If you have issues with keeping your refrigerator lit while driving you might try this mod. It’s a fairly simple thing to place an aluminum shield around the fridge vent. This one came from a company called Northwest Campers, but they have since gone out of business. One commenter on the original post at Vanagonauts said this mod was unnecessary, but others swear by it. Take it with a grain of salt. More pictures after the jump.
We all want more space in our Vanagons, but we are limited by its size. Check out this extended Vanagon Westy Camper built in 1985. These were customized in Germany in the 1980’s but never made it to the states. It is 70 inches longer than a standard Westy and provides more room for all your goodies. Perhaps this one should be called the “All About the Bass” Westy. Or, as one Samba user put it, “extra butt syncro.” Another pic after the jump.
Although Volkswagen obviously made Vanagon campers, some people like to convert their old passenger vans to campers. It’s not easy, but if you have the skills you can certainly do it. One Vanagon owner decided to convert his Syncro to a camper. He decided to dump the full width rear seat in favor of a DIY folding bed. He used wood and some spare parts from an old futon. The result is a custom rear seat that folds into a bed, with room for custom built cabinets. Click through to see more pics.
The picture says it all about this mod. Using Vanagon front seats as back seats can give your passengers the advantage of armrests. j_dirge on The Samba posted pictures of his Vanagon bench seat mod. He did it for his kids. The interesting thing is the bed still works. Click through to see how that works.
How would you like more cupboard space in your Vanagon Westy? This owner listed his Vanagon for sale in Oregon and the cupboards caught my eye. He has completely removed the cabinets to the left of the stove, but hung a set of cabinets instead. If you look closely, you will also see a pergo floor to boot!
I ran across this custom Vanagon restoration job by accident. This guy took an old Vanagon, created a custom high top, then dropped his own entertainment center. He has led lighting strips up top, with a TV, DVD player, and speakers mounted. The TV actually flips open to access storage above the cockpit. Click through to see the rest of the high top.
What do you do when you purchase a 1986 passenger Vanagon that does not include a table or rear facing seats? You head on up to Rhinelander Wisconsin to have your Dad fabricate a table and bench for you. That’s what this Vanagon owner did. His name is Alex and he runs a website called Bike Jerks. He says he had two options given my budget: buy a camper that was shaky mechanically, or buy a non camper that ran well. He chose the non-camper and immediately started pestering his father to make a table and a bench with storage space underneath. Click through to see another shot.
The center console is such a challenge for Vanagon owners because of the position of the shifter. It’s simply too close to the dash to get any meaningful console to fit. Here is an example of a DIY center console by some guy named Leon. Featured on Vanagonauts, this console provides lots of room for your food and drinks. This hack is especially interesting because the shifter had to be moved back about 8 inches to make it fit. Yikes! Click through for another pic.
We received this submission from someone who does not want to be identified by name. He has however, posted this inverter installation on The Samba. We considered a similar installation location for our van, but chose to use the space under the seat for storage, and a battery charger. Click through to see how this guy installed his inverter, and mounted a set of outlets behind the front seat.
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