Erde 142 hard-top fitting instructions

Here is a guide to fitting a hardtop cover to an Erde 142 trailer.

Below is everything you will need from the hard-top kit. There are some pieces in the kit that are used when fitting this cover to other models of Erde trailer. When fitting it to a 142 trailer however, you will only need what is shown below.

There are pre-drilled holes at each side of the top edge of the front panel. These holes may be covered by plastic studs that should be removed before fitting the hard-top cover. Remove all plastic studs even though you will only be using the two outer most holes.

Slot this reinforcement bracket under the lip as shown below:

Then like this:

Now the reinforcement bracket is in position, a reinforcement plate must be fitted to the corner of the front panel. Before fitting this plate you will need to remove the bolts on the left and right of the front panel that connect it to the side panels. This is because the corner reinforcement plates share the same bolts.

When you have the corner plate in place it should look like this:

Place the hinge bracket over the two plates and use the large dome headed bolt to secure all three parts.

Tighten this bolt from below.

Replace the bolt that fastens the front panel to the side panel and repeat all processes up to this point for the other hinge.

Next, fit a latch to the outer edge of both rear corner posts of the trailer. These keep the hard-top securely shut and are fitted using 4 screws and a mounting plate each.

Now fix the latch onto the mounting plate.

Tighten these screws with a Phillips screwdriver.

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. Remember to leave enough slack so the damper can move on the bolt slightly, do not tighten it up fully.

On the inside of the cover you will see threaded holes on both sides of the frame. 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, and then lowered into its normal position. Be careful not to bend the hinges while doing this as it can cause the 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/remove.

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

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