WESTY so42 tent rail

[srfndoc]

The tent rail/clamps are reproduced now by nlavw.com.
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RPM=(MPH*336* (R&P*4th*1.26))/Tire Diameter in inches

[LAGrunthaner]

Bill my 67 B42 is missing the tent and I saw nothing to indicate any of the rain gutter fasteners in the boxes of parts I received from the PO. I'm just surprised that multiple holes would have ever been considered as a fastening system for a temporary used item such as a tent attachment.

[iamdonquixote]

[BulliBill]

Yeah, I have an original Westy SO-42 tent with poles and stakes, it's "boot", the two-part tent rail and an original Westy wood-slat roof rack. I haven't set up the tent in quite a few years, but they are handy and really expand your shelter while camping. I guess there were some reproduction tents made for a short while that looked pretty nice...

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[[email protected]]

[BulliBill]

I just looked at the nlavw.com site and searched for the repro tent rail set and clamps but couldn't find them. Anyone have a link to those items?

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[crofty]

[crofty]

[Major Woody]

[BulliBill]

Great suggestion. When I first installed my tent rail (clamp type) to my Camper way back in 1984 or so I didn't know that there was a plastic "U" strip initially installed onto the painted raingutter. But there was no way in hell that I was going to clamp my tent rails onto that freshly painted raingutter without figuring out some sort of gasket or soft buffer! I settled on a can of that paint-on liquid red tool handle coating. With a small brush I painted a nice coat onto the gutter contact surface of the tent rails and let it dry for a few days. Then installed it. It's been on the Bus ever since and it is holding up fine since 1985. But when I saw the photo with that perfect white "U" channel I was hoping to find more of it to re-do mine!

I wish that Wolfsburg West, NLAVW or one of the other Camper part supply shops would reproduce it for all of us. I'm betting that the vast majority of us with SO-42 tent-rails for their campers do not have that "U" channel in nice or even usable condition anymore. I'd sure buy some!

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[iamdonquixote]

[Craig]

Pics from the gallery:

[Okie Adam]

I have what I believe to be an original set (long front piece and a small rear piece) of the gutter protectors. They aren't white though. They are oxidized but look to have been a blue gray color. I'll have to try to remember to get a pic. Anyone else seen a color besides white?
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Oil Capital Air Cooled
55 Wolfsburg Kombi
60 Walkthrough Kombi
62 Single Cab
66 21window
67 so42
76 Westy
64 Karmann Ghia

[crofty]

[BulliBill]

As mentioned above, here a a couple of photos of how I tackled that not having that plastic "U" channel sleeve on the rain gutter back in 1985 when I mounted the original tent rails (yep, I used 1980's SAE fasteners, but the tent rails and nine clamps are originals - no repo's back then). I dipped the clamp ends and brush painted on red "tool dip" on the contact surface of the tent rails.

If someone figures out how to reproduce that thin plastic "U" channel, let the rest of us know!

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[Okie Adam]

[BulliBill]

Yeah, that was "owner installed" (by me).

Way back in 1986 or so when I initially refreshed/painted the Bus, I didn't have a correct Westy tent yet, but I already had the Westy tent rail set. I soon found an aftermarket Sundial or similar era-correct tent and it attached it's frame tubing to the Bus differently (didn't use the Westy yellow canvas "boot" connector strip). The aftermarket tent had flattened conduit frame ends, so I carefully drilled and then filed out a perfect slot/hole at the forward and rearward ends for the flattened conduit so that the tent could attach nicely to the Westy tent rails attached to my rain gutter. Shortly afterward I was able to locate and score a beautiful condition and complete, correct 1965-67 Westy floorless tent/boot/pole set/bag set/stakes, original guy line tie-downs, etc (minus a fresh pair of those white "U" channel plastic sleeves I and others would like to find). I quickly sold the aftermarket tent and the rest is history. The "slotted" tent rails are still mounted on my Camper, but I also happen to have an extra complete tent rail set to swap on some day when I can't find anything better to do...

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[Okie Adam]

A worthy mod I'd say. I thought maybe a variation of tent rail might have been discovered.
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Oil Capital Air Cooled
55 Wolfsburg Kombi
60 Walkthrough Kombi
62 Single Cab
66 21window
67 so42
76 Westy
64 Karmann Ghia

[crofty]

Just to note- The tent rail on my'65 doesn't extend under the drip rail.
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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[BulliBill]