What? You do not need a Westfalia? Sacrilege?

[iliketowalk]

Astro Provan GT

Poptop:

Hightop:

They come up for sale anywhere from $8-15k.

Some of them have AWD.
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1986 Weekender "Birch"

[thummmper]

Mr. syncro jael I just love your pacific blue pop tent--I made and installed a sunbrella pac blue headliner in my Baja bug in the eighties--amazingly no wrinkles but just bearly--It sucked up all the light inside as it was too dark for that little car--but it still looked awesome---
I sleep just fine in my tin top, with more first floor room sans cabinets, although I built a tilt up bench box behind the drivers seat for loose gear--

The perspective is whether you are in love with something or not--we don't know why we love something, we just do.
for the money, I expect I will have 30 k in my next vehicle, over a ten year period. it will sleep 4 adults and maybe a couple of children--It's a '75 GMC motorhome with the air suspension and front wheel drive--[she's a rocket]
true, she gets 8 to 10 mpg and needs load range E tires, but it's the airstream of motorhomes--all aluminum cabin with boxed steel tubular frame, onan 6kw gen and a stand alone shower. She weighs in at 12k lbs gross, loaded. that's the same as a ford excursion with a fat family sitting in.

the westy is too nitchy for the novice, and all the parts are intimidating. So many people want a rental experience, buying a vw for the summer and selling it on the way back to Denmark. vws just cant deliver that in disrepair, which all the cheap ones are.

[Zeitgeist 13]

[ZsZ]

It looks like there is a big demand of well designed campervans (and not small RVs) in the states. As the newer transporters are missing from the market there are no suitable base vans except the Chevy which is not a beloved one as I can see.
However IMO this lack is only marginal and only represented here as these people found the westys useful. I think the general USA lifestyle cause that lack. I saw some advertising videos on RVs and the need for a king size bed with a ft thick matress, a 5ft wide tv, a full size fridge was always mentioned even at sprinter based vans.

And for the DIY section mentioned before: I think the few thousand price is achievable when you use 30yr old second hand appliances as they are the same in the westys.
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[iliketowalk]

[metropoj]

Those Astros are neat looking ! I'd never seen those styles before.

Alas, they fall into the 'made for 2' category as best I can tell and why we went back to the small footprint of the VW Westy for the family of four.
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John.
86 TiiCo powered Westy.

[Zeitgeist 13]

[tarandusVDub]

[iliketowalk]

[iliketowalk]

[danfromsyr]

the provan is much much more rare than even a syncro westy.. especially if seeking a AWD version. they come up only once in a while. you can find a syncro westy 4sale any day of the week.. now prices.. that's a different scale of economies.
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[iliketowalk]

[SCM]

My friend has a pop-top Pro-van. It's a bit more spacious and accommodating for 2 people to hang out in although popping the top and converting the seats into a bed is quite a bit more complicated than those tasks are in a Westy.

My 2WD Westy is way more off-roadable than the Pro-van due to higher clearance and tighter turning radius (sure, the lengths are the same but I don't think the wheel bases are).

I think a Westy makes a better daily driver due to the seating arrangement but that's not why I bought mine - I personally wouldn't want any Vanagon as a daily driver.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[Terry Kay]

While you are totally infatuated with the Vanagons unique set up, you are forgetting about it's limitations.

It's not hwy. speed worthy, it cannot climb over steep grades in a single boundm it's cargo space is really limited, and parts to maintain them & keep them running are rediculas.

How bout the folks marooned with a blown engine as we speak?
It's going to take Ten Thousand dollars ,plus , pkus , plus, and one hell of a motel & grocery bill to boot.

Let re-align your thought process.
You can buy a brand new crate motor small block Chevy, for $4000.00, buy a rebuilt small block LT-1 for $1500.00 plus labor.

I can't see any more benifits of rolling in BFE in a Vanagon, beyond their unusual , odd platform, and interior amenities.

For this anyone should pay intergalactic repair costs, and have a totally unreliable vehicle to boot?

I don't get the tribes rational.
Be cool ( in their minds ) or be able to fly with dependability built in.

Maybe fun is being broke down in Never-never land with a big repair bill looming over your heads.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Interesting.

Plus the VW with the rear situated engine limits the loads you can roll in the rear doors.

How many motorcycles can you ramp into the back end and fly down to Daytona for Speed Week?
None.
Standard US Van, 2 real easy, 3 two forward ,one backwards, 4- two road bikes , two flat trackers,
And this is just in the back of the van.
The forward area you still have room for the amenities, and still fly at 8O mph.
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T.K.

[photogdave]

[SCM]

All that said, does it bug anybody else that anyone with an internet connection and a few fingers can post some inane blog? I mean, really, does anyone need to read an article about how to car camp? Folks have been doing that for as long as there have been cars.

I'm certain that the nights I've spent in my Westy are still far fewer than those I've spent in a tent outside of my other vehicles or in the back of my old pick up truck.

Dam* kids better stay off my lawn too.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[SCM]

[iliketowalk]

[Merian]

[vanagonjr]