growing out of bus

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zabo
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growing out of bus

Post by zabo » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:18 am

We have been camping a lot in our bus the past four years.
Me, my wife,our two sons and a golden.
I love how the small space really brings the family together, but this last trip it became apparent that the bus is quickly becoming to small for us.
My oldest is 15, 6'2" and 220lbs my youngest is about to turn 13.

We have tried bringing a tent for my older son but its just not the same.
He's a teenager, so of course he hides out in it instead of hanging with the family.

Now my wife wants to get a small StarCraft pop up camper we can pull behind the subaru .
Her arguments (more room, travel farther distances etc...)

If we get this I worry about not ever using the bus again. I have put a ton of work into it and have such good memories in it.
I also have my 60 beetle that is sitting dormant since i started taking the train to work a couple years ago.

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Not sure what to do...
60 beetle
78 bus

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Re: growing out of bus

Post by Hobug » Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:53 pm

Hold on to the bus. I hate to say it, but based on experience, in only a couple of years the boys will have other interests and camp with the family much less frequently. Once that happens the bus will again be the camper of choice for you and your wife.

If space is an issue when the next camper is purchased, I'll be glad to tend to your bus for you. ;-)
76 Westy
69 Squareback (auto)
63 Bug
73 Thing (Type 4 powered)

TrollFromDownBelow
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:58 pm

Totally agree...seriously, if the budget allows, buy a used pop-up that you can pull behind your Subbie, but keep the bus (or just have the boys suck it up. :) ). Let's be realistic; you've got maybe 1-2 years of camping with the oldest, and add 2 for the youngest....so at the outside 4 years...maybe.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:00 pm

oh yeah! forgot to add....bring that beetle back to life! (and still keep the bus!)
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

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Mr Blotto
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by Mr Blotto » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:45 am

zabo wrote:
Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:18 am

Not sure what to do...
I do.

Keep it. I made the mistake of selling my westy a few years ago, and kick myself daily for it. The cost to get back in it now is unreal.
1978 Sage Green Westy - 2.0 FI - SOLD WITH 109887 miles :-(

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sped372
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by sped372 » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:04 pm

As I mentioned in another post... we also realized we were (or would eventually be) short on space and traded up to a Vanagon. I know we lost some character but the important thing is that it makes it easier to travel and camp, which was the whole point we got the Bus in the first place. I do think if we were only a couple years away from an empty nest the decision would have been much harder but ours just turned 3 and 4.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
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zabo
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by zabo » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:58 pm

Thanks guys, I think i just needed to hear all this from someone else.

i think my biggest problem is just the dumb guilt of not driving/working on them and enjoying them enough.


Oh look - its snowing in atlanta today!
D4C15E20-C4EF-40EE-A000-569F5F013A94.jpeg
60 beetle
78 bus

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Re: growing out of bus

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:22 pm

sped372 wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:04 pm
As I mentioned in another post... we also realized we were (or would eventually be) short on space and traded up to a Vanagon. I know we lost some character but the important thing is that it makes it easier to travel and camp, which was the whole point we got the Bus in the first place. I do think if we were only a couple years away from an empty nest the decision would have been much harder but ours just turned 3 and 4.
Out of curiosity, what year bus, and what style (e.g full pop up, tin top, etc) did you have? and what was the biggest difference space wise for trading up to a vanagon (bigger beds, more storage, etc). I always thought the layout of the late year bays, 76 and up, was fairly efficient and comparable to a vanagon.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

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Re: growing out of bus

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:26 pm

Mr Blotto wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:45 am
I do.

Keep it. I made the mistake of selling my westy a few years ago, and kick myself daily for it. The cost to get back in it now is unreal.
I feel for you....i remember when you sold it, just before bays started to command comparable money to splitty's. You had a really nice one too...much nicer than my Tripod.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

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sped372
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by sped372 » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:41 pm

TrollFromDownBelow wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:22 pm
sped372 wrote:
Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:04 pm
As I mentioned in another post... we also realized we were (or would eventually be) short on space and traded up to a Vanagon. I know we lost some character but the important thing is that it makes it easier to travel and camp, which was the whole point we got the Bus in the first place. I do think if we were only a couple years away from an empty nest the decision would have been much harder but ours just turned 3 and 4.
Out of curiosity, what year bus, and what style (e.g full pop up, tin top, etc) did you have? and what was the biggest difference space wise for trading up to a vanagon (bigger beds, more storage, etc). I always thought the layout of the late year bays, 76 and up, was fairly efficient and comparable to a vanagon.
We had a 1970 Westy. I still wouldn't trust either of the kids in that upstairs cot yet, so we were right to expect a few years that it would be impossible to sleep four safely. Loved that Bus but it just didn't work great for four.

I have a buddy with a '77 so I'm familiar with the late bay interior, too. There's no comparison space-wise with the Vanagon. They really squeezed every cubic inch out of the design. Like I said, I miss the charm but practically speaking, the Van just makes sense for us.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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Re: growing out of bus

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:56 pm

sped372 wrote:
Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:41 pm

I have a buddy with a '77 so I'm familiar with the late bay interior, too. There's no comparison space-wise with the Vanagon. They really squeezed every cubic inch out of the design.
Okay, cool. so can you give some examples on how the vanagon is better space wise? I'm not challenging your decision, just want to understand your thought process.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

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sped372
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by sped372 » Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:41 am

Same layout, just a few critical inches bigger everywhere. Lower deck over the engine is a huge gain, and I'm fairly certain the cabinets are in inch or so shallower, and the van itself is an inch or so wider. It just all adds up to a very noticeable difference. Also, in my opinion, the fridge in the late bays seems limited, only working on 110v. We rarely camp where that's available. Some folks malign the Dometic in the Vanagons but the propane feature is very handy.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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Re: growing out of bus

Post by Jivermo » Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:50 am

I own a ‘78 Westy Bay, which I really like, and am comfortable in, on the road. However, I spent 6 weeks camping in an ‘87 Vanagon Westy, this year, with a friend. The Vanagon is far roomier, and has a better layout than the Bay. To me, the actual physical measurements are not a way to gauge the differences; spending time living in the vehicle was the real proof in the pudding. The Vanagon was definitely the more comfortable, with the better layout. I’ll stick with my air cooled Bay, but I can see where an extended trip, with other people, would favor choosing a Vanagon.

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Amskeptic
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:00 pm

Jivermo wrote:
Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:50 am
I own a ‘78 Westy Bay, which I really like, and am comfortable in, on the road. However, I spent 6 weeks camping in an ‘87 Vanagon Westy, this year, with a friend. The Vanagon is far roomier, and has a better layout than the Bay. To me, the actual physical measurements are not a way to gauge the differences; spending time living in the vehicle was the real proof in the pudding. The Vanagon was definitely the more comfortable, with the better layout. I’ll stick with my air cooled Bay, but I can see where an extended trip, with other people, would favor choosing a Vanagon.

Yeesh, I have comments for everyone in this thread.

Mr. Blotto, let's get through the winter break for a reappraisal. I was so too nervous about Chloe's engine last spring, really on edge, that I had to keep NaranjaWesty available on stand-by. I left you hanging and extinguished the hopes and dreams of your daughter who must be approaching 30 by now. Yeah, and the Law Firm fire almost taught me a big old lesson. Just on the other side of this wall was NaranjaWesty.
Lesson: Don't Grip Life So Tightly, Let Go:

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I might have an opportunity to try a P22 Westy with MegaSquirt (courtesy; luftwagen) on the road in mid-February.
Then I will be able to opine on the Vanagon vs Bay Westy Accomodations discussion, but I am already a firm adherent of the excellent dynamic engineering of the soulless shoddy Vanagon. My 1989 Weekender had a superior rear mattress/rear seat fold down to the bay Westy, because having a rear floor that is so much lower allows them to have thicker memory foam. The Vanagons are also noticeably wider than the bays and that adds to the spaciousness in a hurry.

Zabo, you do have a conundrum, because you know the Beetle is right smack in the very middle of what made the air-cooled Volkswagen such a phenomenon, superior quality, light precise driving, off the charts charm, you know that car owes you nothing.
The Adventurewagon actually began to speak to me this last visit, it has an aesthetic, it has a spirit, and it is fun to drive. And yes, your full family camping days may be hurtling to an end, like my website.

Jivermo, after driving around in the Vanagon, were you happy to be back to your Westy?
I remember the morning I sold my beautiful (you know it was pristine) L90D white Vanagon with the perfect plush grey velour to those ladies, and walked down my driveway (probably currently on fire) in Sylmar to the Road Warrior which had done quite a bit of sitting alongside the garage. Windows were fogged with vinyl clouding, interior smelled baked, I remember the front cabin seemed impossibly frumpy and the windshield was too vertical and small and everything looked like effort. Punching the accelerator twice to set the chokes, that damn car seduced me back in five seconds flat. It's a Volkswagen "and don't you forget it". That was 1991. Who knew I would be granted another eighteen years of joy with that unassuming frumpy car?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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sped372
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Re: growing out of bus

Post by sped372 » Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:46 pm

I'm not sure exactly why they changed it but the foam/bed in the '70 was far thicker and superior to the ones the late bays have downstairs. The upstairs foam bed in the van is pretty spartan but still beats the ground.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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