Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 09:21:07 -0500
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Outgrowing your Vanagon?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I've got an 83 Air Cooled Westfalia.
I'd never put anybody as a passenger in the rear seat.
The two person width rear seat has no redeeming qualities except to make
your Mother in Law suffer.
If this rear seat wasn't part of the bed I'd rip it out.
I've noticed that later Westies have some improvements but I'm sure that
they are just visual.
If the persons riding in the rear seat seem hostile, its no wonder.
Have your wife or one of your qualified teens drive you on a 200 mile
trip with you riding in this sorry excuse for seating.
I don't even sit on it when I camp, I use a folding chair or swivel the
passenger seat around.
I'm surprised that with all of the spending on alloy wheels, bras and so
forth that someone hasn't come up with an improvement to this inquisition
bench.
In resent testing even the crash test dummies expressed a dislike for the
hard uncomfortable seat.
Stan Wilder
83 Westfalia Air Cooled
On Fri, 12 Apr 2002 09:01:54 -0500 Chuck Hill <hilltech@NETINS.NET>
writes:
> Cliff Gottschalk writes to the list saying that with 6 in the family
> the
> Vanagon just isn't roomy enough. That's a problem that has come up
> several times on the list. Often, people feel that they must move
> on to
> a larger RV, even though their Vanagon is what they like best for
> their
> purposes. Surely there are ways to accomodate the family needs
> that
> don't require parting with the VW. I would suggest:
>
> 1. Put the older kids, or whoever, in a tent. They may like
> it
> just fine, even better, having their privacy, and not having to
> listen
> to Dad snore. Putting Dad in the tent is an option, and the same
> stuff
> applies. This is what I did with my family on occasion. Steve
> Lashly
> sells great tents that go right beside the Vanagon, fitting the
> doorway,
> that you might like a lot.
>
> 2. Consider pulling a little popup camper. The motorcyclists
> have
> some neat small ones that a Vanagon can pull easily. These cost
> lots
> less than trading to a bigger camper and give you two more beds.
> This
> is off the ground and warmer than a tent.
>
> 3. Keep the VW and rent a camper when you really need the space
> for
> an all family trip.
>
> We've had a Westy in the family as the boys have grown up, and had
> some
> great times travelling and camping together in it. The Westy is a
> size
> that lets you drive, park, and camp in many more places than a
> larger
> RV. Now that there are just the two of us, we still have a Westy,
> and
> a Vanagon or two that we use often. Two of the boys have their
> own
> Vanagon. My 3 kids have grown up and left home in an amazingly
> short
> period of time, even though their arrival was rather spaced out (12
> years). After they get about so old, they won't be coming along
> with
> the family, in all probability.
>
> You can hang on to a Vanagon that you like. You can't "keep" the
> kids
> that you love.
>
> Chuck Hill
>
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