On Jan 7, 2008, at 2:16 PM, Michael Elliott wrote:

> Beats me -- Mrs Squirrel and I prefer sleeping downstairs. Tom --
> do you
> use the upper bunk?

I relegate non consensual guests to the upper bunk, but I have slept
up there until I figured out it was not as comfy as downstairs.

Tom

>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> KG6RCR
>
>
>
> On 1/7/2008 12:35 PM Jake de Villiers wrote:
>
>> Way to go guys!  Nice job with the design Tom and thanks for the Wiki
>> Rocky.
>>
>> Any trouble getting in and out of the upper berth with the shelf
>> there?
>> I can't really see how much of the access slot the BZ covers.
>>
>> Thanks again, Jake
>>
>> On Jan 2, 2008 5:40 PM, Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@gmail.com
>> <mailto:camping.elliott@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Back in August or so Mrs Squirrel and I became frustrated with
>> having to
>>     deal with boxes of groceries and stuff which were constantly
>> underfoot
>>     when camping in places where the local critters were eying our
>>     comestibles
>>     with considerable interest. I wondered whether it might be
>> possible to
>>     hang a shelf in the otherwise unused overhead space at the
>> front of the
>>     raised poptop and posted a proposal involving chains and
>> skyhooks and
>>     stuff, an idea that was doomed to never work.
>>
>>     Several folks suggested better ways to go about it, but
>> nothing seemed
>>     very easy to me. Then Tom Buese, who was apparently looking
>> for an
>>     excuse
>>     to avoid doing real work, popped up with a design for a shelf
>> which
>>     mounts
>>     easily on the poptop's crossarm with a couple of hardware
>> store U-bolts,
>>     holds a surprising amount of stuff when deployed, and folds
>> flat against
>>     the roof when the top is down. He put together a prototype and
>>     emailed a
>>     dimensioned drawing of his idea to me. I banged a version
>> together in a
>>     couple of hours without hardly any significant loss of blood
>> and mounted
>>     it up. After a test on a short camping trip, it has become a
>> permanent
>>     addition to our Westy. Best thing I've ever done -- besides
>> marrying Mrs
>>     Squirrel, I'd say.
>>
>>     After the Vanagon Wiki went "live" this year I suggested to
>> Tom that we
>>     could post a how-to article about his "BZ Shelf" but it took
>> him a
>>     bit of
>>     time to take the pictures and refine the drawing. But finally,
>> after
>>     considerable nagging on my part, I got him to post the stuff
>> to me so I
>>     could write the article.
>>
>>     If you're like me, able to use a reciprocating saw without
>> hardly ever
>>     cutting off a finger, own a Westy, and find yourself sometime
>>     wishing you
>>     had a darn place to put pots and pans and coolers and stuff
>> that seem to
>>     crowd your floor when camping, do yourself a favor and build a BZ
>>     Shelf. I
>>     reckon you'll be glad you did.
>>
>>     So here it is, with Tom's permission: photos and plans at
>>     http://vanagonwiki.net/index.php/Buese_Shelf
>>     <http://vanagonwiki.net/index.php/Buese_Shelf>
>>
>>     --
>>     Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>>     71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
>>     84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>>     74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
>>     KG6RCR
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jake
>> 1984 Vanagon GL
>> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>> Crescent Beach, BC
>> www.crescentbeachguitar.com <http://www.crescentbeachguitar.com>
>> http://subyjake.googlepages.com/