Date:         Tue, 17 Nov 1998 21:58:27 EST
Reply-To:     Ssittservl@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         S Sittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Westfalia alternative (was Re: A Ford Westy)
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

>  Date:        98-11-17 19:17:36 EST
>  From:        Ari@OLTECO.COM (Ari Ollikainen)
>
>  >Date:       98-11-17 18:16:04 EST
>  >From:       Douglas_M_BENSEN@UMAIL.UMD.EDU (db25)
>  >
>  >Check out www.gtrv.com to see a Ford E-150 converted into a Westy similar
>  >to ours...
>
>          Interesting...I always wondered why a decent copy of a VW camper
>          couldn't be created in a BigThree van body...

The nicest alternative I've seen to a Westfalia is the Sportsmobile.
They have a straight-up pop top on a full size or extended Dodge,
Ford, or GM van.  They have about 40 "standard" floor plans, but
they'll do a custom layout at no extra charge.  I haven't seen one
"live", but from the pictures and reviews it looks like first class work.
The company's been since the 1960's - they actually did
the first pop-top conversions of VW busses (and there's a picture
of one on their web site.)

I got their "design your own camper" literature packet a little over a
year ago, and had great fun with it - they give you an "empty" van
floor plan and little cut-outs of the furniture and such.  I talked to them
a few times, and they were very helpful.  Eventually, though, I decided
a new van was too expensive, and we found a used Westfalia instead.

The campers run about $40000, and that's pretty fully loaded.  Note that
that's not much more than a new Eurovan camper, but it's bigger inside
and better equipped.  One of their standard floorplans, the "RB-50", is
basically a copy of the Westfalia/Eurovan floorplan.

They have a web site at www.sportsmobile.com.  I just took a look at it
today, and they've completely redesigned it from the last time I looked -
there's quite a bit of information there now.  Looks like there's still a
broken
link or two, though, and the "request more information" option doesn't
appear to work.

                                                     -Steven Sittser