Erde 143 hard top fitting instructions

Here is a guide to fitting a hard-top cover to an Erde 143 trailer.

There are pre drilled holes at each side of the top edge of the rear panel, they may be covered by plastic studs that will need to be removed. Remove all plastic studs even though you will only be using the outer most holes.

The hinge assembly requires two reinforcement brackets and one half of the hinge. It should look like this:

The two reinforcement brackets are fitted under the lip of the rear panel, while the hinge is placed on top. Use the large dome headed bolt to secure the entire assembly to the trailer. When tightening this bolt you will notice that the hinge assembly pulls together and will look neater than it does in this photo. Repeat for the second hinge.

Next, fit two latches to the rear corner posts of the trailer to keep the hard-top securely closed. These are fitted to the outer edges of the rear corner posts using two screws each.

Erde’s hard-top covers have a gas ram or damper to keep the cover open while the trailer is being loaded. This mounts onto a large bolt through either one of the trailers side panels. Just remove the plastic stud from the body panel and insert the bolt on the side you wish to mount it.

The other end of the gas ram fixes to the hard-top cover. To correctly attach it to the cover you must prepare a bolt as show below:

On the inside of the cover you will see threaded holes on both sides of the frame, this is because the gas ram can be mounted on either side. Bolt the gas ram to the cover on the same side that you fitted the bolt through the body panel.

Now you are ready to mount the cover on its hinges. To do this, pick the cover up upside down and keep it horizontal while you hook the hinges together. This requires two people as you can easily bend or damage the hinges attempting this alone.

When the hinges are hooked together the cover must be lifted all the way over vertical, then lowered into its normal position. Be careful not to bend the hinges while doing this as it can cause the hard cover to fit poorly.

Finally, connect the gas ram to the bolt you prepared earlier on the inside of the trailer. A plastic thumb nut is supplied for this to make it easy to fit or remove.

After fitting the gas ram, check that the hardtop is fitted correctly and can open and close without problems. Use the latches that have been fitted to the rear corner posts to securely clamp the cover shut.

For a wide selection of Erde accessories, including hard-top covers please visit our website: