When i got my 83.5 the rear, inner sliding door handle was verticle. I  like
it like that, as it looked proper. And that was my preference. One day the
rear handle in the vertical position just barely caught the paint on the outside
 of the bus when I opened the slider. Just a bit. But soon it would want to
really gouge the outside paint as the door slid back. So then my preference
became to have the handle horizontal. In the horizonatal position it clears the
 body for a longer time with a fair amount of clearance as the slider
mechanism  guide wears out. I'm guessing that square nylon sliding door guide is the
culprit. When it wears down the slider gets closer to the body and so does
that  rear slider handle.

That's my 2 cents.

Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA

In a message dated 5/14/2005 9:28:26 AM Pacific Standard Time,
JordanVw@AOL.COM writes:

doesnt  matter if its vertical or horizontal..  sit in the back seat and  try
it..your preference