Mounting your new westy tent mounts on slash bumpers

[dieselnut]

Someone asked me for some measurements, figured I'd post them in here in case others are buying the repro westy tents (or real ones) and need to know where to drill on their bumpers.

This is from a 1960 westy, bumpers are believed to be original as I have nearly everything from the 130K miles she's been on the road documented, and there is no accident damage.

Here is what the hole in rear bumper should look like when you're finished.

The hole is 1.2cm, but check your tent pole to make sure this works for your tent (especially impt. w/ the repros!)

If you suspend a tape measure from the very top of the the bumper (the tape measure needs to be straight, hanging up and down w/o touching the bumper), it is exactly 3 inches to the center of the tent hole.

The above photo isn't exact, as I was holding the camera and the measure at the same time. The measurement is exact however.

The hole is cut exactly 1.7cm to the rear of the edge of the bumper. This is measured to the forward edge of the hole, and this would be a horizontal line to the edge of the bumper.

The above photo isn't exact either, as I was holding the camera and the measure at the same time. Remember, you are measuring to the forward edge of the hole, not the top center.

Here is a shot of the front mount. It's almost centered between the dogleg portion of the towel bar and the upright, but is slightly towards the towel bar. (Yea, I know, the bolts need painted... Why paint the bolts alone when the hole bumper needs painted the proper color though?)

I get 13.1 cm for the following measurement, which is from the inner edge of the towel bar over to the dogleg bend on the tent mount.

I get 16.5 cm for the following measurement. For this one, you must line the tape measure up horizontally w/ the bottom of the tent mount and let it go straight to the upright. The measurement from the lower right edge of the mount to where it touches the upright is 16.5cm.

Finally, if you hook the end of your tape measure on the rear of the bumper and curve the measure around the front contour of the bumper, it is 6.2cm to the center of the passenger side bolt.

(If you don't have a towel bar, it is 54.5 cm from the rear most section of the bumper to the lower left corner of the tent mount.)

This is just one example, I don't know how exact these were from bus to bus (I would predict a few mm variation), nor do I know if it varied from year to year.

HTH! YMMV, ETC.

[exotic plants]

Good info, and nice photos. thanks.
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[hazetguy]

thanks for the info and the measurements, very helpful! measure a bunch, drill a couple times.

something about the rear bumper: there is a reinforcement in the back of the bumper for the splashpan mounting. make sure the hole is far enough away from that, or you will never get the securing nut for the tent pole on the stud when it sticks through the back of the hole. and/or the stud could hit the bracket and not go through the hole all the way.

and as far as the front bracket goes, not everyone will have uprights to measure off of. if anyone needs measurements for a euro bumper, i could measure the one on my 59 Westfalia (original euro bumper, original to the bus), or maybe dieselnut could measure from the edge/tip of the bumper to both sides of the bracket.

[dieselnut]

i edited the post and added the measurement in for the euro bumpers, good idea!

[Lind]

I would suggest having a few people measure the holes in the rear bumper. I think that they were not always in exactly the same location.

also, we could use measurements on the roof brackets.

when installing the roof brackets, install one completely, then assemble the tent poles and use them to get the exact final location of the other mount. that way you know the pole will fit on once it is all bolted down.
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[Clara]

from Vintage Meet 2006, when I set a tent up on the 65 westy for the first time, and was checking tent hole location:

[img] https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/291160.jpg[/img]
zapper:

hole I drilled:[img]https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/291165.jpg [/img]

sorry if the pics didn't show up right, this computer isn't right.

[Touch Nicks Thing]

Any info on what hardware to use for the roof tent mounts so23 style. I'm digging through a box of misc hardware and don't see any screws that look correct.

Thanks in advance,
Nick

[crofty]

The mounts on my SO34 had rounded head bolts and regular nuts on the inside.

Like this-

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[Touch Nicks Thing]

Ok, I have another question. I have the believed to be original tent bracket that came with my '63 SO-33, however, I do not have the original bumper. So, the question is, why the hell is this shaped wayyyyy different then all the other slash brackets in the gallery.

Has anyone encountered this goofy bracket before? Could anyone help a little homie out with some measurements?

Thanks,
Nick

[TDIvan]

I was searching for the measurements for mounting the front bumper tent bracket when I found this thread (thanks for the info!). The original roof bracket bolts are 5mm carriage bolts, they used the same bolts (or slightly longer) to hold the prop rod for the rear seat/bed on Vanagon westies.
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