The only thing I've ever needed the rear wiper on my van for is to
remove either the coolant spray from the overflow bottle when my heads
were leaking, and later to remove the oil spray when the oil filler tube
was leaking.  So, maybe it really does have a use - its just  not for
rain. :-)

Todd
'88 Westfalia

Andrew Grebneff wrote:

> Rear wipers on these vans are really just decorations. I've noticed
> that even on dirty wet roads and gravel roads, no crap gets onto the
> rear window, and I've never actually NEEDED the wiper. Except when
> dew has formed there.
>
> Japanese vans do get dirty rear windows rapidly, so need a wiper.
>
> It's a matter of aerodynamics... it seems that the VW doesn't have a
> low-pressure zone over the window, so road-level dirty air doesn't
> get that far. I don't remember my Bay or Splits getting dirty rear
> windows either.
>