Hi,

> Now a new question.  How do you camper owners get up to your luggage
> rack on top of the bus/vanagon?  

 I have an extra half-rack which is mounted on the passenger side of my
westy, it attaches to the gutter in the usual way on one side and is fixed
to the internal rack on the inboard end. The main purpose of this is to allow
me to use it as a normal roofrack for windsurfer masts, bikes etc. but without
raising the overall height of the van above two metres since many car parks in
Britain have 2m height restrictions.

 This rack extends about 15cm (9") beyond the pop top and the two bars are
about a metre (3' you knew that, though, didn't you :-) apart. This is a
convenient distance for me to grab a bar in each hand and then use them to
pull myself onto the roof. Then I strap everything down from up there.

 Obviously this requires a certain amount of agility so it may not be suitable
for everyone....

Cheers,
        W.
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