Caravan" in the summer, so the standard of "good" is below that of your average American. I've slept in a "beach cottage" on the coast that was 1.5m X 2.5m, and this was with two other people (bunks). A lot of people I know in America could not have physically fit into the cabin, and would not have enjoyed the sleeping experience.

If you go back into the history of SAAB, you'll note that the 95 (not

9-5) Wagon was marketed in Scandinavia as being able to sleep two in the back as an "instant caravan." There were bed kits for it, and even the 96 (that's a tighter fit than I want to imagine, but I do love camping in the back of my MY73 95).

Top Heavy? Of course.

Fuel Consumption? Yes.

Well, start here:

You could possibly have it imported at a shipping price around $500 USD slow boat freight.

However, my idea would still be to raise the roofline and install a wagon door onto the back of a C900 4-Door.

lycka till! GTr

I hope you meant 130 mph, as 130 km/h (81 mph) wouldn't impress anyone (yes, I saw the smily) On the other hand, I would be very interested what would happen even at 130 km/h if you got some crosswind with that thing on your roof. I don't even want to speculate about your center of gravity as even a ski-box does not really improve your stability.

Mark

The difference is that a ski box is loaded with heavy stuff, effectively raising the cog. The Toppola camper only >looks< solid and heavy but actually there is hardly any weight in it, it's just plastic. A smart Toppola owner would put all his heavier camping equipment on the trunk floor, keeping the cog on the same low level.

-------- MH

Sorry yep, I'm a brit, so I mean't MPH.

Whatever you put on the roof of your car, it's not going to be weightless, so it is going to shift your COG up. But if you read the remark under the photo here:

it may even be heavier then youthink, considering you don't need heavier springs for a loaded skibox.

Mark

It is the weight distribution that counts, not the total weight. It makes a lot of difference to the handling if I put 100 kg of camping gear on top of the roof or on the lugage floor. If you put all your gear in the top of the Toppola you are doing it the wrong way.. The sleeping compartment of the Toppola should be mostly air.when driving.

------- MH

camping

Simple question, because you do not seem to get my point: what's the empty weight of a Toppola camper?

Mark

From

:# Weight: circa 150 kg (total weight increase circa 115 kg due to the removal of the rear hatch when the TC is mounted.) That is - peanuts.

Tomas Bikelis with C900 V16 Turbo, Vilnius, Lithuania

Thank you.

My point is that a Toppola >looks< solid but it >is< not. The weight of a 99 CC is around 1200 kg, a 900 1300 kg . The center of gravity of the car alone is somewhere near the ignition switch. If you add the Toppola with its cog maybe 1 m above this level and 2 m behind it (900 wheelbase is 2.50 m), it can be calculated that the cog of the car+Toppola moves only about 17 cm to the back and less than 10 cm up. This will hardly be noticeable.

------- MH

That's more than I expected actually.

This small shift may have a bigger impact than you expect. Tests have shown that adding a loaded skibox (around 50 kg, as most cars aren't allowed to carry more) to a car decreases it's stability. The change in COG will be comparable to adding a Toppola. I hope you can agree that any change in COG causing it to go up, will decrease your stability.

Then to put everything into perspective. If you were to drive a car with a Toppola, I suppose the increased susceptibility to crosswinds has a much greater greater impact on it's use than the change COG has. Usually you can avoid situations causing weight shifts by adjusting your speed, but you cannot avoid the weather.

Mark

Yes, the total side area increases so the wind has more 'grip' on the car. At least we can agree on that... It has alo effect on top speed as the total front area increases.

I stay at home...