Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 10:50:15 -0400
Reply-To: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Subject: Re: non Westy Camping advice? (long)
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Karen,
We've had our Weekender for about 2 years now. We have been perfecting
our camping setup every time we go camping... you know, something bugs you
or you see a good idea, and you make a change.
There are some pictures of Bev, our van, on our web page:
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/bev.html
Some highlights:
Bedding - We do have the Weekender bed/pad and I really recommend that you
ultimately track one down (try Chris Turner <jordanvw@aol.com>). It makes
a queen-sized bed that is really comfortable; Kristina claims it's more
comfy than our bed at home. Also, we remove our middle seat for camping.
I bought a carpet remnant, cut it to size, and threw it over top of the
existing carpet between the front and rear seats. I suppose you could do
something similar and throw a sleeping bag in there, but you might have to
curl up a bit depending on how tall you are. We take a sleeping bag, zip
it open, put a sheet over it, put another unzipped bag over top, fold into
thirds the long way and drape over the tubs stored in the back. To go
into sleep mode, we move the gear to the front (see below), put down the
weekender bench, unroll, snore.
Cooking - We got a chuckbox from Campmor <http://www.campmor.com>. It's
the metal kind with lots of space, a drawer, space for a camping stove,
etc. LL Bean has one too, but it's plastic and more expensive. We
usually end up leaving the big propane 2 burner stove at home and taking a
Peak II white gas stove. Fits in the chuckbox along with a spare fuel
bottle (get the right kind...white gas should not be spilled).
Cooling - 12V Coleman thermoelectric icebox. They draw 4 amps, so you
don't want to run this long with the motor off. However, we find that one
of the best thing about these boxes is that they're insulated MUCH better
than standard iceboxes. We keep a couple of cooling gelpacks in there to
keep the thermal momentum going when it's shut off and that keeps it cool
for an entire weekend. No buying ice and no dumping out old water. If
you freeze a gallon jug of water, it doubles as cooling power and you have
ice cold water to drink.
Cleanup & washing - We got a portable sink from Campmor (called "Wash 'n
Go" or something like that). Holds its own water, stores toothbrushes,
soap, etc. Throw a scrubbie in there and you're ready for dishes.
Dishwashing soap is stored in the chuckbox. A box of baby wipes are great
for a quick "hand washing" and are good for taking out stains in that one
pair of shorts you brought for all week.
Porta-potti - Almost indispensable, particularly for females (or so my
wife tells me). We got a Fiamma (Italian) at JC Whitney. Great for
avoiding long walks at night and mosquito and spider-ridden stinky
bathrooms at campgrounds. You get the picture. :-P
Tables & chairs - $8 folding chairs (the kind that fold up like a small
tent, not the standard aluminum frame jobs) and a roll-up table from LL
Bean (Campmor has them too). Also, I fabricated a fixed table similar to
the Westy front table from a VW breadloaf van arm, some plywood and a
plumbing fixture (picture on the web page). That turned out to be OK for
people on the middle seat (which, as I said, we remove for camping), but
not for the back. Also, it's good for swinging between the front seats.
I recently added a table (courtesy of Chris Turner) that acts like the
multivan tables...swings out from the side of the van behind the driver's
seat.
Storing stuff - We like the 18-gallon Rubbermaid containers. We have one
with just VW parts, curtains, jumper cables, etc. Then, depending on how
long we're out, we load up 1 or 2 with our clothing. They're stackable,
waterproof, fit inside each other when empty, and fairly durable, so you
can leave them outside even in the rain (BTDT).
When we want to sleep, most of stuff can go in the front seats & footwells
and the tubs can either go in the space behind the front seats or outside.
Awning - I have fair skin (red hair), so this was one of the best things
we've bought. There was a recent thread on making your own "on the cheap"
from tarps & clamps, so search the archives. Otherwise, Camping World
<http://www.campingworld.com> has A&Es.
Some folks may scoff and say "why didn't you just get a Westy." The
beauty about all of this is that it's modular. Sometimes we only throw in
the cooler for a picnic. Sometimes we take it all for a long weekend.
Sometimes we take everything out and help a friend move (the inside of the
van is cavernous when you take the middle seat out and have no Westy
fridge/stove/sink setup). As a daily driver, we're not lugging all that
stuff around. 'course Westies are *very* cool camping machines in their
own right. :-)
That's about my collective wisdom, most of which was borrowed from other
VW owners. Hope this helps.
-Karl
__________________________________
Karl & Kristina Bloss - bloss@enter.net
Trexlertown, PA - '87 Vanagon Weekender "Beverley"
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw
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