Ron Salmon, The Bus Depot, Inc., wrote:

"By comparison, aftermarket ones historically vary by a pretty
significant amount, resulting in finished installations that are either
too billowy, or so tight you can see the lift arm knuckles pushing at
the canvas."

Mine is the latter: the knuckles are very visible. And the canvas seems
to be thinner than the original, too. Don't recall where I got it.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.

On 07/23/2014 06:41 AM, The Bus Depot wrote:
>> Debating about the OEM ($399) vs
>> the Bus Depot version at $249
>
>> I ordered the Bus Depot model
>
>> I installed one of the Bus Depot/Just Kampers ones
>
>> I replaced mine with the 399.00 OEM style 3 window
>> that appears by the tag to be made by vwbusshop.com
>
>> This leads to another question. I see various tents advertised as "OEM
> 3-window"
>> and wonder what this means.  If the original tents had only one window,
> what's
>> OEM about a 3-window tent?  Everything else, dimensionally and
> material-wise?
>
>
>
> Allow me to chime in here since there is understandably some confusion.  OEM
> stands for Original Equipment MANUFACTURER, so it means it comes from a
> supplier to VW or Westfalia but is not necessarily identical to the original
> in every way. In this case the difference is the three windows.  Also they
> use the later style removable front flap and screen (used by Westfalia from
> 1990 on) which can be replaced if you are unfortunate enough to get it
> caught in the latch and rip it.  We distribute the OEM canvas in the U.S.
> and vwbusshop (who is not the actual manufacturer) distributes it in
> Germany. (GoWesty also lists it on their site, but for a much higher price
> because they buy it from a middleman.)
>
> The Bus Depot one is quite frankly a nearly dead-on clone of the OEM one. We
> tried to match it as closely as possible, right down to the weight, look,
> and feel of the material, the screens and stitching, and of course the
> dimensions. We did enlarge the side windows slightly, and increased overall
> size by an inch or so to make installation just a tad easier (although it is
> still a tight fit as per original spec), but for all intents and purposes it
> is an OEM clone.  If you looked at them side by side you'd have a really
> hard time identifying which was which. I know because I spent about two
> years doing just that with sample after sample until we got it right.
> (Incidentally, referencing the above quote, ours is not made by Just
> Kampers, but at one time we did offer theirs so that probably explains the
> confusion.)
>
> The problem with aftermarket canvas is that historically none of the
> aftermarket suppliers have been able to match the quality control of the OEM
> supplier, which is absolutely impeccable.  The original spec allows almost
> no margin for error, and somehow the OEM supplier gets it just right every
> time. By comparison, aftermarket ones historically vary by a pretty
> significant amount, resulting in finished installations that are either too
> billowy, or so tight you can see the lift arm knuckles pushing at the
> canvas. Worse yet is getting most of the way through the installation and
> discovering that the canvas is way off, cut unevenly, etc. Frustration with
> this inconsistency was a major reason why I decided to produce our own.  In
> order to ensure that each Bus Depot brand canvas meets OE spec, each one is
> independently measured a second time once it reaches our warehouse, and
> issued a serial number that corresponds to the measurements of that specific
> canvas. If it doesn't meet spec it doesn't leave the building, plain and
> simple.  With this extra level of QC (which no other poptop canvas undergoes
> besides ours), our return rate is equal to that of the OEM canvas (well
> under 1 percent).  That being said, it will still be very tight, which is by
> original design. You must pull the canvas very taut every step along the way
> while you install it, or else by the time you reach the last corner you may
> not be able to get it to reach. That is by far the most common mistake when
> installing a (properly sized) poptop canvas.
>
> So, which one to buy? In my opinion you can safely save your money and go
> with the Bus Depot one instead of the OEM one and you'll never know the
> difference. We've been selling it for years now so it has a strong track
> record in terms of both fit and quality. I'd put one on my own Westy without
> hesitation.  On the other hand, the OEM one is unquestionably the best
> quality you can buy at any price, and some people would rather pay a bit
> more for a top-of-the-line original than for a copy no matter how close, so
> that's why we offer both choices.
>
> Of course there are other options as well.  We offer an Acrylic (aka
> Sunbrella or Outdura) version that is made by the same U.S. factory that
> supplies GoWesty and other retailers (although we sell it for less).  I am
> not a tremendous fan of acrylic as a poptop canvas material but some people
> love it so we offer it.  There are also two materials that other companies
> use for poptop canvas which do not meet our standards. One is polyester (not
> to be confused with acrylic, despite advertising copy that makes it sound
> similar; a bit deceptively IMO), and the other is hemp. While there are
> perfectly good uses for both of these, poptop canvas is not one of them.
> You can see my article on the various fabric options and canvas choices at
> <http://www.busdepot.com/details/canvas/> .
>
> Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
>