Camping in a Tin-Top Vanagon?

[prlizzle]

Hey guys,

Very first post here, definately a noob. We have friends with a 70s Westy and we just recently camped with them... My wife fell in love with van camping and so here I am.

Anyways, a true Westy is a little out of our budget right now, but I found a great tin top Vanagon:

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/belleville/198...nFlag=true

Do any of you camp in tin tops?
We have 2 kids, hopefully a 3rd soon...

Do you just drive the van and camp in a tent? Or are there some bed set ups you guys have?

Any info would be greatly appreciated! Very excited to join this club.

[syncroluvr]

Welcome to the insanity! Keep looking through the sight, there are lots of folks that camp in a tintop!
_________________
1990 Syncro Westy with stump pulling 2576cc Subaru

Y2K V6 Passat

Calcandi Leviter

[vanagonjon]

We have had three Westies, and now camp with our Carat. We bring a huge canvas tent, and set up either a camp cot or tall inflatable mattress in the tent. I think that the idea of the Westphalia camper is very cool, but try to spend a week in one with two other people. We camp old school style with a coleman stove, cast iron pans, and large folding aluminum chairs for campfire comfort. One of the easy up type canopies works super to put over your camp table or picnic table. We camp in campgrounds with specific sites for tent campers, not RV parks. I am well over six feet tall, and enjoy the comfort of being in a big tent. With the center seats out of a tin top, you can put a huge amount of gear in the van.

John

[Birdcage]

We have a 5 and 3 year old and camp just fine in the tin top along with our 90# dog.

When the kids get bigger I imagine they'll use a tent, but for the next few years the van will be fine.

[syncrodoka]

Later model tin top vans rear seat rocks forward and then flat to make about a queen size bed.

[Snort]

I just came back from a 1400 mile cruise in my Carat. It works perfectly in campgrounds with the fold-down rear seat mentioned above. Bring a tent just in case your parking spot isn't ideal, or if you want to set up camp for a few days while you drive off a lot for hikes and cafes. Lower springs and T3Technique sway bar make it a nice highway cruiser which really helps you be relaxed when you reach your destination.

[prlizzle]

[dobryan]

Here is some good reading for you..

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=517506
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[iliketowalk]

Tintop + RocketBox (or similar roofbox) and you're golden. If you wanted to get really fancy - you could throw a roof top tent up there too.

That particular one looks like a decent deal - I wouldn't say it's once in a lifetime though. Front carpet appears to be missing, and the roof is primered black...?

The best van to camp in is the one you have / can buy and use. It's very easy to fall in the trap of "I'll buy this van and upgrade XYZ". 6 months later, the van is in pieces, and you're still throwing money and time at it, on the verge of [or already] burnt out and wondering what the hell happened to actually camping. Just to give you an idea out of how easy it is to fall into this trap, I've done it on 2 out of our 4 vans and am currently in the trap with one of them as I write this... Try to avoid the trap.

Edit Just looked at where you are - might make sense to jump across the border to NY, VT etc and try to find one. That said I'm guessing rust is a problem up there, and this one is supposedly "rust free". If you find a good one, it's worth traveling a bit to get it. For that money you might be able to find a Tintop with Weekender interior (folding table, rear facing jumpseat or seats) which (I find) a little more suited to camping than a 7 passenger, but they're also a bit more desirable.

On the upside, a Vanagon is a lower risk purchase (overall) as you can probably get out of it for what you have into it as long as you don't grossly overpay. Obviously that doesn't take into account catastrophic failure of any component, but if you put a "rebuilt" motor in it and sell it as such, you would probably realize some of that improvement in the sale price.

tldr; Any Vanagon can be made into a sweet camping-mobile.
_________________
1986 Weekender "Birch"

[shadetreetim]

The wife and I camped in our tintop Carat for the past 4 years. At first with just a table and ez-up. Then we upgraded to an awning g and camp kitchen. Adding a rocket box was great for the drive. Eventually we added a poptop to our tintop. What we never wanted was a full Westy interior. Lots of ways to get out and camp.
_________________
Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5

[tjet]

I asked that same question on this post...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7429545&highlight=tjet#7429545

They did some major camping in Africa with a tintop & a Westy

http://campervanculture.com/2014/10/4148/

[vanagonjr]

Just having a van to haul stuff, never mind it having a bed, it a huge upgrade from car camping, at least with a compact car. Imagine - bring camp chairs! An ARB awning has an optional room (with or w/o floor) that are both reasonably priced. You can make screens and curtains and put the savings into the kids college accounts. A rear screen with the snaps to install is readily available.

I second the notion of still hauling a family tent as sometimes the good camping is a bit away from the vehicle. Ditto on the roof top box.

There is no doubt, that for a family of four the Westy being to sleep all of you is a huge benefit, at least in a few years as the kids grow. However, considering how much time you really will camp in it, vs. a day trip machine, the tin-top, or at least the weekender interior even in a pop-top will be much appreciated.
_________________
John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[Yellow Van]

I have an 81 Riviera Weekender tin-top Vanagon. The pop top would be nice but I imagine the van would very cramped sleeping more than two people and having to cookoutside is no big deal. The tin top is lighter and significantly more aerodynamic than a Westy anyway.

[newfisher]

We didnt want a westy when we started looking. The bed is bigger in a tin top and we cook outside. Here are some ideas for you that work for us.

[prlizzle]

[borninabus]

tin top van is best van.
put the bigger kids in a tent and the queen size bed is more than adequate for two + the littlest one.

_________________
88 Van WBX, A/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[Steve M.]

Those seats in the middle can be removed easy enough and turned around where you use the same floor track to bolt it down. You will only have the two bolts on the forward track, but it's facing the center giving you more room in the middle and storage under the seats. The "Z" bed folds out to make a bed. Two cross country trips camping all the way like this.
This layout is more like the "Weekender" model as opposed to a full Westy.

[IdahoDoug]

Do a search on here for my $500 rooftop tent project. Added a Cabela's Guide Cot on the roof. Two adults can comfortably sleep up there in a roof top tent, then it folds down for traveling. The hard top can easily support 4 for sleeping.

I had also considered adding a pair of lightweight folding bunks close the the ceiling. Not ideal, but good for kids and also as a gear loft when only my wife and I are traveling. Never found a good structure to do that. Last month, I came across a garage sale in British Columbia where a guy had a pair of folding back country rescue litters. I bought them both and will be fiddling with that. They'd be just low enough to allow the occupant to roll over, and make it tight below, but heck - might work out. They'll mount to hard points on the wall, and above the hatch and at front the challenge is the slider side. Perhaps a welded hoop over the van interior that would also serve other purposes. Dunno. Food for thought.

Doug
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[rubbachicken]

my first experience into VW's was when my dad bought a '68 bus, there were too many of us kids to fit in a car, he made his own camper interior, 2 rows of bench seats that would fold down into a bed, i used to sleep on top of the cooker sink, 2 of my brothers slept in bunks across the front seats, there was another over the top of the engine, 6 sleeping in a tin top, we'd do it for 2 weeks at a time, it was known as sardine runs
i've seen 80% of the british coastline on these sardine runs
_________________
lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[Forthwithtx]

My'84 Tintop is my plan. Everything a Westy has is a duplicate of what I already have. It's just me and my son, so no need for the top bunk. I don't think I would really want to cook in the van anyway, though it is an option with a portable stove. The bigger Z-bed is a bonus.