> OK, folks here is a can of worms to be opened. I need to > change the canvass on my '87 Westy. I want the very best. > What opinions are there ?

The very best is a genuine OEM Westfalia replacement, which will look great, fit great, and last you another 30 years. I import these, but with an improved design (3 windows instead of 1, and a removable/replacable front screen, as used by Westfalia on 1990-up canvas). It is available in gray or ten. Better quality and fit simply cannot be had, and at $350 it's still very affordable.

The second best is my aftermarket copy of that original, which I exclusively import from Europe. It's about $100 cheaper, and is far superior to the U.S. made canvas sold elsewhere (see below), both in terms of fit and closeness to the stock look. While it's not quite up to the standards of the genuine one (and does not have the fully-removable screen), it gets you 90% of the way there for 70% of the price, so while not the absolute best it's no slouch in terms of value for dollar. It is available only in tan.

Pretty much everyone besides us sells a different canvas, from a U.S. manufacturer that supplies all of the VW shops, so if you buy elsewhere you'd might as well shop on price. The U.S. manufacturer is not bad (and in fact I do offer their canvas to people who want custom colors or insist on Sunbrella), but having carried both I can honestly say that it is not comparable to the ones I carry now. The biggest difference is consistency of fit. With any canvas there is always a rare defect once in a while that was simply cut wrong, but with the U.S. made ones we got frequent reports of the canvas being too tight (and a few of it being too loose, or just proportioned wrong). This is what led me to seek alternative sourcing the first place. Jim Thompson says that he at one time provided that manufacturer with an original sample, on which their pattern is based, so I would have to chalk this up to quality control issues rather than a bad template. The other difference is the look. The U.S. manufacturer's cotton canvas (which costs a bit more than our aftermarket canvas) is a somewhat course textured material, which, while good quality, does not look much like stock; our repro is a smoother finish that looks closer to the original. Their higher-end canvas (comparable in price to our OEM Westfalia one) is acrylic ("Sunbrella"), which does look a bit closer to stock. Sunbrella is a fine material whose major claim to fame (and the reason for its high cost) is that it won't fade after prolonged exposure to sunlight, such as on a boat with water reflecting onto it every day. This is not a condition that a Vanagon poptop canvas finds itself in, as the top is not open in bright sunlight every day. (Note that the original canvas, which is not Sunbrella, does not fade all that much even after 30 years.) On the other hand, Sunbrella is a bit stiffer, making it a bit harder to tuck the fabric in when closing the top. While the Sunbrella is very nice, I see no advantage over the OEM Westfalia one for the same price, and in fact some disadvantages (nonremoveable front screen, more difficult to fold, and the aforementioned fitment issues).

Our '80-85 Canvas:

http://busdepot.com/catalog.jsp?model=58&category=40&group=94

Our '86-91 Canvas:

http://busdepot.com/catalog.jsp?model=43&category=40&group=94

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW

_____________________________________________ Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT

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