Rob:
I've "borrowed" one of the forked tongue weedpullers out of the toolshed
to make the job of removing the door panels in the vanagon much easier.
If you snake it right in close to the snap they are much easier to remove
without damage.  I wrapped the neck of the specialized tool with
electrical tape to reduce damage to the paint around the door panel edges.
Fish whatever tool you're using in close to the first snap and pry it
until it pops. Keep pressure outward and pop the rest of the snaps off.
Sometimes pays to have some help on the last snaps so that the panel
doesn't fall or rip the last ones off.
Best of luck,
Brent
http://www.weidefamily.net/vanagon