C-Brats: Have you ever owned a VW bus/camper?

C

Casey

New member
Ok -this isn't directly C-Dory oriented, but it's indirectly related I think.

For years I have been surprised at the number of C-Brats we've met who have owned a VW camper. There just seems to be a coincidence of folks who have owned both. Have you?

My pop-top camper was a '69 (as I recall) owned when I lived and worked at Ester Park, CO. Love it!

Best,
Casey&Mary
...currently in Denver, headed to Estes Park today.
 
Yep. Back in the mid-sixties. Engine broke down totally, even though only a few years old, on a drive in Newfoundland with couple of little kids aboard with us. Hauled away the muserable wreck and sold for scrap.
Now, have a Toyota Tundra 189,000 miles and going along fine.
 
A well used 68 Westphalia, then a new 1972 camper. Worked good if you didn'
t mind slow. Would go anywhere. Once shot an elk, hoisted it up in a tree, backed the camper up to it and slid it into the bed.
 
Patty and I had a VW bus - not a camper. I think if was a '71, and we bought it used in the late 70s. We put a homemade cabinet in it for pots and pans. We used it to pull our Coleman popup, and sometimes that was a little hairy, especially going over a mountain pass! It was my daily driver, but met an untimely demise when a huge branch broke off a maple tree in our driveway and smashed the roof in flatter than a pancake!
 
Our bus died the year vw upped the bus horsepower to 55. Our failed bus was soon joined by many others in the scrap pile that year of vw engine failure. The company never claimed any responsibility for their engineering failure, much like their initial denial this year of their rigging emissions from vws.
Before our failed bus, we had had a vw karmann gia and it gave good service, but with a growing family bought the larger bus. What a mistake that was, and that was the end of our relationship with vw.
 
Ha! needed a good chuckle. Boy did that question bring back some good memories. Had a 60's something that I bought used back in the day. Put in a paisley interior. Already had pop up, fridge and bed and all the needed appeal back when I still had hair, in fact down to the middle of my back. Now gone just like the VW. Used to have to wind draft 18 wheelers to get to 65. Engine rebuilds where needed often. Especially if you didn't notice the arrow on the piston that had a slight offset. Kind of helped vibrate engine to pieces if you put in back together wrong. Also suspension was very bouncy. Had to be very careful at drive inn's. I did replace with a brand new 71 Vega. Guess what ? It was a bigger piece of junk too and a lot less practical.
Oh the old days.
 
We had several VW cars, but never a camper. One a station wagon of which I can't remember the model, we could sleep in the back of & used it to make our first trip to Yellowstone Park in the fall of 1972. We also made several road trips in a 1975 Scout 11, but that could be tough, when it rained due to the tailgate needing to be open for us to fit. Road trips really improved in 1984 with a new Ford 250 cab & a half, diesel 4x4 with a camper shell. The shell soon came off the truck & then for the following 16 years, we traveled most of the US & many very rough dirt roads with a 4Wheel Keystone pop up, that never came off the truck for those 16 years. It was open from the cab to camper & the kids would crawl back & forth as we traveled. With heater, water, a cook stove & porta potty it was comfortable for long trips much like our CD22 now. During that era, diesel was much cheaper than gas with both being much less than now & with it getting 16 to 17 mpg it made our love of travel doable.
 
Yes, we also had a 73 VW bus which we camped in often. We did not have the camper top but we removed the middle seat and slept on the floor in sleeping bags. We had Coleman stove and ice chest and had big fun camping. But that was then, and we need a touch more comfort these days!
 
69 Westfalia. I always carried several days worth of food and dry clothes. You never know. My dad drove it one day and was terrified that the only substantial protection between the driver and oncoming traffic was the spare tire in front.

Mark
 
localboy":3qpqvyzq said:
One a station wagon of which I can't remember the model,
Click to expand...

Type 3, "Squareback".
Click to expand...

No, I looked it up & the one we went to Yellowstone in was a 1971 411, that we barowed from my folks. We liked it enough that we then bought a 1972 or maybe 1973 412. Our last VW was a 1979 Diesel Rabbit & first a 1971 Beetle. My brother in law at the time worked as a salesmen at a VW dealership & we bought all of them through him.
 
Hunkydory":e0lb89y1 said:
localboy":e0lb89y1 said:
One a station wagon of which I can't remember the model,
Click to expand...

Type 3, "Squareback".
Click to expand...

No, I looked it up & the one we went to Yellowstone in was a 1971 411, that we barowed from my folks. We liked it enough that we then bought a 1972 or maybe 1973 412. Our last VW was a 1979 Diesel Rabbit & first a 1971 Beetle. My brother in law at the time worked as a salesmen at a VW dealership & we bought all of them through him.
Click to expand...

411 were the later model Type 4's. Not very popular.
 
'66 Bug... in 1977. Was working at Paradise Mt Rainier at the time for the NPS. I could walk to work but it was my driver for trips to Puyallup for groceries and to Seattle for city trips. Didn't have it for very long as it wasn't big enough to carry many belongings as I moved from park to park. Worked great for me. Purchase price was $600.00. Sold it to another ranger and bought a pick up. Wish I still had it!
 
Yes, they never were very popular, but for us a huge improvement over the beetle it replaced. We only kept the 412 a couple years then traded it in on a 1975 International Scout. Our 1st 4 wheel drive vehicle.
 
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