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Date:         Mon, 9 Apr 2007 23:16:43 -0400
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: extra seats in a full camper, or stick with a weekender?
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

I really wasn't throwing out a reason to not get a vanagon, but trying to raise an awareness that Old Beetle like inexpensive is not here.

From a usage perspective, the FUN BUS owes me nothing. It has served us extremely well and except for some transmission failures, has been very low cost to operate. I never had to tow it home and it has taken us on many trips including Alaska. However, it is now in my terms becoming consumed. At 249,400 miles, most of it is original. The engine is getting tired and it needs paint and a bunch of other stuff. I come across a lot of people that buy these things thinking of the early days of simplicity and being a VW, it will go forever. Then we start with the repairs and sticker shock.

For both a daily driver and being able to haul the family and a lot of stuff, the Vanagon is hard to beat. The 7 passengers have that extra roominess that makes them really flexible. The campers have that swiss army knife approach but the camper stuff takes away from the flexibility. Large families have needs and for trips, a pop up camper or tents. Then for frequent travels with a large family, time for that real RV.

Dennis

>From: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM> >Reply-To: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM> >To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM >Subject: Re: extra seats in a full camper, or stick with a weekender? >Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 14:36:06 -0400 > >While Dennis and Chris have weighed in with reasons for not getting a >Vanagon, but if you are insistent...... > >Your best choice would likely be the "Weekender Westfalia camper." >This is a poptop camper, but does not have the sink and fridge. It >has a 3 person rear seat, and then you can get the 2 person middle >bench so that you can still carry 7 people. > >Note this is not as widely available as the full camper. So you might >find yourself having to hunt for a while to acquire one. > >With that said, it is probably more available than that 3 person >middle seat. > >A 7 pasenger Vanagon would be a lot less expensive, and, while not >having the poptop, can still be a viable vehicle for camping. Lots of >room for folks, and you can carry tents and coolers and such. >Depending on model, you can get some which have the rear seat that >folds down into a bed (not all 7 passengers models do this.) > > >On Apr 9, 2007, at 12:47 PM, Jeffrey Lubin wrote: > >>Greetings, >>I am new to this list, and even newer to vanagons (since I don't >>yet own >>even one!) and so my first question is about which models to >>include in >>my search. >> >>I've got four kids, with one more on the way, and I need a vehicle >>that >>can fit all of them for driving, although not necessarily for camping. >>The weekender arrangement, with two rear-facing seats in the second >>row, >>seems ideal, but I'd also like to consider the full camper, in case I >>want to take subsets of them for a real camping trip. >> >>So, the question is, how realistic is it to try to do one or more >>of the >>following with the full camper? >>1. Squeeze three (small) kids in the existing rear bench, and get a >>two-seat bench (or two jump seats) for a second row. >>2. Remove the sink/stove and put in a three-seat second row. >>3. Transform the camper interior completely to a weekender, with >>plans >>to later transform it back. >> >>Let me also mention that people whom I trust and respect think it's >>ridiculous for me to even consider a full camper, but I thought I'd >>throw the question out to this list to see if anyone has experience or >>ideas that I should consider. >> >>Thanks much.


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