Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 14:47:05 -0800
Reply-To: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Announcement: the BZ Shelf
In-Reply-To: <864763.97736.qm@web52209.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
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We downstairs sleepers would rather not plunge to our certain deaths in
the middle of the night when we have to take a whiz. We're on the older
side = less flexible liquid storage container = more frequent micturation.
We use the upstairs for storage, c.f.,
http://camping.elliott.googlepages.com/shelves
Mrs Squirrel and I are both smallish folk and the little downstairs bunk
allows for cuddling and sleeping just fine.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
On 1/7/2008 1:41 PM Tom Forhan wrote:
> This is very interesting. Initially Michele and I
> used the bottom and put Colin in the upper bunk. Years
> later he decided going camping with the old folks was
> not cool, and we tried out the top and thought it
> much, much more comfortable. We never sleep
> downstairs, unless we are in stealth mode.
>
> Have you downstairs sleeper check the quality of the
> foam on your upper bunk? I can't believe people think
> the bottom is better!
>
>
> --- Tom Buese <tombuese@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
>
>> On Jan 7, 2008, at 2:16 PM, Michael Elliott wrote:
>>
>>> Beats me -- Mrs Squirrel and I prefer sleeping
>> downstairs. Tom --
>>> do you
>>> use the upper bunk?
>> I relegate non consensual guests to the upper bunk,
>> but I have slept
>> up there until I figured out it was not as comfy as
>> downstairs.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>>> --
>>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>>> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
>>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical
>> Banana")
>>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San
>> Juan Capistrano
>>> KG6RCR
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 1/7/2008 12:35 PM Jake de Villiers wrote:
>>>
>>>> Way to go guys! Nice job with the design Tom and
>> thanks for the Wiki
>>>> Rocky.
>>>>
>>>> Any trouble getting in and out of the upper berth
>> with the shelf
>>>> there?
>>>> I can't really see how much of the access slot
>> the BZ covers.
>>>> Thanks again, Jake
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 2, 2008 5:40 PM, Michael Elliott
>> <camping.elliott@gmail.com
>>>> <mailto:camping.elliott@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Back in August or so Mrs Squirrel and I
>> became frustrated with
>>>> having to
>>>> deal with boxes of groceries and stuff which
>> were constantly
>>>> underfoot
>>>> when camping in places where the local
>> critters were eying our
>>>> comestibles
>>>> with considerable interest. I wondered
>> whether it might be
>>>> possible to
>>>> hang a shelf in the otherwise unused overhead
>> space at the
>>>> front of the
>>>> raised poptop and posted a proposal involving
>> chains and
>>>> skyhooks and
>>>> stuff, an idea that was doomed to never work.
>>>>
>>>> Several folks suggested better ways to go
>> about it, but
>>>> nothing seemed
>>>> very easy to me. Then Tom Buese, who was
>> apparently looking
>>>> for an
>>>> excuse
>>>> to avoid doing real work, popped up with a
>> design for a shelf
>>>> which
>>>> mounts
>>>> easily on the poptop's crossarm with a couple
>> of hardware
>>>> store U-bolts,
>>>> holds a surprising amount of stuff when
>> deployed, and folds
>>>> flat against
>>>> the roof when the top is down. He put
>> together a prototype and
>>>> emailed a
>>>> dimensioned drawing of his idea to me. I
>> banged a version
>>>> together in a
>>>> couple of hours without hardly any
>> significant loss of blood
>>>> and mounted
>>>> it up. After a test on a short camping trip,
>> it has become a
>>>> permanent
>>>> addition to our Westy. Best thing I've ever
>> done -- besides
>>>> marrying Mrs
>>>> Squirrel, I'd say.
>>>>
>>>> After the Vanagon Wiki went "live" this year
>> I suggested to
>>>> Tom that we
>>>> could post a how-to article about his "BZ
>> Shelf" but it took
>>>> him a
>>>> bit of
>>>> time to take the pictures and refine the
>> drawing. But finally,
>>>> after
>>>> considerable nagging on my part, I got him to
>> post the stuff
>>>> to me so I
>>>> could write the article.
>>>>
>>>> If you're like me, able to use a
>> reciprocating saw without
>>>> hardly ever
>>>> cutting off a finger, own a Westy, and find
>> yourself sometime
>>>> wishing you
>>>> had a darn place to put pots and pans and
>> coolers and stuff
>>>> that seem to
>>>> crowd your floor when camping, do yourself a
>> favor and build a BZ
>>>> Shelf. I
>>>> reckon you'll be glad you did.
>>>>
>>>> So here it is, with Tom's permission: photos
>> and plans at
>>>> http://vanagonwiki.net/index.php/Buese_Shelf
>>>>
>> <http://vanagonwiki.net/index.php/Buese_Shelf>
>>>> --
>>>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>>>> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
>>>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical
>> Banana")
>>>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc.,
>> San Juan Capistrano
>>>> KG6RCR
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Jake
>>>> 1984 Vanagon GL
>>>> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>>>> Crescent Beach, BC
>>>> www.crescentbeachguitar.com
>> <http://www.crescentbeachguitar.com>
>>>> http://subyjake.googlepages.com/
>
>
>
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