the westy's cross brace has its analogue in the tin top van. A box
section  cross beam at the point just aft of where the sunroof would
go. In both cases i believe the cross brace is needed for torsional
stiffness in the body (and as mentioned, to support forward end of
westy bunk plywood). In the tin top, the beam is curved to match roof
curvature, in the westy its not.

Both van types have box section cross beam at forward end of roof
opening area.

alistair

On 28-Dec-10, at 8:10 AM, Thomas Buese wrote:

In my professional experience w/ structural engineering, I believe
that the Westy cross brace in the ceiling is more for the structural
support of the upper bunk than for cross bracing the roof-sunroof
models don't have that brace, right Craig?

YMMV,

Mr. BZ-you can never have too much headroom, but where do you store
your stuff?

On Dec 28, 2010, at 7:40 AM, craig cowan wrote:

> Ahh. I guess they did pull out some structural stuff.
> In that case, it may be somewhat compromised. How much? It's hard to
> say.
>
> -Craig
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 12:05 AM, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 7:30 PM, craig cowan
>> <phishman068@gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> It's only missing the top bunks right? They're not structural....
>>> So, "YES"?
>>>
>>> It looks good!
>>> If you don't use your top bunks, that looks slick!
>>>
>>
>> BUT it is missing all the sheet metal part of the top in that area
>> and
>> maybe more important the  very beefy cross brace at the front of
>> the bunk
>> the VW/Westfalia put in.
>>