Bus Depot Rear Hatch Shelter

[SSWesty]

I am thinking about getting a Bus Depot rear hatch shelter https://www.busdepot.com/AHG to use as a shower tent on the back hatch. Has anyone had good luck with these shelters? I was thinking I'd go with a gray one to help hide the dirt that will probably get on the lower skirt area. However the gray looks like it could get warm in the sun, anyone get baked out of a gray one and wished they went with the lighter color option?

[jordauto]

I have that exact tent and it works well. Mine is a few years old now but is holding up well. The grey is not as dark as it looks in their ad picture. I use it as a shower room, and have never found it too hot. But also usually shower in the evening . At first I used a Zodi propane shower, but now have one that uses engine heat to heat the water through a water to water heat exchanger.
This pic is from Thanksgiving weekend (Canadian) last year, the temperature was just above freezing and we had a nice hot shower.

[Timwhy]

Love my shelter! It can get warm if you are using it with the door all zipped up and no airflow. Temp isn't a concern with the color of it.

As a shower room is why I bought mine and it works great!


Link

_________________
'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary

http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[candyman]

We have one and use as a shower shelter. Works great, goes up un seconds. You even lower (carefully) the rear hatch with it attached. We have had it since 2014 and no issues with it at all. Packs down relatively small, especially since it has no poles.

[Busdepot]

I designed this for my own family of 5, for two initial reasons - as a changing room (I have all girls), and as a protected storage room for our stuff so we could actually use the whole interior of the Westy as living space without tripping over bags, cases of water, etc.. From there it expanded to other functions. I added a screen door so we could get air flow through the camper while it was attached, a hole at the top for a shower hose to go through, etc. We use ours constantly; it goes up when we get to the campsite and stays up day and night.

Since it has no poles (relying on the tailgate for rigidity) it is very inexpensive ($69) and takes up virtually no space when packed.

Links:
http://www.busdepot.com/ahg Gray
http://www.busdepot.com/ahb Tan
http://www.busdepot.com/ahe Eurovan version (+$20)

Side note, the one pictured in Gray is actually the original prototype, which I still use, and that's my Westy at a music festival in upstate NY. You can tell it's pre-production because the screen door is on the outside and the solid door behind it on the inside. In production we reversed that, as seen in the Tan pics which were sent in by customers. The 'side tent' in the gray pic is our Add-A-Room, which butts right up against the rear hatch shelter if you use both so they work very well together.
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[DanHoug]

it's a sweet addition for the price. when the bugs are insane, we keep the zippered hatch screen in place as they can enter from under the bus but either way it increases the usable room nicely and adds an airy feeling. makes a nice Throne Room too.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[vanagonjr]

[mikemtnbike]

+5 or whatever on the hatch tent. It's nice kit, especially at the price point.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[SSWesty]

SOLD. Thanks for the feedback, pictures and video, time for me to place an order

[E1]

[Busdepot]

[Busdepot]

[photogdave]

Been using mine as a shower tent for a few years now. Worked great on our Baja trip!
We have a Zodi 12V shower and fill a juice jug with cold water and mix it with a kettle full of hot water heated up on the stove. Perfect for exactly two showers.

_________________
89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS

My Westy Movies:
photogdave On Vimeo
photogdave On YouTube

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Abscate]

You won’t need this ca,ping in Munich. We are a very uptight nation.

We just shower on the private side of our T4 a time campground, as we did with 6 girls for 20 years off/on.

On the cape , we swim, use salt water shampoo for hair, and sponge bath on boat
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.ssS!

[Timwhy]

If you use it as a shower room. You may consider making a waterproof curtain for the back, so you don't get your stuff soaked.

My latest shower upgrades. Rolling tank and larger shower head.

_________________
'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary

http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[Ciruelos]

Purchased a beige shelter Friday for a weekend trip. It creates a comfortably sized space. The elastic sides ensure a good fit around the van body even in breezy conditions. The tent-style double-zipper screen promotes airflow. My family especially appreciated how the fabric quality makes for a private nook for changing.

The one improvement suggestion I'd make to Bus Depot is to expand the width of the carry bag by ~10% - the current size makes packing a tight fit. I did get the packed bag to squeeze into the rear van closet along with my other bug screens, so that's a win

Overall I highly recommend this shelter - a great space-maker at a good price point.
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1985 Westfalia, 1.9L WBX

[SSWesty]

Finally had a chance to test fit my bus depot hatch shelter. I like it, good fit and quality for the job it needs to perform. One issue I have is getting it fastened with rear bumper swingouts. It seems to work okay with the swings outside the tent or inside. When the swingouts are out people will see your feet when you shower. The rear tray swingout appears to make a handy shower shelf when inside the tent:-)

[vanagonjr]

[sakow86]

Is the fabric long enough to reach the ground on a lifted Syncro? Say about 3" higher than stock ?
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1990 Syncro 1.9 TDI (alh)
http://tomrowsell.com

[SSWesty]

Not 100% sure, I have a lifted 2WD and the side walls make it to the ground. My drivers side rear wheel arch is 29 5/8" from the ground.