For 60 years, the name Westfalia has stood for quality in motorhome construction. Now this mobile passion is paired with our premium actuator technology Folding Arm². Until now, Westfalia's folding roofs have been operated either manually, with gas spring support or with a restricted electric drive. As of now, the James Cook and Columbus camper models in the pop-up roof variants can also be ordered with Folding Arm² actuators. This innovation was first presented to the public at the Caravan Fair 2020 in Düsseldorf.

The big advantage is that roof loads (e.g. surfboards and sails) no longer have to be unloaded to open the pop-up roof. With the system previously used by Westfalia, large roof loads were a problem, which is now a matter of the past. The folding arm² actuator makes camping life easier and, with its 450 N, is more than powerful enough in this version to lift all roof loads effortlessly. The symmetrical design also contributes significantly to the stability of the pop-up roof, because two actuators (left and right) are installed. The two actuators run perfectly synchronously on the basis of state-of-the-art BUS systems. Via the SICO-BUS interface, the master-slave configuration is preset by SIMON PROtec at the factory. In the vehicle, the control is carried out by a customer-side control element.

The folding arm² actuators have been specially adapted to the requirements of Westfalia. For example, the on-board voltage is 12 V DC, as is generally the case in automotive engineering. The 24 V DC folding arm² designed for smoke and heat extraction has been modified for this application and has been equipped with switch-off electronics suitable for the automotive sector. The opening speed up to the maximum stroke of 960 mm is less than 60 seconds under full load. Westfalia folding arm actuators are supplied with IP 65 certification and custom engraving: each lever arm bears the Westfalia logo.

The development has been very well received. At the Caravan trade fair, the first customer orders for the innovative folding arm² technology for the pop-up roofs were already placed with Westfalia. The first folding arm² actuators are now being delivered and will be used before the end of the 2021 camping season.