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RatCamper Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2008 Posts: 3305 Location: Australia
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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I've been trying to think of a decent interior design for years. I love seeing all these solutions. I've come up with a lot of ideas but nothing which correctly addresses having a useful table. Why yesterday I even came up with what I think is a brilliant idea for a transformable long side seat which can turn into a bench ...but still no idea how to do a table
All I want from an interior is a way for 4 people to sit in the back and have access to a table and have a little storage space. Surely that can't be hard? _________________ Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based pop-top camper (LCA / Sunliner). Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002. |
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webwalker Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2006 Posts: 2803 Location: Mount Laurel, NJ
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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It isn't that hard, as long as you don't insist that they sit in the same seat that they ride in while underway. The cleverest stuff I've seen are collapsible stools (sometime called 'buddy stools') that you could stash pretty much anywhere, and haul up to the table when eatin' time came. Or a game of cars, or beer pong. Or whatever.
My thoughts are increasingly moving toward designs that leave the vehicle 98% unmolested, 98% of the time (so it can be a people and stuff mover) and when I get the itch to leg it off to nowhere, it takes 15 minutes to retrofit, and I'm a camper. (Bows.)
One of the things I've been think about is this crazy idea of cabinets. Heavy wood, ++on weight. Why such a edifice, if the only purpose they serve is to have a cupboard to hide the frosted flakes in, and a place to stash the silverware? While thinking that over, I was glancing though the design of the Hazet Assitent:
If you skin them in something collapsible, it is an envelope to hold the insides in, while providing hard shelves to put stuff on when you kit up for camping.
Apparently these are the rage now:
Well, buy three of these in the right sizes, and you're ready to go. Add the aluminum top and you can use alcohol burners to stew your supper like Klaussinator does here. All you need is to work out attaching the frame to the walls/floors and you're actually pretty nicely SET.
Comments appreciate. I know the idea is off the wall, but given my constraints, help me poke holes in the idea so I can make it better.
M
_________________ "Consistent maintenance with quality products is the cheapest warranty you'll ever need."
1977 CE1 Transporter Deluxe, Subaru EJ22, Skills Cooling, Steedle HD 091 w/ GuardT .82 4th
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rcnotes Samba Member
Joined: July 09, 2005 Posts: 641 Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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How much weight are you actually adding? You want a nice, spare and clean looking interior appropriate to a vintage VW camper? They don't come cheap in time and/or money.
Please don't take it personally, but those aluminum tube and canvas things would look completely out of place in a vintage VW camper. They're fugly and sterile looking. People will talk behind your back like they do about my spare tire carrier |
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RatCamper Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2008 Posts: 3305 Location: Australia
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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My bay has been molested so much that if it were ...no I won't go there. The heavy cabinetry does bother me a lot and I don't get it. Even the sort in camper trailers / caravans unless it's different over the pond is thin ply with a lightweight pine frame. I think that was the type my camper had when it was fitted too. I saw the rotted remnants of one of the cabinets once at the PO's place 12 or 13 years ago so so it's a little hazy.
No I have no specification for people to be seated in the same place for motoring / using the table. in fact I would not allow the table to be deployed while moving under any circumstances.
For a while during one of its stages as being unregistered / permit, I think it was around the time I moved from about 2/3 the way up the continent to the bottom I had a "prototype" solution. you know those cheap bolt together wobbly free standing metal shelves with razor sharp edges? Well what I did was this:
Assembled it as two discrete lots of shelving because it has 8 uprights which bolt together normally. The top shelf on each one I had up the right way. The other ones I bolted on upside down so there was a large lip to hold things.
Then I bolted the two sections together lengthways. This gave me a set of shelves almost the exact right length, width and height to fit along the side, as a bonus it even had a sort of bench on top. The I used bungee straps (although those springy curtain cords would be better, but I didn't think of that) to put the straps lengthways along the gaps between the shelves at useful intervals so it kept things restrained but I could still pull them through between the cords when I wanted them. I was considering putting some ply or something over them to pretty them up etc, but decided against it.
I'm not going to bother with a sink as a plastic tub sitting on a table / bench will do the job. Don't need a microwave as shore power is barely ever used, and would use one of those little aerosol burners for heating / cooking. I love mine and use it in the kitchen to be honest.
I've drawn up heaps of designs but none ever sit right with me.
If anyone wants i could take a picture of the little range hood in our caravan / camper trailer if they haven't seen what a baby one looks like. _________________ Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based pop-top camper (LCA / Sunliner). Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002. |
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webwalker Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2006 Posts: 2803 Location: Mount Laurel, NJ
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 7:55 am Post subject: |
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rcnotes wrote: |
How much weight are you actually adding? You want a nice, spare and clean looking interior appropriate to a vintage VW camper? They don't come cheap in time and/or money.
Please don't take it personally, but those aluminum tube and canvas things would look completely out of place in a vintage VW camper. They're fugly and sterile looking. People will talk behind your back like they do about my spare tire carrier |
I know exactly how much weight its adding. The Late westy comes in at 250lbs dry over the Deluxe. Good job, Westphalia!
I don't have (like you keep referring to) a vintage VW Camper. At the moment, since the sale of my 8 year restoration Super Beetle 36 hours ago, I don't have anything but a stash of parts. (Which is why my avatar has changes....WITHDRAWAL!)
I'm not attempting to make a 'vintage VW Camper'. I'm thinking through a 'weekender' interior that can be swapped into a 7 seater Deluxe and swapped back before Monday morning comes. All original is fantastic, and I understand exactly how much work it would take. But that isn't my purpose; sorry if I was confusing by not stating that up front.
If I were able to balance the dry weight of the Deluxe with the weight of the vehicle with the center seat removed and the camping kit inserted, I'd be very happy. If I were able to IMPROVE on the dry weight, I'd be thrilled. But since I'm only dreamin dreams and waiting for my Bus to find me, I can enjoy the engineering ideas while not having to pay the penalty of actually doing them yet.
M _________________ "Consistent maintenance with quality products is the cheapest warranty you'll ever need."
1977 CE1 Transporter Deluxe, Subaru EJ22, Skills Cooling, Steedle HD 091 w/ GuardT .82 4th
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dangerbus Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2010 Posts: 239 Location: portland, OR/vancouver, BC
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williamM Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2008 Posts: 4333 Location: southwest Arizona
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Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 4:01 pm Post subject: would guess |
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Would guess you have hotdogs in the overhead???? _________________ some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.
opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.
Don't step in any! |
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Paintedbus Samba Member
Joined: September 14, 2003 Posts: 679 Location: salem, ma
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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Heres mine, its wrapped in burlap and is constantly evolving. Works well for long term camping.
In camping mode: icebox is gutted for storage of cooking stuff. Sink is modified to draw from a removeable water jug. Full width Rear seat, side cabinet and tables are out of a 74 westy (the leg table is actually the slide-out leaf from the 74 table) head banger is extended back to the window and is from a later hardtop westy. Front seats and belts are from an 87 passenger bus. Burlap suitcase is full of my hand tools, gloves and tapes.
Here its in driving position (before the swivel table) Large parts cooler is behind the passenger and you can see the overhead cabinet i upholstered to match (more burlap) its also a speaker box and extra bright led dome light. very handy for all that little stuff that accumulates!
_________________ Champagne Edition Roadtrip monster "Juakali"
~"Paintedbus" Ken~
The Mobile Muralist
WWW.PAINTEDBUSART.COM |
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Tcash Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2011 Posts: 12844 Location: San Jose, California, USA
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