Date:         Sun, 5 Aug 2001 08:12:44 -0400
Reply-To:     Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Subject:      removing rear cabinets: westy/weekender
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I have removed the rear (clothes closet) cabinets from an 85 westy and an 86
weekender w/ AC and wanted to pass along what I found.  The Bentley manual
describes a terrible complicated procedure for removing the cabinet,
especially the one with AC.  I found a little bit of a shortcut in that the
cabinet can be pulled out the front.  On the westy, the whole ceiling
cabinet can be left up there if you pull the clothes closet out the front.
This is one without AC.  You dont' have to take out the bed boards up top
either.  You do however, have to take out the cabinet with the water tank.
So if you are not going to take that out anyway, this is not the way to go.
On the one with AC, by pulling it out the front you save loosening the AC
evaporator, and trying to support it while you maneuver the cabinet into the
engine bay and then out.  Mine was a weekender, so all I had to do was
remove the bench.  I was doing that anyway, so it was an easy choice.  Might
still be preferable to going the Bentley way, especially if you only have 1
person.  I did have to remove the ceiling cabinet though.  The problem is
that it is hard to slide the clothes closet forward because the rear of it
can't get past all the AC stuff that runs down the pillar.  To lower the
upper cabinet, I used 2 ropes running (front to rear) from the rear hatch
hinges up to some S hooks I hooked over the edge of the popup opening.
These held the cabinet while I was loosening the bolts and stuff.  I just
added more slack as I went along to lower it down.  The AC fans come down
with the cabinet.  It is quite heavy/awkward.  I was careful but still broke
both of the plastic mounting things that hold the AC fans' resistors.  Will
fabricate some metal replacements.

Edward