Being Certified
It’s often said that we need to get Colin certified (well it’s said by me anyway). Getting him certified would mean we’d have official recognition that he’s mad. No doubt we could then apply for a grant to care for him in the community.
Joking aside, gaining official certification is a long winded and expensive process, but one that is vital. If something is officially certified we can have confidence that it is fit for purpose.
At 8 Ball Camper Conversions we only fit Austops roofs and over the years we have worked very closely with Austops during the continuous development of their roof design. Working closely together has benefited us both; Austops have received invaluable feedback and ideas from us and we’ve been able to ensure that we receive a top quality product that we can fit with confidence.
This working relationship continues and recently Colin from 8 Ball Camper Conversions and John from Austops took a brand new VW T6 to begin the process of achieving full TÜV certification for the roof.
The process is simple, if rather costly and time consuming. Colin and John drove the new van to Germany to be met by a team of engineers at TÜV in Cologne. Over the course of a week or so the engineers undertake a series of precise measurements and tests to create a baseline on which to compare the vehicle after installation of the Austops roof.
The van is then brought back to the UK for the Austops roof to be fitted in the standard manner, before a return trip to Cologne for the TÜV engineers to undertake exactly the same tests again. With the new data they then compare the results to those of the original tests to see if things remain within acceptable parameters. Based on the results, TÜV certification is then granted or not.
Obviously we have confidence in both the design and the fitting of the Austops roof and all being well we’ll be able to share some great news soon. Which will make Austops the only UK manufacturer to produce a T5 and T6 pop top with full TÜV certification.
And that’s great for us and great for our customers too.
