Date:         Wed, 31 Jan 2001 14:31:13 -0700
Reply-To:     Jon B Kanas <kanas@QUALITY.QADAS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jon B Kanas <kanas@QUALITY.QADAS.COM>
Subject:      Survey-- Your Favorite Vanagon Accessories
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi,

Favorite Accessories on my 1987 GL Syncro Westfalia:

1)
Electrically heated & Controlled outside mirrors.  I'm 5'3" and fiddling with the manual mirrors was like herding cats.

2)
Additional interior light mounted on metal duct immediately in front of right rear speaker.  It's wired into the interior lights just like it should have been from the factory, so passengers can see inside the van when embarking / disembarking.

3)
Light switch on sliding door.  The plain Vanagons got one of these, but the campers didn't.  I wired this in at the same time I added the extra interior light in #2.  I have a small flat tab which can be rotated over the switch so the interior lights can be turned off when we're camping and have the sliding door open for extended periods.  If I had been really creative, I would have put a nice switch on the door post to disable the switch instead of the metal tab.  The tab is tacky.

4)
Added three high quality fluorescent lights, 6-inch one over the sink (replaced original light), 12-inch one directly over the back seat, and another 6-inch one in the far back over the engine compartment.  The one in the far back hangs down about 1/2" from the overhead storage box, and I've killed it twice loading / unloading stuff like drywall from the bus.  If I were to do it again, I'd try to find a light which could be flush-mounted into the overhead storage area.  It's REALLY GREAT to have a bright light over the engine compartment when you're busy in there.  These types of lights are readily available from better RV part stores, but they're expensive.  They draw about 1/3 the current of incandescent lights, and are very bright.

5)
Fog Lights.  Important for any kind of foul weather, and mountain roads at night.

6)
Internal battery charger;  I mounted one of those electronic 1A trickle chargers for RVs in the cabinet under the sink where it was easy to wire into the Vanagon wiring and there was ready access to a 120V outlet.  When I know I'm not going to drive it for awhile, I just plug in the cord to the exterior power connection, and the battery stays fully charged.

Regards to all,

Jon B Kanas

Longmont, Colorado
Cultural Center of the Universe
303-678-0658
kanas@qadas.com