Thumbnail of Weather-Stopper Pop-Top Fly [Vanagon]

Weather-Stopper Pop-Top Fly [Vanagon]

Product:	GVW-RAINFLY-GY
Works With:	1980-1991
Manufacturer:	GoWesty
Restock ETA:
Availability:
Difficulty:	Requires some hand & power tools and minimal mechanical knowledge.

Proposition 65: This product may contain chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

Rain has a way of sneaking into even the best-laid camping plans—and nothing ruins a trip faster than packing up early or bedding down next to a soggy tent. That’s exactly why we designed this system to function like a traditional rainfly… and then pushed it quite a bit further.

Constructed from silver reflective, urethane-coated polyester, this rainfly keeps water from ever making direct contact with your pop-top tent*. But its real magic shows up when the weather refuses to cooperate. Acting like a windbreaker for your camper, it blocks biting gusts while creating a protective air gap between the fly and your tent. That buffer zone adds noticeable insulating properties—helping retain warmth in cold conditions and stabilize interior temps when the elements get rowdy.

When the sun comes back out, the reflective silver finish helps keep things cooler inside, so you’re not trading rain protection for a rolling greenhouse. It’s a true all-weather layer, built to handle more than just precipitation.

We also designed it to fully cover the pop-top luggage rack, creating a handy vestibule-style storage area. Zip down the front screen on your pop-top tent and stash bulky gear “outside” without actually exposing it to the elements. Clean, dry, and out of the way.

From cold morning winds to sideways rain, sleet, or even light snow, this isn’t just a rainfly—it’s a year-round shield that keeps your camping setup comfortable, protected, and ready for whatever rolls in next.

Features:

All-Weather Performance: Protects against rain, wind, sleet, and light snow for four-season use
Wind & Draft Reduction: Acts as a windbreaker to minimize heat loss and improve interior comfort
Thermal Air Gap: Adds insulation by creating a buffer zone between the fly and tent
Waterproof Material: Durable urethane-coated polyester keeps your tent dry
Reflective Temperature Control: Silver exterior helps reduce heat buildup in direct sun
Expanded Storage: Fully covers luggage rack to create a functional vestibule area
Protected Gear Access: Store items outside your tent while keeping them dry and sheltered
Compact & Efficient Design: Low-profile fit without bulky hardware or complicated setup

*While we can't guarantee that this product will keep the pop-top tent, the interior of your camper, or the contents of your camper 100% dry, our testing has shown that it provides a high level of weather protection when it comes time to pop that top!

Step-by-step instructions and hardware are included. Let it rain!

Note: This rainfly is for all Vanagon Westfalia pop-tops from 1980 - 1991. It is not designed for aftermarket tops such as Riviera, or Country Homes Campers.

This product requires drilling and permanently installing five male snap heads into your fiberglass pop-top. If you are not willing to drill holes in your pop-top, this product will not function properly and should not be purchased. The initial installation is easiest with two people familiar with a tape measure and will take roughly 1 to 2 hours. Once the initial installation has been performed, the rainfly can be set up in the field in under 5 minutes.

It folds up into a small stuff sack that measures 13.5W x 17.5L. The fly attaches along the top (front and sides) with snaps that you install yourself. This requires drilling 5 small 1/8" holes along the inside leading edge of the pop-top itself to attach male snap-in points. This is not visible when the lid is shut, nor does it affect any weather-proofing of the top seal. Along the sides, it uses 1" tabs attached to existing screws for late model tents 1985-1991. Early tents 1980-1984 require adding 2 screws on each side. The bottom front attaches in one of two ways: with webbing and a buckle clip through the cab (snaps near rear view mirror) inside the van, or with add-on long hook straps that can be run down to attach at the bumper or bottom corner of the van. Rain gutter clips hold it on along the sides with another buckle clip in the rear to tension it up.

Step-by-step instructions and hardware are included. Drill and drill bit not included. Let it rain!

Weather-Stopper Installation Instructions

Generally good product... some components could be better...

The material of the Wasser fly is very good. The male snaps that were screwed in the pop-top did not connect securely with the female snaps... they created a weak attachment. I think I can work with this, but I did expect a more rugged connection in these snaps, needed to hold the fly on in a wind/rain-storm. We'll see what happens. I've been thinking about how I could replace the snaps with a more rugged connection to hold up in a windy storm. The black plastic connector joining the fly's narrow ends at the back of the Vanagon broke in their third connection... I resolved that by adding a short rope to connect the ends of the fly. The snap on the lower end of the pop top (on each side) is located where the gas cylinders are installed to pop the top more easily, and therefore those two snaps could not be installed without removing the gas cylinders, which I did not do... in that location the snaps would have been difficult to connect even if I did remove the gas cylinders to install them. A better placement of the lower side-snap would be helpful. However, I don't think I'll lose much by not being able to snap those lower side snaps.

Needs some improvement

Snaps come off easily. Marine twist lock fasteners should have been used instead. The straps and fasteners up front are good quality but are not long enough to attach to my tube bumper. No way to attach it when running it through the cab.

Hi Keith, we appreciate your feedback and will look at these areas for future improvement. All the best, GW

Weak snaps. Not confident it will do well if there is any wind during a downpour

Material seems good. Appreciate the extra protection at the corners, etc. I can’t seem to adjust mine to a nice “taught” point as the installation pictures show. The snaps are really weak. A light tug and they pop right off. I’m not sure what that is, but it sure feels like the female snap “heads” aren’t catching the male snaps enough. There is no crisp “snap” like the stock curtain holds inside have for example. In fact, the upper snap straps that hold the rain fly along the inside of the pop top on my drivers side pull right off when I attempt to tighten the gutter anchors just to the point where they aren’t falling off the gutters. Once the side snaps pop off, the front corner along the front edge of the pop top pops off too. Which leads me to wonder just how well this will do with any wind.

Installing a Wasser-Stipper

The installation was interesting, I have the HD pop top assist. The attachment for the snap strap is directly in line with the assist. I had to drill the 1/8" hole about 1/2" forward of the assist hardware. I made 2 strips out of leather (5" long with a snap on one end) that made up for the different attachment point

We have won debby !

Debby became a tropical storm in north of Québec (Canada) with winds over 100 km per hour and 150 mm of rain, and we slept in the dry. Thanks GoWesty !

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