All, I'm thinking of trading the wife's Suburban for a new VW Eurovan MV with the 'Weekender' package - Westfalia popup bed roof, small fridge... Problem is that it doesn't look very kayak rack friendly. I've seen the normal racks shown for the Eurovan but don't seem to be able to pin down something that works with the Westfalia top. Anyone have any experience with one of these vehicles? That pop-up bed would sure make the kayak-surfing trips to the coast awfully easy... Best, Thomas *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi, Thomas. I have a 95 Eurovan Camper (it's for sale) and put the www.prorac.com racks on the vehicle. they are made for the EV and supported by Winnebago who make the conversion. Yakima told me they definitely do not advise putting their racks on the pop top. the pro racs are attractive and sit down low on the roof. they cost $200 for the pair (and they now have an attachment that will enable you to move one of the bars if you want to put, say, a storage pod). they also provide Thule saddles (that I like much better than my Yakimas that need screw adjusting) that flex to hull shapes very easily. I leave the straps attached and just lasso them over the bow and stern before tightening. there is a special tool that enables you to slide the saddles in and prevents saddle theft. the saddles are $100/pair. they reckon that someone with some skills could self install in an hour and people from the evupdates list (do you subscribe?) have done it themselves. I was charged $90 for installation for 1 1/2 hours of labor - it was their first time. My problem was that I am unable to pop the top with my 41 lb Hobie Pursuit on top and ended up doing what I did before I'd gotten the racks....ie taking the boat out of the van at campgrounds. Pat Moss could pop the top with her 32-34 lb K-Light. sandy kramer miami *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi, I just got a Westfalia and love it! (1980, however) I had a shop in Salt Lake City install the racks as they have a big drive-in garage and had done a lot of them. I drove it over there from Port Townsend hoping to find someone, and put my whitewater kayak in it. You can see a picture of it on the way home at a lake in Lassen State (?) Park. It did need to get a new rear wheel bearing on the trip, and the relay to the starter broke on the way....so I did a bunch of coasting to jump start through Lassen. It was actually fun overall, as I got stuck next to a reggae festival for the weekend in Quicy, CA. I often now put the ww kayak in the van and bungie it to the bar. It's really hard to pop the top with even just one kayak on. I playaround with putting far back, for example, which seems to make it easier. Here is a picture: http://www.onwatersports.com/van.html The last person installed a swithc behind the drivers seat - pull it on when driving to turn on the fridge. This way the engine recharges the battery, then you turn the switch off when you stop. Has an inverter too. Andree http://www.onwatersports.com/KIX - KIX On Tue, 12 Jun 2001, Thomas Mitchell wrote: > All, > > I'm thinking of trading the wife's Suburban for a new VW Eurovan MV with the > 'Weekender' package - Westfalia popup bed roof, small fridge... > > Andree Hurley, Webmaster http://www.viewit.com/ - New Look, New Programs for E-commerce and Design *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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