Interesting site, thanks. But for my 2 cents:
I've looked a lot of camper vans and my impression is that they are trying
to make them like mini motor homes inside with all the conveniences. Once
you cram all that in you end up with an isle down the center. It feels
cramped to me. What I love about the Westys that I haven't seen in any
other vans is two things:
1. the open space feeling inside compared to center isle designs.
2. all the windows in the Westy give an even more open feeling. I don't
want to go to beautiful country and sit inside and look at the walls. I
like light and an open view.
That my 2 bits,
Bill
90 Westy Syncro
Lake Tahoe

----------
> From: S Sittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
> To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Westfalia alternative (was Re: A Ford Westy)
> Date: Tuesday, November 17, 1998 6:58 PM
>
> >  Date:        98-11-17 19:17:36 EST
> >  From:        Ari@OLTECO.COM (Ari Ollikainen)
> >
> >  >Date:       98-11-17 18:16:04 EST
> >  >From:       Douglas_M_BENSEN@UMAIL.UMD.EDU (db25)
> >  >
> >  >Check out www.gtrv.com to see a Ford E-150 converted into a Westy
similar
> >  >to ours...
> >
> >          Interesting...I always wondered why a decent copy of a VW
camper
> >          couldn't be created in a BigThree van body...
>
> The nicest alternative I've seen to a Westfalia is the Sportsmobile.
> They have a straight-up pop top on a full size or extended Dodge,
> Ford, or GM van.  They have about 40 "standard" floor plans, but
> they'll do a custom layout at no extra charge.  I haven't seen one
> "live", but from the pictures and reviews it looks like first class work.
> The company's been since the 1960's - they actually did
> the first pop-top conversions of VW busses (and there's a picture
> of one on their web site.)
>
> I got their "design your own camper" literature packet a little over a
> year ago, and had great fun with it - they give you an "empty" van
> floor plan and little cut-outs of the furniture and such.  I talked to
them
> a few times, and they were very helpful.  Eventually, though, I decided
> a new van was too expensive, and we found a used Westfalia instead.
>
> The campers run about $40000, and that's pretty fully loaded.  Note that
> that's not much more than a new Eurovan camper, but it's bigger inside
> and better equipped.  One of their standard floorplans, the "RB-50", is
> basically a copy of the Westfalia/Eurovan floorplan.
>
> They have a web site at www.sportsmobile.com.  I just took a look at it
> today, and they've completely redesigned it from the last time I looked -
> there's quite a bit of information there now.  Looks like there's still a
> broken
> link or two, though, and the "request more information" option doesn't
> appear to work.
>
>                                                      -Steven Sittser