As a multivan owner, just an observation;

everyone with a full camper seems to bring along a 2-burner coleman stove
and a big ice-chest.

I would like a sink and all the storage of the full camper, but I'd have to
add the "mother-in-law seat" and up the seating to 5.

Chris C
El Grouppo del Autobus Pilotos

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Earl" <jefferrata@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2003 9:23 AM
Subject: Full Westy vs "Weekender" Pop-Top Westy

> As the satisfied owner of a 1983 full-package
> Westfalia, I guess you could call me a happy camper.
> Like the original owner, we use ours strictly for
> travelling and camping, and cook perhaps 2/3 of our
> meals in it (the rest being in local diners and
> restaurants). Pancakes or omelets with Spam (mmm-m) in
> the morning, soup and sandwiches for lunch, and stew
> or rice/pasta dishes in the evening, often accompanied
> by a small chilled bottle of pinot noir or a fine
> malted beverage.
>
> Unless it's buggy or rainy, we usually adjourn to the
> picnic table for dining alfresco, then do all our
> post-meal cleanup at the Westy sink. Once all the
> dishes are washed and neatly stowed away, the interior
> quickly becomes our living room, with some music and
> ample reading lights. Ahh, life is good ...
>
> Analyse your own camping needs/desires, and choose
> accordingly. Without the stove, sink, and fridge, how
> will you achieve the same level of comfort? Some
> prefer to cook on a campfire or Coleman 2-burner
> stove, wash their dishes at the squeaky hand-pump, and
> keep their food in cardboard boxes and stadium
> coolers. But by the time you pack all this cargo into
> the spacious Weekender, it soon becomes more cluttered
> and less spacious. Not to mention the perpetual
> packing and unpacking, fiddling with the stove and
> fuel, fetching more water for cooking and cleaning,
> and heroically rescuing your block of cheese from the
> deadly tropical waters of your cooler.
>
> By comparison, the full-Westy offers a well-designed
> interior much like that of a good sailboat, with snug
> latched cabinets, stove and fresh water each available
> at the turn of a knob, and a fridge that will
> perpetually STAY cold for weeks at a time. Then it all
> stows tidily away to hit the road. After a couple
> nights backpacking or paddle-camping, I find returning
> to the Westy is positively luxurious.
>
> Personally, without the camper package, I see little
> purpose for a Vanagon.
>
> "Mr. Sulu, set flame-deflector shields to maximum
> power!"
>
>
> Jeffrey Earl
> 1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"
>
>
>
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