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"Minihome" VW Bug Motorhome Conversion
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Thanatos
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

VWinie Prime wrote:
I was doing an online search tonight with my new DROID X - which also happens to be a cell phone <g> - and I came across this thread. I registered on this forum quite a while back, but I have not posted recently. Anyway, I wanted to add my "two cents" to this thread, FWIW.

{It will probably end up being about "four cents" by the time I get done typing, so bear with me.}

Greggholmes posted this link:
http://weburbanist.com/2010/06/13/vw-rv-ftw-the-amusing-amazing-beetle-minihome/

FWIW, I also found this "Weburbanist" webpage while was doing my online search that led me to this thread. I was searching for "Volkswagen Minihome" IIRC.

There is a photo near the bottom of the Weburbanist webpage that shows a Beetle with a light blue 'nose', and the words "GENE BUG" on it. Above that are two other photos of VW campers. The 'nice' looking one to the left, and a partial view of a 'less than nice' looking one to the right. The 'less than nice' one is {or was} called the "VWinie", and I owned it from 1980 to 1985. That photo was taken in 2002 by a lady doing survey work in Pinellas County, Florida {where I'm originally from}. I no longer live there, and I have no family or close friends in that part of Florida, so I've not been able to find out what became of the VWinie since that photo was taken. The lady who took the photo does not live in Florida, and she emailed me {a few years ago} and said that she didn't remember exactly where this location was.

This is what the VWinie looked like in the first half of the 1980's:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


You can see that photo, and a few others, here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockiteman_2001/sets/1547048/
{I'm "RocKiteman" on that photo website. That photo is also my avatar here on TheSamba.}

The VWinie was built by the OZARK BUG SHOP in Ozark, Alabama, prior to 1980. They did NOT go by the MiniHome plans, but scratch-built it after the Beetle got rolled over. {That's what they told me anyway}.

The VWinie had the stock 1600cc engine. It was underpowered, and top speed was usually about 45-50 mph. I've read that "MiniHomes" that were factory built - or built from plans - can go faster. As I have said, I did not build the VWinie, but I know it had a partial welded steel frame for the camper, so it was probably heavier than a MiniHome. And that weight, plus all that frontal area, is a lot for a 1600cc to push. {IIRC, I never had the VWinie 'weighed' while I owned it.}

I don't know if any of this is any help, FraserNash. PM me here if you have any more questions. Remember that the last time I saw the VWinie - other than that DEPRESSING PHOTO from 2002 - was in 1985, so everything I know is from memory.

-Allan, aka VWinie Prime, aka RocKiteman
N.E. North Carolina, USA

PS There are a couple of drawings on the Weburbanist page of a Beetle with a camper body on it that retains the front of the Beetle to the back of the driver- and passenger-side doors. There are also some little drawings of something similar 'decorating' the pages of my copy {1980 printing} of the HOW TO KEEP YOUR VOLKSWAGEN ALIVE manual by John Muir. I have no way to test this aerodynamically, but if I were EVER to try to build another VWinie, I've wondered if retaining more of the front end of the Beetle - instead of putting that nice flat AIR BRAKE of a windshield there - might help the aerodynamics just a bit.


Thank you... I've given up on this idea and decided to purchase a VW Rialta by Winnebago when finances permit.
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didget69
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

34FraserNash wrote:

Thank you... I've given up on this idea and decided to purchase a VW Rialta by Winnebago when finances permit.


I'd want to consider something other than the VW Rialta; they don't appear to have a very good build quality... LOTS of complaints on owner forums, and debates on who services it - VW or Winnebago. Two family members have each owned a Rialta, and both had VW and Winnie QC / build problems.

bnc
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Thanatos
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

didget69 wrote:
34FraserNash wrote:

Thank you... I've given up on this idea and decided to purchase a VW Rialta by Winnebago when finances permit.


I'd want to consider something other than the VW Rialta; they don't appear to have a very good build quality... LOTS of complaints on owner forums, and debates on who services it - VW or Winnebago. Two family members have each owned a Rialta, and both had VW and Winnie QC / build problems.

bnc


How about its predecessor, the Renault LeSharo/Phazar?
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VWinie Prime
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanatos wrote:
Thank you... I've given up on this idea and decided to purchase a VW Rialta by Winnebago when finances permit.


And this is an EXTEMELY late "YOU'RE WELCOME!!!"
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VWinie Prime: “In the environment on the planet Venus, you’d be crushed, corroded, and burned all at the same time.”

Mrs. VWinie Prime: “That sounds like a night of hot sex.”


{FWIW: She and I are divorced now, but STILL very close.}
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bluebus86
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:05 pm    Post subject: Re: "Minihome" VW Bug Motorhome Conversion Reply with quote

Hot VWs magazine Feb. 2018 has a feature article on a Bug Camper.


Keep a Buggin!
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VWinie Prime
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PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2018 5:25 pm    Post subject: Re: "Minihome" VW Bug Motorhome Conversion Reply with quote

bluebus86 wrote:
Hot VWs magazine Feb. 2018 has a feature article on a Bug Camper.

THANK YOU for that info!!!!!!!
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VWinie Prime: “In the environment on the planet Venus, you’d be crushed, corroded, and burned all at the same time.”

Mrs. VWinie Prime: “That sounds like a night of hot sex.”


{FWIW: She and I are divorced now, but STILL very close.}
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Wetstuff
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PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2018 9:41 am    Post subject: Re: "Minihome" VW Bug Motorhome Conversion Reply with quote

Thanatos... It's off marque, but you might also look at a TOY 22R based camper. There's a cult more firmly attached to them.

Jim
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