Perfect Time to Buy a Pop Top Camper

Written by: Nick Hantge

Spring time is right around the corner and we have already been tempted with some 70 degree days. Soon the campgrounds will start to open and the nights won't cool off as much. The weekend traffic to the mountains will begin to slow down leaving pleanty of room on the highways for a VW camper. There could not be a better time to buy a Pop Top Camper!

If you are looking to buy a eurovan, vanagon or westfalia camper you can steal one this time of year especially with the state of the economy. I've talked to the owner for JDB Imports the biggest supplier of pop top campers in Colorado and he said sales are slightly down from the year average and now is certainly a great time to buy. "If you purchase a eurovan this time of year you will get the most use of it (about 7 months) and dealers or owners or pop tops might be willing to cut you a deal" says Mr Biglow. He also said that buyers usually wait too long to start looking for vw campers because once the weather gets nice sellers are less likely to sell at a discount because the demand is high.

Besides the economy, weather, and optimal use it is a great time to buy a vw camper because its ability to be used as a camper and a vehicle. Maybe your child is turn 16 or your family is just in the market for adding a vehicle. Have you been thinking how great it would be to be able to go camping with the family as well? A eurovan, vanagon or westfalia is great for individuals in situations like this. VW Campers are great for tooling around town for groceries or erands and always bring excitement to the weekend.

Vanagon Features

Information taken from Wikepedia

With the engine and transaxle mounted very low in the back, the Vanagon had much larger disc brakes in the front, and drums in the rear. Axle weight is very nearly equal upon both the front and back ends of the vehicle. Unlike the Microbus before it, the Vanagon was available with amenities such as power steering, air conditioning, power door locks, electrically controlled and heated mirrors, lighted vanity mirrors, and a light above the glove box (most of which were essentially standard equipment in later models).

The Vanagon did have A/C althought the air conditioning was, rather un-conventionally, of the "hanging" type. That is, all components of the air conditioning system on the Vanagon camper were internal to the vehicle hang from the ceiling. The air conditioning housings are infamous for cracking and falling down after the vehicle has gotten older, and there were even recalls issued to address the problem.

Starting with the 1986 model year, there was available a greatly improved air conditioning system that not only does not suffer as badly from the cracking housings, but also does a better job of cooling the interior of the van on hot summer days. This later system features an "airliner" style plastic duct that runs the length of the Vanagon in the center with adjustable outlets at set intervals, rather than cooling the entire rear section via a single bank of outlets facing aft above and behind the front seats.

The controls of the Vanagon camper are above the sun visors in the front of the vehicle for both systems until the 1988 model year when they were moved to the dash. The air conditioning ductwork for the 1988 and later years was, arguably, a much more attractive color, being grey instead of beige. The grey color housings hold their color better than the beige, which tends to yellow considerably over a several year period.

This was one of the few campers that ever in which the automatic transmission was tougher than the manual transmission, which was caused by the fact that, up until the 1990 model year, the 3-4 Gear Synchro Slider Hub was of a flawed design. This could result in cracking, or even breakage, causing the transmission to get stuck in 3rd or 4th gear. A new 3-4 hub design less susceptible to stress fractures was implemented sometime in late 1989, first showing up in early 1990 model year vehicles.

The automatic was a standard hydraulic 3-speed unit, the same 090/010 unit as used in Audis of the era. These featured an aluminum case for the transmission section, and a cast iron case for the final drive section.

The 091 manual transmission was a 4 speed unit, featuring a lightweight aluminum case.
The automatic features a 1.0 ratio top gear, while the manual features a 0.85 top gear.

The Vanagon ford have some unusual features, such as the fact that the brake master cylinder is inside the dashboard. The battery in gasoline-powered models is located under the passenger side front seat, to protect it from the elements. There is a compartment of slightly smaller size under the driver's side seat, for a second battery, which wasn't present except in the case of certain "Weekender" camper models.

The oil filler tube for the engine is located behind the flip-down license plate door, and this requires extra care when pulling into a full-service gas station, as the gas station attendant will most likely try to put gasoline into the oil unless instructed otherwise, as the caps are not clearly marked. Most early vans had a twist-on/off gas cap right on the outside just under and behind the passenger side door. A locking cap was optional for the Vanagon, but like other amenities, became very common on later models.

The spare tire lies in a tray under the very front of the van (as the engine is in the back), just below the radiator. To get the spare out, one must undo a 19 mm bolt in the bottom of the front bumper, pull a small latch back, and swing the tray down.

Overall, these vw campers have exceptionally well-built and strong chassis (frames) that are often found to be as good as new underneath, thus creating a platform with good scope for very long life if given even the minimum attention annually.

The Vanagon History

Info taken from Wikepedia

The Vanagon was built to be the modern successor to the Microbus. The vehicle, unfortunately, was underpowered given its curb weight. Different versions of the Vanagon were produced in South Africa from 1990 until 2002 featured a 5-cylinder Audi engine which helped performance greatly. Installing engines from more powerful vehicles — including gasoline and turbo diesel inline-4 Volkswagens, Subarus, Audis, and even Porsches — is a solution pursued by some owners.
The predominant variant to the Transporter configuration, the Westfalia camper conversion, was available throughout the production of the Vanagon. This option was quite popular, and included an array of creature comforts for a family to enjoy on a weekend outing including a pop up roof, refrigerator, sink, and stove.

1980 to 1985 vans are easily identified by round headlights and chrome-plated steel bumpers with plastic end-caps. Air-cooled models (1980 to Mid-Year 1983) lack the lower grill above the radiator of the water cooled models, except on models with factory air conditioning installed.
1986 model year vehicles received several revisions, which included a more luxurious interior with a tachometer, more fabric choices, redesigned air conditioner, larger water cooled engine with a more advanced engine management system, and redesigned transmissions including an optional Syncro all wheel drive. Exterior changes to the Wolfsburg camper include rectangular headlights, which are probably the most notable change, and different paint options. Alloy wheels, larger and squarer plastic bumpers with trim along the rocker panels were options and standard equipment on Wolfsburg Edition vans.
For 1990 and 1991 model years a "Carat" trim level was available which included all available options (except Westfailia conversion).

All 1980 and some 1981 models had 8 welded-in metal slats covering the engine ventilation passages behind the rear windows. Later models had black plastic 16-slat covers that slotted in at the top and screwed down at the bottom.

VW Camper Future

If you are curious about the vw camper future, Volkswagen is looking to make some huge innovative improvements to their westfalia campers. In 2007, Volkswagen had a design contest for the future vw camper and they received thousands of amazing designs.

Here are some videos of what the future of the vw camper may bring:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJXTBZLRfR4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18JszKBSSJI&feature=related

As you can see many new additions would be brought to the vw campers. Special aunnings that include a screened in area, solar features, a grill that can be transported outside, many new storage compartments, and so much more. This is exciting to all those who are looking for a new camper, or loved the old vanagon campers and westfalia campers from volkswagen's past.

For more information on volkswagen campers and their future visit www.verdier.ca

Colorado VW Campers

If you are looking to buy a vw camper in the Denver area, there really is only one place to find the best volkswagen campers in the state of Colorado. JDB Imports has the cleanest vw camper inventory in the country and specialize in vanagon, eurovan, and westfalia campers.

JDB Imports is located in Northeast Denver and has three warehouses full of vw campers for sale. They have been selling volkswagen campers for over 20 years and are truely the countries best vw camper dealer. They only work on vw campers and specialize in restoring old models into beautiful campers.

If you are looking at purchasing a motorhome or camper soon, you need to look into the inventory that JDB has. VW campers are the most fuel efficient, user friendly camper on the road today. Most models at JDB Imports range in year from 87-04' but all have brand new interiors. All of the campers at JDB Imports go through a 100 point inspection before becoming part of their inventory. The mechanics at JDB Imports specialize in vw campers and are the best in the country. There is not another vw camper dealer out there that has the experience or expertise of westfalia or vanagon campers which sets JDB Imports at the top of the list.

If you know you want to purchase a Vanagon, Eurovan, or a Westfalia camper you should test drive one from JDB Imports in Denver, Colorado. Call them today (303) 287-9797

Brief History of the VW Bus II

The first generation of Volkswagen buses were built from 1949 to 1967, and are known as split-window buses or 'splitties'. Buses built after 1967 are known as the 'bay window models'. Where these offspring may lack the personality of the originals they feature modifications including winding windows and a top speed of 80mph. After 1979 more modern versions were developed and these became known as 'wedges'. For the original Type II devotees the charm was lost and the cosy vw camper had become a bungalow on wheels.

The splitties sported a split windscreen (obviously) along with a sweeping v-line front and a large VW emblem. These buses were 170 cubic feet (about 4.8 cubic meters) in volume and were spacious enough to hold a 15-hand horse. The vw bus had the engine and axles of the Beetle but had a unitary construction supported by a ladder frame instead of the central frame platform. The payload was roughly 750kg and the engine had a cubic capacity of just over 1100cc with an output of 18kW at 3300rpm (very low!). The terms 'ladder frame' and 'central frame platform' refer to the construction method of the chassis. The ladder frame is two longitudinal parallel girders or beams upon which the suspension, engine, transmission etc are mounted (hence the name).

The VW bus is good for carrying direct loads. The handling is poor, partly due to a lack of torsional stiffness so it performs badly when cornering. The central frame is made of a central spar with ribs to which the engine, suspension, body and so on are attached. The load carrying capacity is not high, but the torsional stiffness inherent in the design ensures that the handling is good. This contributed to the poor handing of VW Type IIs but also explains their usefulness as transporters.

The VW Transporter can carry up to eight people and the two rear rows of seats can be removed in order to transport greater loads. As the design was so elementary, Volkswagen turned out 90 different body amalgamations over the first five years. These variations included buses, pick-ups, fire engines, ambulances, beer wagons, refrigerated ice-cream vans, milk floats, mobile butchers shops, bread vans, mobile grocers, ordinary delivery vans and the more familiar camper (the last variation).

50 years from original production, VW buses are as popular as ever, and they are enjoying a renaissance among the surfing community (as well as others). Presumably this is because they offer copious space to store boards, equipment and friends along with a cool sense of freedom. The Volkswagen bus owner must be prepared to frequent second-hand specialists for parts and to spend a great deal on fuel (expect no more than 25 miles to the gallon) but the rewards are great. There are also numerous customisation opportunities including lowered suspension, tinted windscreens, adding a V8 engine and the groovy paint job.

There are now plans afoot to develop a new generation of bus in the same vein as the new Beetle. Called the Microbus, it is to include a table with games console and Internet access and a camera at the rear above the license plate. The actual engine spec and performance have not been released.