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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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 Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:13 pm Post subject: Rear hatch storage |
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In my quest to find every last piece of storage space in my Westy I am looking at modifing the rear hatch making some kind of storage compartments.
I have done a search here and found that people have done this but as yet know photos. Anyone have any?
So far i have opened up lots of little used areas and they have been great to stuff bits and bobs, especially with 2 kids and a dog, every little space helps! |
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madspaniard
Samba Member
Joined: August 18, 2008
Posts: 3795
Location: Alameda, CA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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Alaric has some pics of his rear hatch storage mod, there is a thread somewhere showing his pics
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1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD
"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali |
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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| madspaniard wrote: |
| Alaric has some pics of his rear hatch storage mod, there is a thread somewhere showing his pics |
Cheers
I am sure I am the worst at using the search thing as I can never seem to find what I am looking for. I find loads of other great stuff but never the post I want!
If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great.
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 7916
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Joe75 wrote: |
| madspaniard wrote: |
| Alaric has some pics of his rear hatch storage mod, there is a thread somewhere showing his pics |
If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great. |
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370855
You can also modify the panel to have pockets like this:
...or access doors, or something similar.
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~Kamz 
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
 1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子 |
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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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I like the idea of having small pocket in the slider as well just not sure how to go about it without coach trimming skills?
I have the Westy wood panel and don,t want to make a mess of it. |
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madspaniard
Samba Member
Joined: August 18, 2008
Posts: 3795
Location: Alameda, CA
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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 2:05 am Post subject: |
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Seen these but as I live in New Zealand the cost of post for parts can be very expensive so its more what I can make.
Vanagon parts here are hard to find as VW never officially imported Vanagons to NZ so there is only a handful of private imports. |
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lloydy
Samba Member
Joined: September 15, 2010
Posts: 715
Location: cheam surrey
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| Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 6:37 am Post subject: |
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loving those slider pockets
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“Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.” |
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randywebb
Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005
Posts: 3815
Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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| Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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couple of issues:
things in slider pockets will get rained on when door is open
things in hatch will make it heavier so you may need stronger shocks on it
if you are a person who wants to max. out the insulation in the van, both storage areas will reduce insulation
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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| randywebb wrote: |
couple of issues:
things in slider pockets will get rained on when door is open
things in hatch will make it heavier so you may need stronger shocks on it
if you are a person who wants to max. out the insulation in the van, both storage areas will reduce insulation |
I see your thinking but I don't tend to leave the slider open for long when it is raining! My rear hatch has stronger struts for a bike with is is now long gone so a little extra weight should be ok.
Keep the ideas coming |
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chazz79
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2008
Posts: 2268
Location: ohio
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| Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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I'm in the middle of doing this right now
I had the rear card off to repaint a mismatched hatch and noticed how much crap the kids put in there while camping. I also liked how well the hatch speakers worked on my bay so I thought I'd kill a couple birds with one stone here.
The pockets are asymetrical because there's a wiper motor and lock motor back there that get in the way. The sides could hold more crap but I boxed them in to hold som 6x9 speakers. This is the best location in a van/bus to add sound. Speakers aimed forward so everyone can hear them in the van and when parked aimed down so as not to piss off neighboring campers but provide great "outside the van tunes".
I'll be upholstering this soon and scouring the junk yards for some bungee netting (like used in suv's cargo areas) To cover the storage bins.
I'm looking into adding some sort of hatch latch pull so you can pop the door from the inside. Eventually I think this will be the ideal mod that most vanagon folks will aim to duplicate. The materials have been low @50.00 but time has been 3 hours.
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Joe75
Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2005
Posts: 260
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| chazz79 wrote: |
I'm in the middle of doing this right now
I had the rear card off to repaint a mismatched hatch and noticed how much crap the kids put in there while camping. I also liked how well the hatch speakers worked on my bay so I thought I'd kill a couple birds with one stone here.
The pockets are asymetrical because there's a wiper motor and lock motor back there that get in the way. The sides could hold more crap but I boxed them in to hold som 6x9 speakers. This is the best location in a van/bus to add sound. Speakers aimed forward so everyone can hear them in the van and when parked aimed down so as not to piss off neighboring campers but provide great "outside the van tunes".
I'll be upholstering this soon and scouring the junk yards for some bungee netting (like used in suv's cargo areas) To cover the storage bins.
I'm looking into adding some sort of hatch latch pull so you can pop the door from the inside. Eventually I think this will be the ideal mod that most vanagon folks will aim to duplicate. The materials have been low @50.00 but time has been 3 hours. |
Thanks for the photo.
For us speakers here would be a pain as the rear hatch is normally buried in 2 feet of duvets and pillows etc, plus when we sleep we have our heads at that end and sleeping against the speakers might give us a headache!
I just need some more storage. |
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danfromsyr
Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004
Posts: 15144
Location: Syracuse, NY
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:21 am Post subject: |
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I'm planning to make the raer hatch have 2 velor lined depressions to hold our pillows while we travel
a small bungee across the depressions and they'll stay there when we open the hatch, keeping them from fallingout and into a puddle or such..
that plus a few inches more for my head/arms while sleeping would be welcomed. I plan to use the aluminized bubble wrap and a layer of cardboard backer then covered with that velour headliner material at the fabric stores.
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joseph928
Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2011
Posts: 2114
Location: flagstaff az.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:37 am Post subject: rear hatch |
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 Brad re-did his interior and the rear hatch for his around the world trip. There in Peru now. They have a blog and did the interior on Samba--- Drive Nacho Drive --- he has lot's of ideas! http://www.drivenachodrive.com/about-nacho/installing-custom-cabinets-in-nacho-vanagon/
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1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug. |
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snowesty
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2005
Posts: 189
Location: Nelson, BC
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:50 am Post subject: |
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I to used this area for storage. Of my feet! I'm just a tiny bit too long for the bed, and the extra few inches provided by having the hatch panel off makes the world of difference for sleeping comfort...
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Steelhead
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2007
Posts: 1791
Location: Kentfield, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:51 am Post subject: |
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Chazz79 (or anyone else)-
Would love to see pics of your finished hatch panels with storage space. I'm redoing all panels now and I like the idea of a spot for books/watch/headlamp etc. I think the shock-cord net is the way to go (for visibility) but curious to see what people have done.
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32586
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Steelhead
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2007
Posts: 1791
Location: Kentfield, CA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:19 am Post subject: |
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| djkeev wrote: |
I'm torn on sliding door pockets, too vulnerable to weather and loss while getting in and out. Dave |
Yeah, for now I'm opting not to add pockets on the slider for a couple reasons. Without creating an insulated interior box I think it may "port" the sound of the closing door a bit. I'm also concerned about losing kid stuff out of and having it get caught/jammed when opening (if items are not fully inside the door). Knowing my daughters, I'll end up decapitating a bunch of dolls and stuffed animals.
I don't open the rear hatch too much, so I think easy-access storage would be useful here. The pillow holding alcove is a nice idea. Those of us with central locking and rear wiper have a little less space to work with.
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'77 Bay Window / '89 Caratsburg (aka. the Stormtrooper) |
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Zeitgeist 13
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12115
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 11:17 am Post subject: |
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I've long thought about installing one or two MB 123 first aid kit boxes in the rear hatch. If you cut the hole just right, they should pop right in for a perfect depth storage bin.
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32586
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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