Date:         Mon, 19 Jun 1995 19:16:01 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Schwarze <schwarze@superc.nosc.mil>
Subject:      Re: Dictionary ... part II

Here is my input on the Safari issue.

Lars Poulsen writes:
> 
> I knew there was a reason I was confused, but piecing together the
> pieces from several sources, it is getting much clearer. Here is what 
> I've been told so far:
> 
 
>   Dave Kautz:
> 	Another US-made camper conversion.

>   Dean Aukes:
> 	This is a conversion done in the U.S. - David Schwarze has one
> 	- he is an expert on these - his is a '73 and has a solid
> 	high-top (fiberglass), not a poptop.  I'm not sure if all of
> 	them were like that.  His came with A/C, refrig, closet, bed,
> 	and much more.  His web page has pictures of it.

I think Dave and Dean are refering to Safare, not "Safari". 

I think that "Safari" generally refers to the type of windows that pop
out at the bottom, which are only (as far as I know) found on pre '68
busses, while "Safare" refers to the camper conversion company.  Below
is most of what I know about Safare:

Safare is a company that converted VW busses into campers, similar to
Westfalia.  I don't think there were very many of them made, and I haven't
seen any outside of Southern California.  My guess is that there were
less than 1,000 of them made.  I have only seen Safare campers on 73 and 74
busses.  I think it is likely that they converted the 72 bus as well.
They made a standard van conversion with the original solid roof, and
a permanent fiberglass topped version (which I have).  I have no idea if
Safare is still in business or where they are (were?) located.  Wish I did. 
I'd like to clock the person that decided to use the low-bid building
materials.  :)

I have also seen two levels of interior appointments - 

	A) fold out bed, bench seats, sink, water tank, closet, drawer, 
	table, icebox.

	B) All of A *plus* a two burner propane stove and tank, and a
	two-way electric (110 and 12V) refrigerator in place of the icebox.  

I have only seen a few Safare campers, and all of the high top Safares seem
to have package B, and all of the normal roofed busses had package A.  I'm
not sure if that's the only way they were available.

The bubble-top versions like mine also have a large storage compartment
over the cab, and a slide out bed on top which sleeps one adult or two
small children.

The lower bed in the Safare is of a vastly different design than the
Westfalia, and in my opinion superior.  There are two sideways facing
bench seats on the walls just forward of the engine firewall with a
removable table inbetween.  The table drops down between the bench seats
and the bench backrest cushions go on top of it.  Then the bed "unfolds"
from a U shape (lying-on-its-side U shape) to cover the table and bench
seats.  The advantage of this setup over the Westfalia is that the bedding
can be left in place and is simply folded over inside the bedframe - No
need to break down bedding and store it.  Getting the bed ready takes all
of 20 seconds.

Unfortunately, the workmanship of the Safare conversion is awful.  The ones
I have seen have been in poor shape, with rotted paneling and shredded
upholstery.  The roof removal was a hack job, and there seems to have 
been no concern with consistancy from one camper to another.  I recently
found (to my extreme delight) another Safare in the junkyard, with some
halfway decent interior bits.  I bought them only to find that none of the
latches, hinges, or even the physical dimensions of doors and cabinets
lined up with what I had in my Safare.  Installing them was a major 
headache.

Another bad thing is that Safare placed the refrigerator/icebox-stove
unit behind the passenger seat a la Westfalias of the same years, which
inhibits access to the interior from the sliding door, and takes up about
80% of the floorspace when the bed is down.  I moved the fridge and stove
to behind the driver, so my Safare is regrettably no longer original, but
I just couldn't live with their floorplan anymore.  I had to delete the
closet to do this, but it was worth it.

On the plus side, the refrigerator that Safare used (Norcold) was a
compressor type, and vastly superior to the heating element type that
Westfalia used.  This fridge is capable of chilling a twelve pack of
beer to 35 degrees in a few hours and it will actually freeze things
in the freezer and make ice cubes!  

Hope this is of interest to everyone...

-David

============================================================================
David Schwarze                     '73 VW Safare Custom Camper  (Da Boat)
SAIC Comsystems                    '73 Capri GT 2800            (Da Beast)
San Diego California               '87 Mustang Lx 5.0           (Da Sleeper)
e-mail:  schwarze@nosc.mil         '93 Weber WG-50              (Da Piano)
============================================================================