A Vanagon for all Seasons Transforming your Westfalia
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HOME
HEAT
CURTAINS
AWNING
AUDIO
VIDEO
CYCLE
BATTERY
SOLAR
STORAGE
FRIDGE

Westfalia is to the van camper what Victorinox is to the pocketknife. It's amazing how many features can be folded into such a compact package. But unlike Victorinox and their Swiss Army family of knives, Westfalia only made a single 'one size fits all' model. That's ok if all you're doing is heading out during fair weather for a few days. But what if you're heading out to Arizona for a couple of weeks in March. This would not be considered by most to be an example of extreme camping, as opposed to a trip to Death Valley in July or Yellowstone in January. Nevertheless it can turn out to be a journey of similar extremes.

 

March is considered by many to be the best time to backpack to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. While you're climbing up out of the canyon the temperature might be very pleasant, but by the time you reach the rim the temperature could be down in the teens. Not only would a heater keep you comfortable while camping out before and after the hike, but it would also keep your possessions from freezing rock solid while you're away hiking for a few days. At the other extreme March is typically the best time to see the Sonoran desert in full bloom at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. But daytime temperatures can climb into the 90's. In this situation it would help to have an awning and insulated curtains to minimize solar gain. For example, a Thermal Systems 6000 BTU Platinum Cat power vented catalytic heater,  portable reserve propane tank and extend-a-stay fitting, Warm Window insulated curtains and a uniquely designed self-supporting awning.

 

With a heater and insulated curtains you've transformed your Vanagon Westfalia into a warm cozy retreat from inclement weather. While weathering out a storm or enduring the long nights of winter it might be nice to listen to some music while reading a book or perhaps watch a little television. For example, a Sony SAT-B3 DSS receiver under the drivers seat, a portable collapsible Winegard satellite dish that can be stored in and used from the roof top luggage compartment, a Sony Trinitron AC/DC color TV that stores neatly in the space under the rear bench seat, front & rear Boston Acoustics Pro Series speakers, an Alpine AM/FM cassette receiver with wireless remote control and a cd changer under the passenger seat.

 

As anyone with a motor home (or yacht) will admit, having a dinghy can be very convenient. Once you've found a campsite, leveled the camper, got the pop-top up, snapped all the curtains into place, rearranged all the furniture and baggage, erected the awning, situated the solar panel, dialed in the satellite dish, hooked up the television, and put out the gray water bucket you really don't want to move the beast until your stay is complete. Many of our National Parks and Monuments are quite large. Oftentimes the only way to see all the sights is by driving to them. With a small motorcycle you can get over 100mpg and always find a parking place. So the impact on the environment and infrastructure is minimal compared to using the Westfalia to drive around in. Besides, they can be a lot of fun! Find here an example of how to build and install a motorcycle carrier for a Honda CT70.

 

There are basically two kinds of campers, civil and wild. Civilized campers typically like to settle in at the big 'parking lot' style resorts with all the comforts of home and the full hook-ups to support them. Wilderness campers like to move around and explore the national and state parks and forests where the campsites are typically small and have no hook-ups. Westfalia van campers have an affinity for boondocking and dry camping. Thus far you have seen how it is possible to equip one with most of the comforts of home, but how about an environmentally friendly and self-sufficient personal power grid. For example, a Sonnenschein group 27 dryfit Prevailer deep cycle sealed gel cell battery, Surepower Group 3 battery isolator, 90-watt roof mounted BP solar panel, Morningstar Sunsaver photovoltaic controller, Exeltech XP125 true sine wave inverter, and a power distribution panel with the meters and switches to monitor and control it all.

 

At last, by the time you've added everything you need to transform your Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia van camper from a fair weather weekender into a four seasons recreational vehicle suitable for extended traveling every nook and cranny will be filled with stuff and you'll need to add some external storage! For example, storage in the unutilized space under the sliding door and on the rear of the van using a class II frame mounted receiver hitch.

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HEAT:

 

The Platinum Cat power vented catalytic heater (Heat_A & Heat_B) in conjunction with the Warm Window curtains will keep the van comfortably warm even when the mercury falls into the single digits.

 

The fan in a typical RV furnace pulls 5-7 amps; the Cat pulls less than half an amp. The 5,200 BTU output is just right for this small space. The radiant heat is quiet and comfortable. The power venting with safety interlock allows the occupant[s] to rest warm and worry free at night. The wall thermostat (Heat_D) lets you 'set and forget'. One-quarter pound per hour (seventeen hours/gallon) fuel consumption is conservative.

 

The solid oak frame for the heater is secured with four two-inch screws accessible from the inside of the battery compartment. The kick plate (Heat_A) for the step between the kitchen and the cab is made of galvanized sheet metal, painted chocolate brown and baked in the oven to get a good hard finish it. The kick plate conceals and protects the flexible propane line, dc power and thermostat control wires that run from the heater to the kitchen cabinet.

 

The catalytic process is very efficient at burning the fuel; therefore there are very few toxic combustion byproducts (IE: carbon monoxide). The main byproduct is water vapor. The primary reason for power venting is to get fresh air from outside the van to the heater. Otherwise the heater could potentially consume all the oxygen inside the van. A flue spillage (proof of vent) sensor prevents the heater from operating if the power venting is not functioning correctly.

 

Fresh air from the outside is supplied to the heater by shutting off all the air distribution outlets except for the roof outlets to the passenger compartment. The ductwork inside the passenger door is modified so that instead of going to the roof outlets the air goes to the vent at the bottom of the door (Heat_B). When all the windows, doors and other outlets are closed off the only way air can get to the heater is through that vent. From there the cold air from the outside only has to travel about 12 inches through the interior of the camper to reach the heater. Note that fresh air originates from a grilled opening just above the radiator.

 

Power venting from the heater to the outside is through the flexible black hose coming out of the rear of the heater (Heat_B). From there the hose is attached to a stubby length of aluminum tubing that is epoxy cemented to a hole in the battery compartment access panel. The battery compartment has two openings to the outside. So air from the power venting can easily escape through these holes.

 

For additional peace of mind proper operation can be confirmed by feeling the cold air supply flowing into the van through the vent at the bottom of the door and the warm air flowing out of the battery compartment in the passenger side wheel well.

 

The main propane tank does not have a gauge, so you can never know when or where the tank will run dry. An extend-a-stay fitting and a one-gallon portable tank (Heat_C) provide a sufficient reserve for those inevitable occasions.

 

CURTAINS:

 

Because the Vanagon has so much window area, excessive heat loss/gain can be a problem. The curtains that come standard with the Westfalia help to minimize solar gain during warmer weather but are of little benefit during colder weather.

 

To help alleviate this problem Warm Window fabric can be pinned to the existing curtains. The fabric consists of four layers of different materials quilted together in 4" wide lengthwise channels (inset Curtains_B). An R-value of 7.5 can be achieved if the curtain perimeters are sealed against the window frames.

 

On the sliding door the curtain can be held tightly to the bottom of the window frame with magnets (Curtains_A & Curtains_E). The curtain retracts fully even with the added thickness of the Warm Window material (Curtains_C). The bottom of the front curtain can be secured using elastic fabric and Velcro at the front corners (Curtains_B & Curtains_D) and snaps elsewhere.

 

AWNING:

 

During warmer weather the windows must be covered to minimize solar gain. An awning over the sliding door serves the same purpose yet allows the occupants to get in and out without having to duck under a curtain, affords them a view to the outside and allows them to slide open the screened window and let fresh air in (Awning_E). Commercially available awning fabric in a 48-inch width is suitable for this application. A hem large enough to accept the PVC cross-member is sewn into one end (Awning_B). The other end is secured to the van (Awning_D). In it's stowed position the awning is kept rolled up with a Velcro strap (Awning_F). The jack ports receive the outriggers (Awning_A). The system is self-supporting when the outriggers strain against the awning cross member. All five poles (17 feet of combined length) can be stored in the cornice above the kitchen (Awning_C). They are stacked three high/deep and take up the full 67-inch length of the tray. There is a small (1/8 inch) drain hole in the center of the awning where a water puddle would otherwise accumulate.

 

AUDIO:

 

The audio components consist of an Alpine TDA-7554 am/fm cassette receiver rated at 35 watts per channel (inset Audio_A), a wireless remote control mounted on the valance above the rear bench seat (Audio_C) and an Alpine CHA-S604 compact disc changer installed below the front passenger seat (Audio_B); access to this space can be achieved by pulling back the carpet and cutting away the sheet metal.

 

Boston Acoustics Pro Series 5.5 components are installed in the front doors (Audio_A) and 4.5's in the ceiling cabinet over the rear deck mattress (Audio_D). The speaker grills were painted with a chocolate brown enamel and baked in the oven 'till golden brown' to get a good hard finish on them. The rear speakers require an additional ground wire. This can be accomplished by pulling two new wires using one of the three original rear speaker wires. This task can be made easier by coating the wires to be pulled with liquid dish soap.

 

The wireless remote requires that the deck have 40ma (.04 amp) current flowing to it continuously in order to function. If the van is kept garaged between trips, then over the course of a month this phantom load would add up to about 30 amps, which would pull the house battery down. Therefore a new rocker switch is installed on the dash below the hazard light switch. It is connected between the house battery and the wire coming out of the stereo that is labeled ignition.

 

An FM Modulator is installed inline with the car antenna. It gets its power from the wire coming out of the stereo that is labeled power antenna. By tuning the stereo to one of two FM frequencies (select switch on the modulator) the stereo can be driven with any audio source, for example, the audio out from the DSS receiver.

 

 

VIDEO:

 

The Sony DSS receiver (model SAT-B3) (Video_B) is compact enough to fit in the space below the drivers seat. Pulling back the carpet and cutting away the sheet metal will provide access to this space.

 

When folded down the Winegard dish is 7.5 inches high (Video_D). So long as the front of the van is not facing north the dish need not be placed on the ground. Access to the dish is through the screen window in the front of the pop-top canvas (Video_C).

 

Setting the azimuth and elevation of the dish can be simplified by inserting a satellite finder between the dish and receiver. It detects when a satellite signal is being received and indicates the signal strength with a variable audio tone and meter.

 

The inverter must be switched on to provide 110 for the satellite receiver. The Sony TV (model KV-9PT60) (Video_A) can be operated on AC or DC. The combined power requirements are about 70 watts (TV=50, DSS=20).

 

CYCLE:

 

The Honda CT70 is a street legal trail bike that is compact enough to mount on the front of the van without interfering with the headlamps. National Park regulations require that scooters be street legal.

 

In Cycle_C you can see where the custom made receiver type hitches have been attached to the frame members on either side of the spare tire by pinching the frame flanges between lengths of angle iron and the receiver assembly with three half-inch bolts on each side of the frame member. The carriers (Cycle_D) consist of various lengths and sizes of commonly available channel iron, angle iron and square tubing welded together.

 

The carriers slide into the receiver hitches and are held in place with hitch pins. Getting the scooter onto the carrier is accomplished by lifting the front wheel up onto the passenger side carrier (Cycle_A), which requires about 80 pounds of lifting force. Then lifting the rear wheel up onto the drivers' side carrier, which also requires about 80 pounds of lifting force. Securing the scooter to the carrier simply consists of sliding the retainer hoop into the carrier receiving tubes and spinning on a couple of aircraft type nuts (Cycle_B).

 

Having the weight of the scooter on the front end actually has a tendency to improve the handling characteristics of the vehicle when driving with cross winds or being overtaken by large trucks.

 

The specs on the CT70 are: 72cc OHC single-cylinder four-stroke engine, three-speed transmission with automatic clutch, seat height 29.2 inches, fuel capacity .6 gallon, weight 161.4 pounds.

 

Honda stopped importing this bike in 1994, but Panda makes one that looks very similar to it.

 

BATTERY:

 

Perhaps Westfalia should have printed the disclaimer 'batteries not included' on their sales brochures. A solution to this oversight can be seen in the lower left corner of Battery_A. It is a group 27 Sonnenschein dryfit Prevailer deep cycle sealed gel cell battery. To the right of it is a suitable place for storing the TV while driving. Above the TV is the power distribution panel. It houses a photovoltaic system controller, a plus/minus 10-amp ammeter, a 15-volt voltmeter, a 125-watt inverter, two toggle switches and a 10-amp fuse.

Charging current from the Bosch alternator flows to a Sure Power Group 3 isolator (Battery_D). A sensing wire runs from the isolator back to the alternators internal regulator. From the isolator current is supplied to the car battery and to the house battery, which is connected to ground through a catastrophe fuse.

 

The PV controller also doubles as a load controller (Battery_B). All camping related loads draw their current (10 amp max) from the LOAD terminals on the controller. If the battery voltage falls below 11.3 volts the load controller will automatically disconnect the loads and in so doing protect the battery. The load current is fused with a 10-amp slow blow fuse mounted on the distribution panel above the ammeter. Load current can be bypassed/shunted around the PV controller and ammeter via a SPDT (single pole double throw) toggle switch (the black one to the left of the ammeter). This is just in case load requirements exceed 10 amps. This essentially connects loads directly to the battery. Note that there is a 30-amp slow blow fuse placed inline with the battery terminal cable. The switch also has a center position to allow manually disconnecting the loads. The PV controller BATTERY terminals are routed to the battery via an ammeter to indicate how much current is either entering or leaving the battery.

 

A JVC (model AC-P3U) solid-state 1.7-amp trickle charger is mounted on the floor of the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Charging current flows to a DPDT (double pole double throw) toggle switch mounted in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. This connects the PV terminals on the controller to either the trickle charger (up), the solar panel (down) or off/null (center).

 

Mounted inside the distribution panel is an Exeltech XP125 true sine wave inverter (Battery_C) (http://www.exeltech.com). Power to the inverter is controlled by the red SPST (single pole single throw) toggle switch located to the left of the ammeter. From an AC outlet on the inverter (Battery_C lower right; note: AC unplugged in this photo to reveal more detail of the distribution panel interior) 110 is supplied to a DPDT (double pole double throw) switch mounted in the concealed compartment adjacent to the water tank allowing 110 loads to be switched between AC off (center position), shore power (switch pulled toward you) or inverter power (switch pushed away from you).

 

SOLAR:

 

The BP Solar 590F solar panel is capable of providing up to 90 watts of power (5 amps) in its stowed position (Solar_A), extended over the windshield or placed on the ground (Solar_B).

 

The mounting assembly for the solar panel consists of a rigid foam core covered with three separately applied layers of fiberglass. It has sticky back foam tape applied to the top and bottom surfaces. It is pinched between the aluminum framework and the roof top luggage rack with 8 hasps that are bolted to aluminum plates welded to the inside perimeter of the aluminum framework (Solar_D). The axles for the nylon roller wheels (Solar_C) consist of a hex head stainless steel bolt a stainless steel nut and a stainless steel aircraft type nut attached to an aluminum plate which is secured to the aluminum framework with stainless steel bolts and aircraft type nuts. An aluminum hitch pin allows removal of the solar panel from the aluminum framework.

 

The solar panel is recessed into the aluminum framework and locked down with latches (Solar_D). A stainless steel cable is routed from the fulcrum point of one latch down through a drain hole, out from under the luggage rack, through a 12 inch length of rubber hose (which is exposed for access at a point just in front of the pop-top latch mechanism, between the pop-top canvas and the luggage rack) then back under the luggage rack, up through the drain hole on the other side and connected to the fulcrum point of the other latch. To move the panel out over the windshield, pull on the release cable and lift the panel up a few inches, grab both handles, tilt the panel to a 45-degree angle and slide the panel down over the windshield. During this procedure power from the panel is uninterrupted.

 

Charging current from the solar panel flows down through one of the drain holes in the roof luggage rack, then through holes drilled in the metal roof (lined with grommets and sealed with silicon sealant), then down though a hole cut in the ceiling above the drivers seat (Heat_D), then to a DPDT (double pole double throw) toggle switch mounted in the cabinet under the kitchen sink, then to the PV terminals on the controller, then from the BATTERY terminals of the controller to the ammeter, then through a 10 amp panel fuse and finally to the battery through a 30 amp inline fuse. As the battery approaches full charge the Morningstar SunSaver-10 photovoltaic system controller tapers off the current supplied to the battery to prevent over charging (Battery_B).

 

STORAGE:

 

The hitch mounted utility storage chest in Storage_A & Storage_B is made of diamond plate aluminum. It measures 28x16x18 (W/H/D) and provides 4.6 cubic feet of storage. It's an appropriate place to keep items such as a charcoal grill & briquettes, spare coolant, oil and wiper fluid, motorcycle helmet and saddle bags, spare parts, tire pump, saw, folding shovel, etc. It is bolted to a frame welded together from angle iron and square tubing. The assembly attaches to the rear of the van using a class II Draw-Tite receiver hitch. There is sufficient clearance to facilitate opening of the rear hatch with the storage unit mounted to the van.

 

The storage box in Storage_C & Storage_D is made of medium gauge steel with welded seams. It mounts under the van using 8 self-tapping hex-head sheet metal screws. It measures 36x9x13 (W/H/D) and provides 2.4 cubic feet of storage. It's a good place to keep items such as leveling blocks, jack, and tools. Having these items and the house battery on the passenger side of the van helps to counterbalance the weight of the kitchen. Both storage units have key locks.

 

FRIDGE:

 

The Dometic RM182B fridge has a tendency to go into a defrost cycle whenever the temperature in the van rises above 85 degree's. If you can contact Dometic about this they will probably inform you that it's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

The performance of this fridge can be marginally improved (5~10 degree delta) by adding low wattage box type 12v fans to the interior (Fridge_A & Fridge_B) and exterior (Fridge_C & Fridge_D). In the upper right corner of Fridge_A you can see where three SPDT (single pole double throw) rocker switches have been added to the control panel. The fans can be turned off, run continuously or switched into an automatic mode via a series connection with the thermal switch at the rear of the fridge. The fan in Fridge_D is inline with the air intake pipe, the one that's hidden behind the wires and exhaust pipe. In the continuous operation mode this fan is useful when initially lighting the fridge on propane. It alleviates the need to 'prime the system' by running it on ac or dc for an hour or two prior to lighting.

 

There is a way to pick up an additional 10~15 degree delta. Fire the unit up on propane. Then toggle the voltage selector switch from GAS to DC. The gas stays on! And the DC heating coil kicks in. In automatic mode the fans will settle in to a longer duty cycle because of the added heat. An alternate solution might be to replace the fridge with an Isotherm CR49ASU.