Trick for securing Vanagon Westy rear table?

[kalispell365]

[ledogboy]

[Yellow Rabbit]

My table never moves. A little dab of grease on both knob threads and I usually over tighten it.

My stove rattle was from the sheet metal box underneath the burners. I thought it was the lid for years. Eventually I took off the knobs, LED panel and long front trim piece. Then I saw the loose screws that hold the box to the wood base. They are a bugger to tighten. I ended up using an old hacksaw blade and bent the last 1/4” 90 degrees into a makeshift flat blade screwdriver. I spent an hour tightening the rearmost screw.

[GG099]

I give the knob a firm twist with my jar opening right hand and the smaller table stays in place. The circumference of the post where the bolt contacts it has become rough but there’s no hint of a deepening groove.

My dumb question is how to stop the stove from rattling. Please show me or tell me where you stuck rubber strips under the lid and how many did you need to get a silent stove?

[EugeneM]

Call me crazy or call me lazy. No mods.

[dgbeatty]

I put blue loctite on the m10 bolt. After it sets up cover the knob with a cloth and using a large pair of pliers break it loose. It will now be snug and will not back out. It may necessary to repeat every two or three years, Has worked well for us over the years.
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Schau in das Buch

[jimf909]

Brilliant! (or a steel 90* channel screwed to the table, no block needed) Too late though.

I cleaned up the edges on a plain old hardware store brace and screwed it to the table. Here’s hoping this latest contraption holds. It seems solid but I pull some heavy Gs on the skid pad.

I’ll keep my eye out for a better, one-piece solution and put it right on the bottom of he list.

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- Jim

[Paulbeard]

A strip of steel mounted on a block below the table would work with that magnet without screwing anything into the rubber bumper.
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Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[jimf909]

That’s the magnet...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013L36SXA/ref=o...k129040-20

Right now I have three small fender washers (about 1” in diameter) screwed to the table. I’m hoping to make something that matches the shape of the magnet a bit better today. I started hoping that a few flathead screws would work but they didn’t hold very well. I wish this magnet came with a mating steel plate but I couldn’t find that on amazon. Off to the hardware store for something better than washers.
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- Jim

[fishgo]

[jimf909]

I think I’ve landed on a solution that works for me.

My criteria:
- I don’t want to rely on twisting the knob with all my strength to keep the table from swinging out during travel. I also don’t want loosening the knob to be inordinately difficult for others who may be attempting to free the table from the Westy clamp death-grip. (The friction tape sounds like a good idea but it also sounds like a gooey mess after some time).
- The table needs to be secure, I really dislike the sound of the table slamming into the wall after the Westy tensioning contraption has failed to hold the table.
- I want it to be relatively easy to swing the table in and out, i.e. the Westy tensioning knob shouldn’t be so tight that the table is difficult to swing out.

I’ve tried magnets and was just about ready to try a positive spring pin in index hole similar to the centerpunch dimple ideas suggested in this thread.

As a last ditch effort I bought a sturdy magnet, screwed it to the c-pillar and I think I’m happy (so far). I tried magnets before but placed them where screws only went through the trim panel which isn’t sturdy enormous go for this application. Screwing into the c-pillar was a big step forward.

Magnet...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013L36SXA/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Screwed to the c-pillar is key...

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- Jim

[Capulina]

Magnetic strips Attach one to the edge of the table and another to the wall panel to match up. Another trick from my Dad.

[87RedWesty]

I used two 2 inch strips of Velcro. fastened one set to the edge of the table, and one set to the wall panel. Worked like a charm. Until I moved to where it gets really hot in the summer, at which point all the things I'd used Velcro for fell apart, because the glue quit working. So if you don't live in the desert, it's a simple and functional fix.

[Paulbeard]

[B.O.B.Wanders]

I've got the same "flap" thing that SCM mentioned. I used a few wraps of "Friction tape" on the pole and so far that has worked like a champ. Do they still even make that stuff? We even took a trip around the North Georgia mountains with no issues (as long as you remember to tighten it down after swiveling it, that is).
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83.5 WBX 2WD Assuan Brown Westy, B.O.B.

"It feels good to be lost in the right direction” - unknown

[fxr]

[PDXWesty]

Some electrical tape around the area where the metal clamp makes contact works too.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[SCM]

[BlueGrasser]

Seems like the plastic clips are equivalent to the door stop. It'll keep it from from banging around, but it an accident all bets are off (and hopefully not rear passenger heads ).

I think I might try drilling out the pipe through the knob hole. That's a great idea to secure it tight and there is no visible difference.
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Going to where the grass is bluer...
1985 Vanagon Westfalia Camper with 1.8T

[Vanagon Nut]

caveat: the table on my '81 is modified to sit at 3 different heights and is usually in the middle height position (below)

On the pillar mid point at table area, there is a bolt hole. On later model Westies the hole is covered. It will take a seat belt bolt (or the eye hook sold by some vendors). Since my height mod made the table swivel easier, I run a bungee from that bolt to table arm.

For normal height tables, if one didn't mind losing a bit of function and gaining a bit of "ugly", run a bungee from table underside across front of table to this hook? At one point I'd given thought to making something for this application but couldn't see past something like plate steel with hinged bit that hooked onto arm but that length of steel would bend too much in the event of an accident. Under normal driving conditions, it might be fine though.

Neil.

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA
(VW Gas I4)

1988 Westy DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN