Reading a post on the ev_update list, I heard about a company making insulation for the inside of the pop top. This was an idea that we had, ever since a very cold night in the mountains of Nevada. So I contacted Fancher’s Upholstery and after a few emails, decided to order one. After a couple weeks (they make 2 at a time), the insulation arrived, nicely packaged:

You can see the instruction sheet, roll of velcro, stuff sack, and the Fancher business card (I love little touches like that…)

The whole things fits into an included stuff sack, about the size of a pillow case:

The insulation is a nice cream color on the inside face, and a very weatherproof looking gray on the outside. Fancher’s claims an insulation value of R-8 for the fabric, which consists of five layers – I can tell you it is very high quality fabric. The workmanship is impeccable – take a look:

Installation is very easy – the insulation fastens with velcro, and strips of 2 inch wide velcro are provided, as well as instructions on where and how the velcro should be installed. The pieces they provided are not labeled, but I used a little common sense and figured it out:

The velcro mounts between the pop top canvas and the pop top, under the aluminum strip that holds the pop top in place. I marked out the screw locations (just for alignment purposes), then used a pencil to mark a horizontal line in the middle of the velcro – to make sure I would have at least 1 inch of velcro sticking out. I removed just the screws needed for each piece, working with one piece at a time, slipping the velcro between the canvas and the pop top, “fuzzy side” UP, then replaced the screws, piercing the velcro, and tightening the aluminum strip.

TIP – lower your pop top slightly when removing the screws that hold the pop top in place – that way, the fabric will not be under any tension.

After I installed the velcro, I made sure to clean up the roof below the pop top, to collect any metal shavings and dirt (didn’t want to get the new insulation dirty!). To install the insulation, just fold down the velcro mounted on the pop top (it acts like a tab), and slide the insulation right up to it – VOILA!:

The front panel rolls up to allow for access to the storage above the cab.

If you have a top bunk, the insulation can slide right under the mattress for a snug fit – we don’t have an upper bunk, and our pop top canvas is slightly shorter than stock (due to an unfortunate carport incident that required some major repair to our canvas), so the side panels have some extra room. If you want to get really fancy, you can line up all the horizontal stitches – the workmanship is that good (see below!):

On the Fancher’s website, the insulation is shown going BEHIND the pop top hinges – since the insulation is “roomy”, I chose to go “IN FRONT” of the hinges, attaching 11 3/4 inches of 1 inch wide black industrial velcro to the hinge face, like so:

If you camp in the cold, you really should get this for your EVC – come one, you KNOW you deserve it! Give Fancher’s Upholstery a call or email, you will really like their product!