hey FrankG and all - ok, well, i meant to say it wasnt a "bolt in
application" :<) anything will work if you modify it enough.. i tried to
retrofit this front overhead a/c system to a vanagon westy several years ago
but gave up when i realized that the poptop latch would be covered by the
evaporator housing.. but i guess you solved that prob!.. just for the
average person, what you did ,while very ingenious, is rather labor
intensive.. but where there's a will, there's a way.. :<) i was wondering
how you were able to unlatch the poptop as the ac unit overlaps the latch
area!!!.. frank, do you have any pics of this installation???id love to see
it... i actually have this front mount a/c system in my sunroof van, and
it overlaps the front of the sunroof opening about 6 to 8 inches or so... ive
never seen another sunroof van with the dealer installed overhead a/c init
like mine...i think it's a one-off..
chris
In a message dated 4/4/01 11:34:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time, FrankGRUN writes:
Just to disagree here. I installed one of these units in my Westfalia. I
moved the power unit forward several inches so that it just cleared the
back of the head with the drivers seat fully extended. This left a 9 inch +
gap on the top of the AC unit to the edge of the poptop opening. I then
fabricated an oak cover to enclose the whole exposed area. I built the
cover with a series of 1 inch slats bolted together horizontally. This let
me match the contour of the van top and fit the edges to drop into the seal
track. I then bolted the cover to the seal track and the AC body. The cover
overhangs the edge of the AC unit by 0.5 inches. The result is a storage
shelf and sitting base when the poptop is open.
I extended the poptop closure mechanism rearward to clear the cover, but a
hand clearance channel could also have been milled into the wood. I then
finished the wood with a clear marine sealer and varnish so that it matched
the wool paneling that I use for a headliner in the Vanagon.
In the front, I used the Dremel tool to modify the contour to fit my wood
panel ceiling and shortened the transfer duct. I brought the AC lines up by
the drivers side post through the sink/stove cabinet. To clear the
stove/sink cover when opening, I used a router to open a smooth radius on
the cover. All hoses made by Hoseman locally.
This was several years ago and the system has worked perfectly. On a trip
to the "tailend-of-the-universe" (AKA south Texas, former home of
she-who-must-be-obeyed) in 95 degree weather, both front and rear
passengers were kept cool. The mpg hit of running the AC seems to be a wash
against the drag of running the Vanagon with the windows open.
Not bad for a former diesel.
Oh yes, the access to the upper berth has been occluded, but I have no
difficulty getting up there. If your girth is measurably larger than mine,
you shouldn't be up there anyway.
Frank Grunthaner