VW Camper Blog

My next purchase was a van I spotted on German Ebay. The price of Westfalia Campers had started to rise for a number of reasons. Firstly it appeared they had gained in popularity in Germany. Secondly the Euro was getting stronger against the Pound. And thirdly I think that so many had been exported to the UK there wasn’t as many available to buy in Germany !

Because the price of Westfalia Campers was high I started looking if anything else interesting was available and came across this VW T3 Westfalia Magnum Multivan. Whilst not a camper in the true sense (no cooker or sink) the Multivan was a very versatile bus having a full width rock n roll bed, buddy seat with storage underneath and a fold out table. The Magnum was a special edition van that came with power steering, big bumpers, side planks, square double headlights and removable fridge.

I had a chat via email with the seller and a couple of weeks later I was on my way to Berlin to pick it up. Got a bit worried when I had been waiting in deep snow outside the train station for half an hour and the seller hadn’t arrived but turned out the train station had two entrances and he was at the other entrance wondering where I was 😉

Also had a nerve racking drive back as Berlin was 750 km from the ferry port and due to delays we made the ferry with five minutes to spare !

The van was in great condition and was only being sold due to new emission laws in Germany meaning that it could not be driven into the city making it impractical for its current owner ;-(

A previous owner had obviously been an electronics enthusiast as sat on the dash was a console that looked like something out of the KITT car in the Knight Rider series. One nice extra on this van was a Webasto heater that actually heated the water in the vans engine, so hot air came out of the normal air vents. This could be set by timer to come on at a certain time in the morning so you could have your breakfast and then get in the van and it was already warm with windows demisted – how cool is that 😉

It had always been in the back of my mind that having owned a few VW T25 / T3 Westfalia campers at some point in the future I may buy a VW T4 Westfalia camper. I had seen a few at shows and was impressed as usual with the design and quality of the Westfalia interiors. I realised that over the years there had been a few different models and layouts so I thought that it would be good research for me if I started a new website “The VW T4 Transporter Westfalia Information Site“. Starting with very little knowledge I researched the models by reading sales brochures, owners manuals and any other info I could find on internet forums etc. As most of this information is in the German language this took me a while 😉

In the end I wrote about seventeen different models in the model history section with photos and information about colours, engine options, layouts, standard and optional equipment etc ! I also have made available a large quantity of sales brochures as well as downloads of VW T4 owners manuals and Westfalia 0wners instruction manuals and equipment manuals for night heaters, fridges, battery chargers and loads of other useful stuff. Next I added  a useful links page with links to VW T4 Westfalia parts suppliers, companies selling VW T4 Westfalia campers, companies hiring VW T4 campers and forums and websites with information about VW T4 Westfalia campers.

The next camper I bought was a VW T3 Westfalia Joker poptop camper 1.6 TD.

Unfortunately by the time I had driven from Germany to the UK the water level warning lamp was flashing. It turned out that the cylinder head gasket was faulty so I had to get that repaired before I could use the van.

Despite the problem with the cylinder head gasket this was one of my favourite buses. It had “Projekt Zwo” alloys and front indicator panel with integrated front fog lights as well as rubber wheel arch trims from a VW T3 “syncro” 4 wheel drive model. These extras gave it a really nice look.

When I sold the van its new owner took it on a tour of Europe and sent me photos of it camping in Spain and Portugal 😉

Site Update – VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon Westfalia Camper Info Site

Added a download of a 1980 Air-cooled Westfalia Joker Sales Brochure (in Italian!) to the Air-cooled Westfalia Joker Model History page. The German language version is already on the site !

OK so if you read the posts below you will have realised that I am a big fan and past owner of a number VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon Westfalia Campers ! And I still have a few to tell you about yet 😉

Anyway I started a project to make a VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon Westfalia Camper Useful Information Website .

With information about the various different models of VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon Westfalia campers that existed over the years.

Initially I thought this would be a fairly small project but the more I got involved the more I began to realize the enormity of the task ahead ! I had expected that there would be about six models but eventually this escalated to nineteen models (I also included the various Vanagon camper models made for the USA and Canadian markets!).

The “Model History” pages contain photos and information about the colours available, interior and exterior features and equipment as well as information on engine options, prices, optional extras, downloads of sales brochures etc. I then added a “Buyers Guide” specifically about buying a VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon camper. I then added a “Downloads Page” with downloads of VW owners handbooks, Westfalia owners instruction manuals, appliance instructions for night heaters, stoves, fridges, electrical equipment and loads more ! And finally I added a “Useful Links” page listing suppliers of Westfalia spares and accessories, companies selling Westfalia T25 campers, companies hiring Westfalia T25 campers, forums and websites specialising in Westfalia campers and lots of other useful stuff 😉

The next camper I bought was a 1987 VW T25 / T3 Westfalia Joker Poptop 1.6TD camper. It was the first Poptop camper I had bought although to be honest it didn’t feel any different to drive than a hightop.

People often ask me whether I prefer poptop campers or hightop campers. People tend to have very strong views on the subject and depending on your circumstances one version may suit you better that the other. The poptop may suit you if you need to access car parks with height limits, may be more stable in high winds (although in my experience I didn’t notice much difference), may be cooler to sleep in if staying in hot climates and I would say some people prefer the look of the van when the poptop is lowered than a hightop. I personally prefer hightop vans as I mainly camp in the UK. I find the poptops tend to have damp issues relating to the canvas and rear roof areas, as when roof is lowered damp gets trapped in the roof and if not aired regularly mould spores can form. The hightop offers better insulation than a raised poptop although to be fair you can buy insulated screens to cover the poptop canvas if camping in cold conditions. The main reason I prefer the hightop though is that you get a lot of extra storage and after a nights camping you can just throw your bedding etc in the hightop, make your breakfast and move on whereas in a poptop everything would need to be stowed first and the roof lowered before you can move on.

The camper had a couple of aftermarket additions including smaller nicer steering wheel, large “elephant ear” mirrors that were originally fitted on the “syncro” 4 wheel drive models. Also on the rear buddy seat box the previous owner had added a “magazine” rack which I think was a good idea.

As a sister site to the VW Camper Interior Information website I then started a project that will never be finished !

The VW Camper Interior Photo Gallery is what it says on the tin, a gallery of photos showing interiors of all the different types of VW camper such as VW Splitscreen, VW Bay Window, VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon and VW T4. These VW models were converted by a multitude of conversion companies and each one of these companies had a number of different layouts which changed over the years.

The purpose of this site was to provide a historical record of all the different types of VW camper conversion made. Hopefully it will be useful to anyone considering buying a particular model who can look at the photos and see if the interior design will meet their requirements, it may also be useful for people who own a particular model and want to check if their interior is original or how a particular aspect of the van should look and finally the site may be a useful source of reference for anyone planning on building their own interior to get ideas and inspiration 😉

Having done a lot of research before refurbishing my 1971 VW Bay Window camper I realised that it was quite difficult to find detailed information in one place, so I thought it would be a good idea to put all the information I had found on a website. And so the VW Camper Interior Information website was born to share my research with anyone else who might be thinking of making updates to their VW camper interior.

Since then I have added a lot more information and the site now has sections about the various options for refurbishing your VW camper furniture and the specialist companies that supply furniture (from flat pack for DIY’ers to fully fitted custom interiors for those with deeper pockets 😉 )  ,  also a section on companies that can help you repair or replace your VW camper poptop or hightop roof, information about companies who specialize in re trimming your VW camper such as curtains, door trims and upholstery, information about the different types of night heater available and also a section on the various electrical aspects to consider when refurbishing your camper such as leisure batteries, split charge circuits, electrical control panels etc.

The next camper I bought was a 1988 VW T25 Westfalia Club Joker hightop. The Westfalia Club Joker had a similar specification as the later Westfalia Atlantic having Eberspacher night heater and double glazed windows in the rear. It also had ISRI high back driver and passenger seats in the cab and velour upholstery. Depending on the year power steering was an option on this model so not all Club Jokers have it.

I drove this bus back from Germany and it was so nice that a friend of mine bought it off me within an hour of me arriving home 😉

One of the first websites I built was the VW Camper Buyers Guide.

If you are thinking of buying a VW Bay window, VW T25 / T3 / Vanagon or VW T4 Transporter camper then you should read the info on this site first.

As well as having a detailed buyers guide (with photos) for each generation of VW bus, it also has sections to help you decide which type of camper may suit your needs, where to buy your VW camper, where to insure your VW camper, VW camper books and VW camper related useful website links.