Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 12:48:57 -0700
Reply-To: mark drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: mark drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Whole Pop top conversion
In-Reply-To: <4438A3D2.2010904@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Westys are great but they are not the be all and end all when it comes
to VW vans. My wife and I currently have 3 Vanagons that we use
extensively for travel and camping. One is a passenger model with GL
rear bed and no middle seat, one is a former passenger model with Westy
top and Westy kitchen added but no rear closet or overhead cabinet, and
the third is a stock full Westy. The interior of the stock Westy seems
crowded in comparison and we bump into things in it until we have been
on the road for a couple days at least. It is all a matter of what you
get used to and what you are willing to give up. All 3 of our vans have
screens, full curtains, and a rear hatch prop open security device. We
can travel for a week with ease in any of them, sleeping and cooking
inside every day. Camping is a little different matter and then either
of the poptop vans is a must for us rather than the passenger model.
Camping for us means many daylight hours parked in the same spots we
sleep in and often more than one night in the same spot without starting
the engine.
As for designing a new layout, I feel that a more front mounted
sink/stove kitchen that did not entirely go all the way to the floor
would be a better setup for most people most of the time. We have used
our Westy fridges for hundreds of nights and can deal with them just
fine. However, an ice chest is simpler and more versatile at times. Not
having the fridge would allow better positioning of a sink/stove setup
for more living area and larger rear bed. Everything has trade offs and
I would never remove the fridge from an otherwise stock Westy layout.
Starting with a fresh sheet of paper though I would go a different way.
One of the big pluses of a Westy is the quality of the finished product.
The camping interior holds up well for many, many years. Most of the
home jobs I've seen don't hold up too well and have major flaws that the
owner was too shortsighted to prevent. The often expressed desire by
some for a removable kitchen is likely to fall into this category, IMHO.
Stoves need propane tanks, sinks need somewhere for dirty water to go. I
want both those needs to be fulfilled outside of the van with the
appliance in the van. Sinks also need somewhere for clean water to come
from and power to make it flow. All these things need reliable ways to
connect to the kitchen. How that can truly be done with an easily
portable unit is beyond me. More than likely the implementation would be
so cumbersome that the unit would either be left in all the time or left
out all the time. Just like middle seats and even the slick optional
Westy single center seats tend to be.
The poptop is a great addition, even without an upper bed. The living
space, standing room, and ventilation are just so nice, rain or shine.
For a single spry person traveling alone the upper bed is handy at times
since you can leave the downstairs in whatever state of disarray you
like and still go to bed. For 2 people we find it is too much trouble to
use as a bed most of the time. After we pop the top we just put our
stuff up there out of the way. What works out best IMHO is a single
person upper bed that also leaves standing room for people downstairs.
That limits the inside sleeping arrangement to 3 people max but more
than that really have to live spartan to travel together in any case. If
you have never spent any time living in a full Westy you really can't
appreciate how well the upper bed will or won't work for you. If you are
the type who needs to get up and pee a time or 2 at night, the upper bed
can get old. If any little noise at night awakens or alarms you the
upper bed can get old since it picks up outside noise real well. If the
inside of your van quickly resembles a tornado ravaged trailer park then
having an upper bed you can open and jump into when you stop can be a
major relief.
Mark
John Rodgers wrote:
> Mark,
>
> I have wanted to get some sort of campmobile, but the Westy sleeping
> arrangement has never been one I was excited about. Seemed pretty
> cramped with the clothes closet in the back. In fact, I'm not so sure
> I want all the other stuff - stove, refer, sink, etc, - in there
> either, at least not in a permanent way, anyhow. But the poptop always
> seemed a good idea. Since I bought a second 88 GL specifically for
> having a campmobile, it sounds like your solution is the direction I
> want to go. Eventually I want to install a poptop camper shell and the
> bigger hole seems the way. Glad to hear someone has already done it.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver x2
>
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