We are in the middle of making our 85 Vanagon into a = good camper, while keeping it as daily driver. No offence to Westies = but we wanted something more subtle that didn't say "tourist" on it, plus it = was about one third the cost of the average Westie in Vancouver. Here's what = was done so far:

--Installed a counter top behind the drivers seat, = verathaned wood with support legs running at an angle down to the wall/floor junction. In this we installed a pump faucet ($25 from marine = store) connected to a 5 gallon water container under counter. Instead of = a sink we opted for a wash basin, the option to use outside plus we avoided = needing grey water tank.

--Behind passenger seat is custom aluminum battery = box, with full size deep cycle battery underneath (well secured!). This deep = cycle was 50 vs the outrageous 290 I was quoted for an optima deep cycle. = Controls for fridge and an auxiliary light mounted to the wall are on the side of = battery box. Solenoid for aux battery is under passenger seat so it was a = simple cable run to aux battery. Also under seat a small 3 amp battery = charger for extended stays at campgrounds, hooked to aux batt. The box = also makes a great work surface from inside or outside the van.

At the moment we still use the standard fold down = rear bed, so we have the option of carrying 4 passengers. Later the bed will be = removed to make way for locking storage but for now I have two bins that slide = perfectly under the front edge of the bed (for food stove etc).

It adds up to a nice clean usable unit, no squeaks = or rattles even on fire roads (except of course the dash, why does VW use such = cheap plastic!?)