VW Camper: Seats Five, Sleeps Five?

[bowman]

I am new to VW campers and have been researching them to find one for my first purchase. What I am looking for is a camper that seats five (either a three seat bench or two seat bench in back with an extra seat behind the driver or passenger side) and sleeps five (two in the pop top, two down below, and a hammock up front). I have three small kids so I would put two up top and one in the hammock.

The other key piece is that I would like to have at least a sink but prefer it with the entire package (stove, sink, refrig, etc.). I have found a 1978 that sleeps five but only has four seats and I have found several that seat five but do not have the hammock (74 and 75, the ones I saw did not have a hammock, but I am hoping some did have a hammock).

So, my question is: Is there any year, make, model that seats five and sleeps five?

I order the book VW Camper - The Inside Story: A Guide to VW Camping Conversions and Interiors 1951-2005 by David Eccles which shows up tommorow, but I am afraid this will not have the information I need. Any help would be great. Thanks!

[nemobuscaptain]

As for US spec westies:

68-72 seats 5 (2 on 3/4 width zbed seat and 1 on jumpseat) and sleeps 4 (2 on the zbed, and 2 in the cots but the cot up top and over the front seat are only suitable for small kids)

74-75 seats 5 (3 on full width zbed seat) and sleeps 5 (2 on bottom zbed, 2 on fullsize top bed, and 1 child on the front cot)

76+ seats 4 (2 on 3/4 width zbed) and sleeps 5 (same as 74). I guess the 5th person has to ride in the luggage rack on the way to the campsite.

That being said, you can always mix and match. If you get a 76+, you could remove the cabinetry and put an early jumpseat behind the drivers seat. Or get a 74-75 zbed. Or widen the zbed yourself by cutting fullwidth plywood and covering it with foam and vinyl or cloth like the original. Adding a real bed to the early poptop is possible also. Search this site for Benthin and it will give you the links. Adding a late westy top to an early westy is possible too. (I have one.) But you are in for major work. Search yahoo for westfakia to see the project.
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[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

Your easiest option is the 74 or 75. If one doesn't already have a child's cot over the front seats, putting the mounts in for one is easier than almost any other mod you'd do to another year. Check the classifieds here, cots come up in baywindow parts. There's five in my family, and we have a 74. We never use the sink though, so I'm thinking about taking it out, and putting a jumpseat in, to separate the kids on the long drives!

Good luck,
Jeremy

[Birdibus]

My 74 has the brackets for the front cot, but I don't have the cot. The headrests have to be removed temporarily to install it. Mine don't remove easily, and I don't have a child, and I like to use the front seats while camping, so I passed on buying a replacement cot. 74 and 75 are the years with the most seats and bed spaces.
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'74 Westfalia Yosemite Yellow
'71 Bus Niagra blue and white

[TeamSpatula]

You can also try to find a front bench seat model, although they are very rare in the US...gets you extra seating at least...
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[jtauxe]

The 5 problem is one of the reasons I sold Yellow Bird.

We, too, have three kids (we were shotting for 2, but #2 turned into 2 more!) and I had modified the bench to take three by adding another seat belt. While they were small it worked, but now it's a tight fit. Way too tight for a trip of any length.

The Westy was ideal for two adults. One more small kid was OK. Three kids and two adults it simply too big a family for this vehicle. We got a poptop trailer and tow it behind the Caravan. The Westy is still goo for one-kid-at-a-time camping trips with Dad, though. They love that!
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"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
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1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[bowman]

I know several people have said that a VW camper is just to small for five, yet I have had at least one response saying that he has three kids and it works well.

I have young, small kids and want them (and myself) to experience the VW camper. I figure I have at least three or four good years while they are young and small to make a go at it.

After hearing from a lot of people, it looks like I can make this happen with a 74 or 75, or maybe an early 80s with modification. Adding an attached tent sounds like it could be the long term solution.

My book, VW Camper - The Inside Story, arrives this afternoon which I hope will shed some more detailed light on the issue.

Now that I am getting down to the few possible options, I need to find one that fits and is in decent shape ... that seems like it will be a challenge. I have search everywhere and found only one or two that even come close. Any ideas?

[BugChick6066]

My family includes five. We had a '72 bus that had the FULL poptop. Some say a Riviera, some say a custom..who knows. It fit us just fine. Two kids up top in the poptop, and my brother in the front seat in a cot (hammock type thing) and my parents in the back. We camped that way up until we were 12, 15 and 7. It also seated five. Two in the bench seat, one in the jumpseat (my seat...ahh good times) and my parents up in front. Man those were the days!
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[Birdibus]

bowman~ check you inbox for a personal message from me.
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`
'74 Westfalia Yosemite Yellow
'71 Bus Niagra blue and white

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

I'll get you some pictures bowman, hopefully tomorrow night.

Jeremy

[jasonious]

We have a 73 Riviera with a 78 interior. Handles the five of us no problem. 4 year old in the cot up front, 6 year old in the bed above and mom dad and the baby in back. We even have a little dog too! We have a westy tent and pull a single wheel trailer for our gear. Awesome setup. Check us out:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=jasonious

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

OK, got some pics for you, both of our 85 weekender, and 74 westy.

Here's what a weekender looks like inside, lots of room, and could sleep all five as is, 2 below three up top. As noted, you can get or make a child's cot for these too.

Here's the inside of the 74, with 3 kids seats

Here's the child's cot, with and with out kid, and one of the brackets, and one of the poles (the two poles are slightly different lengths.

[Birdibus]

jeremysmithatshawdotca~ cool, you took photos of the cot brackets. I have those, but not the cot. Looks good. Do you replace the headrests when the cot is not in place?

You have the same color Westy as I. Have we talked about the color before? Do you have any documentation, a sticker, or a brochure, or a touch up paint sample that states the color name?
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'74 Westfalia Yosemite Yellow
'71 Bus Niagra blue and white

[tds3pete]

It looks like jade green. I think the color is L091 from memory, but not sure.

Any automotive paint store can look it up for you. Some will mix a touch up can, some will sell you a pint.

Good luck
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'58 Westy camper-come and gone
'73 Westy-bought new in Holland,now gone
'86 Syncro weekender-come and gone
'79 Westy...Oscar
'95 Eurovan Camper/5 spd...Marsha Mellow

[Birdibus]

[EXITSTRATEGY]

what's wrong with a sleeping bag on the floor? or a tent for that matter?

right, we're talking about instilling a sense of propriety in kids.
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[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

I'm not sure what the color is called, I've never looked either. There are quite a few in town here, most of the 74s and 75s here are that colour. I could see how it could be called either a green or a yellow, it's both to my eyes. Looks a lot better, and perhaps a bit more yellow, when clean and polished up!

It wouldn't bee too hard to make cot poles if one had access to shears and a press brake. They could also be made from square tubing, or even eleictrical conduit. I have two front poles, and no rear pole, so I made the rear one out of 2 sizes of electrical conduit. It does the job alright, though I think square tube would be better.

We were out camping the past two days, and 1 proviso that I forgot to add before, was that there isn't room to store all the stuff you take in the bus when sleeping, so we have a couple of rubbermaid bins with lids we can leave outside, and a tarp to cover the kid's seats, to protect from rain and condensation. We also use a cooler for most of the food, but we could store some in the fridge, we just haven't too much in the past.

Jeremy