Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 03:46:13 EDT
Reply-To: Ssittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Ssittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Questions about EVs
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I looked hard at buying a used Eurovan camper before I ended up
with my '87 Westflia a few months ago. I was especially interested
in finding a '93, because I figured they'd be significantly cheaper
than the '95's. There seemed to be a lot of confusion about them,
though - some dealers/others claimed there was no such thing
as a '"'93 camper", and some said there was, and some said
something in between. After talking to a number of people, the
understanding I eventully came away with was this:
- Volkswagen sold a Westfalia Eurovan full camper conversion
in '93, but not in the U.S. I think it was available in Canada, and
perhaps a small number of them leaked into the U.S. However,
they were apparently not actually legal to import (didn't meet
some U.S. standard or other).
- However, VW did sell a Westfalia Eurovan "Weekender" in '93
in the U.S. This had a pop-up top (with no side windows), a
rear seat that folded into a bed, a table, and a 12V cooler
behind the driver's seat. It had no stove or propane system,
and I believe little or no cabinetry. It may be shorter than the
Winnebago conversion - the Winnebago is built on an extended-
length cargo van.
- The first Winnebago conversions were in 1995. They used their
own pop-up top - not the same as Westfalia's. Interestingly,
I looked at the standard Eurovan manual included with a
'97 Eurovan camper recently, and it included instructions on how
to work the "optional" pop-up top, which appeared to be the
Westfalia top. There was also a separate "Camper" manual, which
among other things told how to work the somewhat different
Winnebago pop-up top that was actually incuded on the van.
I won't guarantee all this is true, but it seemed to fit what I ran into.
Every '"'93 camper" I ever saw advertised and called about turned
out to actually be a Weekender. Salesmen typically couldn't tell
the difference until it was pointed out to them. ("Does it have a
stove?" "Sure, it's got a stove." "Are you positive?" "Absolutely -
it's got a stove." "Would you mind going out and taking a look
at it?" (wait, wait, wait) "Hey, what do you know, it's got no stove!")
-Steven Sittser
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