What? You do not need a Westfalia? Sacrilege?

[termuehlen]

Apparently, the number one rule about car camping says you do not need a Westfalia.

https://www.theoutbound.com/bergeboy/the-rise-of-c...09-28-2016
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1988 Westfalia automatic Subaru OBD1
1986 syncro tintop wbx

[Trey_h]

no, you don't. but it sure is a convenient package.
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'82 Westy, 2.0 air cooled, 4-speed.

[Tom Powell]

You don't need a stove or refrigerator, but it's nice to have a poptop and stand up to put your pants on in the morning.

Aloha
tp

[djkeev]

The article IS CORRECT, you know this .... Right?

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[ZsZ]

IMO the hype on the westfalias is bigger than their useability.
The first vanlifers 10 years ago choose them because they were cheap and readily equipped. Since that "vanlife" is a trend. Now westfalias are fancy and expensive so there are a lot of other/better candidates to start with.
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[owokie]

[wasserbox]

[kamzcab86]

[Merian]

you don't need a Westfalia at all

many people get by just fine with a Weekender


and there are a few who are stuck with tin-tops - they are easy to spot if you just look for bumps and bruises on their heads
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....

[61Scout]

Yep, don't need one. Most all of my friends love my van... until we have a discussion about the cost of ownership. For most people, it's not even the platform I'd suggest to look at first. As we all know, they can be expensive and temperamental classics. A lot of folks simply can't deal. Every year there are a couple of folks on here and VOG who just get fed up and sell their rigs. Yeah, there are new members coming along too, but my point is Vanagons often get culturally idealized. If the goal is to travel and get out to hike, bike, explore, etc. then a Vanagon is certainly not needed. Lots of other capable and less expensive platforms exist. They just aren't as cool.

-Kevin
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1986 Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg, RJE 2.3
1985 Tin Top, Subie 2.2 + 5MT
Floppy Mirrors no more: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653018&highlight=
Remove the front spindle nut with ease: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679567&highlight=
Remove the rear wheel bearing housing without messing with the big 46mm nut: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=679507&highlight=

-Nec Spe, Nec Metu

[kourt]

Regarding the linked article: numerous spelling and grammar errors hurt its credibility. Then there's the "hang your food in the air" paragraph. That practice is no longer recommended in any backcountry setting I've been to in the past five years. True, you don't need a camper, but this article has a lot of other problems.

Regarding vans in general: it helps to narrow your population down to those who want a single vehicle (not a trailer) where you can travel from driver seat to living space (not a truck bed camper) and have all of your amenities neatly arrayed in an ergonomic, convenient way (Vanagon Westfalia, Eurovan Winnebago/Westfalia, Joker, Sportsman, Sprinter conversion, or other similar vehicle). My experience thus far is the used VW products are still the least expensive way to go, but you do need to be proficient at supporting your vehicle on your own.

kourt

[vegpedlr]

Of course you don't. I used to camp in my 1982 Nissa Sentra wagon. Fold down the back seats and there was plenty of space.

Doesn't change my mind that a Westy is the most practical camper I've yet found.

[chachi]

i have had a few friends ask me about buying a vw camper this year. they all know we've spent a ton of time and money on our vans and want us to walk them through buying one. i always tell them that if they want a vw cause they love vws and nothing else will do, i'm happy to help. but if they don't REALLY want a vw specifically, get something else. ZsZ is right, vw campers used to be cheap and plentiful, which is why young people could afford to adventure in them and create the mythos surrounding them. but my 40-50 year old, three kids-having, corporate job-slaving, soccer pickup-doing peers never would have thought about this before. they would have bought an 8 man coleman tent and a blowup mattress or two and camped the same amount they ever would in a westfalia. and honestly, although my wife and i told ourselves we would camp more if we invested all this money into our hightop, after years of running cheap vans, we still have the same difficulty getting out there with this big deluxe van. people want a cool retail solution, something they can buy that they think will help them lead the lives they think they want. so maybe they get a westy and then the maintenance becomes one more thing keeping them from going camping.

i dunno. i still love em.
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'74 transporter panel
'91 vanagon carat NAHT

[mightyart]

Of course you don't "need" a Westy, most weenies couldn't handle a Westy, but they all want one.


Camping should contain a little adventure, and driving a 30+ year old vehical, (that I made work correctly again) 400 or so miles to stay someplace cool always does it for me.
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My Art:
http://www.instagram.com/flynn8552/

[djkeev]

[bluebus86]

A westfalia is hardly a car camper, rather it is rv camper. the article has agood point. the westfalia isright up there with the winnibagos and airstreams a rv camper, admitidly small but a rv none the less...
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Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[owokie]

[Syncro Jael]

We have toyed with ideas of other platforms to make another vehicle compare to a Westfalia. Sprinters have had my eye but they just don't have the cool factor. I had a friend who had nothing but problems with his Sprinter. So we all need to remember they are just machines.

Now that I have refurbished and replaced almost all systems on my van, it has been very reliable. No issues at all. Is it fast down the highway, fast enough for when I am in no hurry to get anywhere. We can stop and camp comfortably just about anywhere we find a place to park. Along the road, out in the backcountry, just about anywhere we point the Syncro we can park and camp in solitude.

Can you find another vehicle that will have the same comforts as a VW Westfalia? Yes, but why reinvent the wheel?

We love our van!

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1987 Syncro Westfalia Hightop - NAHT
Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat)

[candyman]

[WLD*WSTY]