Some people like to camp. Vanagons are great for camping, even ones with
only a weekender bed in the back. Adding a poptop allows you to stand up
while camping and this is useful for dressing, etc. The added
ventilation is a big plus too. After you pop the top you can move most
of your gear into it and out of your way. People with small children can
let the kids sleep up there, even without the full bed. There is more
than enough rooftop for a couple kids to lay down. It is a lot easier to
deal with getting the kids up there and comfortable when you don't have
that big folding bed blocking most of the opening. I have a piece of
carpet that is sized to cover the roof so people and stuff don't have to
touch the bare metal of the roof. I carry rollup exercise pads for
little ones to sleep on up there.

My wife and I have camped hundreds of nights in our 87 Syncro since I
put the poptop on 10 years ago. We also have a full Westy that we
sometimes travel in. For traveling the upper bed can be handy since you
can pull over and sleep without having to rearrange everything
downstairs. Many of the people I've met who travel in Westys agree that
the upper bed is most often used as a place to put stuff when camped.
When you do want it for the full sized bed it is great to have it but
that is not how it gets used most of the time.

Mark

Vanagon Man wrote:
>
> I am confused.
>
> Why have a pop top if not the bed with it?
>
> Adam P
> Charleston,SC     Coburn, WV
> 81  Westy "The Brick "
> 70 Single Cab "Whitey"
> 74 Beetle "Ol Yeller"
> 73 Transporter (STILL at paint shop)
> 1988 Vanagon Wolfsburg
> 1976 Transporter (New CA bus)
> 1974 412 "Goldmember"
> Used Vanagon Parts for sale (mostly aircooled)