Ok so i accept the so22 and 23s etc were exceptional for their time , and i accept the quality of the prototype westys were superb ,but why do people still rate and hanker after the old chara's these days . i did --and i had once owned 71 devon caravanette which i loved and rated as good if not better , whats the deal why are they so special ?.
Ours was special because it came with all the original bits (curtains, mozzy screen, cab bunk, foot stool) and had a full service history documented...it it had been a Devon, with the same, we'd have bought it!
i love the over all shape of early roofed latebay westie's -- i love the wilma's its top drawer vw eye candy
The interior just works alot better then other conversions. Folding tables that store alot easier, poptop that has good head room and is alot easyer to set up and has vents in etc etc even in the T25 versions the lay out is fantastic, and designed to be used alot and not be any hassle while in use. I'd love a westie one day.
thanks Poptop! After a cold weekend away, I can honestly say the Westy layout is perfect, everything has a place, cupboards allow you to live in the van without moving a pile of 'something' every time you want to move. The full width bed is comfy and with the wind howling and the rain battering down snuggling under a pile of blankets and duvets watching a dvd was bliss. Perfect quiet weekend 'in'
We had a Continental for years. They can take a battering and still look good. Top quality plywood throughout, no chipboard rubbish. But I think they forgot that people might want to inhabit it - there was just too much furniture and the cupboards were frustratingly inaccessable. The only good bit was the full width bed.
The interiors last. The laminate might not but the units do. The Berlin is very well thought out and in my eyes one of the best conversions out there. The pop tops are massive and give cathedral type head room. Rear hinged has a superb double bed up there. The front roof rack is perfect as a drainer for crockery or a seat to watch the world go by. Even the roof canvas is with the front zip was a genius bit of design. The Berlin's just work so very well and adapt to how you want it.
When my chug chug caught fire, all the steel was twisted & distorted, the gearbox, turned to vapor, the glass melted as did the aluminium Westy widows. The rock & roll bed still worked & an egg survived in the fridge still raw. Now that is quality!
i guess i am the only one who thinks that plastic square boat on the roof is really ugly. and that spare wheel cover on the Berlin models is something for the book of aesthetic disasters (in my opinion) i do like the upholstery and curtain patterns though.
Comfy double bed upstairs, double bed downstairs. Both not requiring escapades similar to the end of the Poseidon Adventure to get in an out of. Roof isn't too large. Clever interiors, quality.
Mines a Westy Continental. 2 adults and two kids!! so sold the interior as no room whatsoever and when the beds up nowhere to stand up. Pop top headroom is irrelevant of theres anyone in the bed upstairs! So with my dodgy back crouching all the time the kids were in bed was poop so fitted a Viking roof. you cant get from to the front to the back when your cooking.... Anyway so now it isnt a continental and ive got plenty of room for 5 to sleep you can cook and get from front to back - stand up to cook, fridge instead of a cool box and the luggage goes up in the roof when camping even with 3 in the roof so you can easily seat 4 downstairs to eat etc. But yep - its not original and its ugly with its viking roof but I never cut the roof out anymore than it was cut out for the westy. Still like the look of the early westy roof and if I had my time again would look at finding a way to side hinge it as a full lenth unit with rear rack as part of the elevating bit to keep the standard look
During my 10 year gap of owning a Bay, a rear-hinge roof just looked better to me. It just seemed to be the one to have. In those days I had no idea who the manufacturer was. I didn't even know what Westie meant back then. I was just really drawn to them.
