Westfalia benefits

[Plymman]

I'm looking to get a 4 berth camper and Westfalia seem to be so highly regarded by most. I'm slightly put off of LHD but they do seem to have lots of practical features.

What are the main benefits of a westy over other conversions, and are they worth the extra they always seem to go for?

[Plymman]

I only ask here to try and get a more impartial look, all the glowing things seem to come from Westfalia forums and most of the critical stuff comes from self build/caravan forums, it'd be nice to hear the middle ground.

[Ralf85]

You may pay more for a westie, but the re-sale value will remain higher, provided it is in good condition. As long as the westie has spent most of its life in Germany, it will not have been exposed to salt over there, so generally less chassis and under floor rust than those vans that have spent all their lives in the UK. If you want a grill with your stove then a UK conversion is another option, but it doesn't bother me. I have no problems driving with lhd in the UK. It took a couple of months to relax with it and holidaying in Europe means it is a doddle over there.

[discipleofsketch]

You can get right hand drive westfalias

I think they are highly regarded because it's a german camper conversion, and like German vehicles are considered to be higher build quality than the various UK conversions... rightly or wrongly I don't know!

[discipleofsketch]

You can get right hand drive westfalias

Just had to check myself on that! From here:-

http://www.eastfalia.com/about.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Westfalia converted right-hand drive models do exist but were made in such tiny numbers that they will never satisfy current and future demand. As buyers will quickly find out, there are many vans purporting to be ‘Westfalia’ but a large percentage of these will be home made conversions, in one way or another, but using some element of genuine Westfalia equipment – interior, kitchen unit, roof (high or pop top), pilot seats etc"

So basically yeah, I guess you'll be looking at LHD

[keith]

Lhd is a doddle....

You're high up so you have a good view
Its not a racing car so you won't be doing lots of overtaking on b roads

Worst case is that every now and again you try to get in the wrong side at petrol stations.

Buy a diesel if you can

[kevtherev]

It's a camper..
What you want it for and how it does it is far more important than a name.
Fridge, stove, storage, sink, heater and a comfy bed.
You get them all with factory conversions.

I liked autosleeper because it had everything I needed to camp all year round without holding the hand of the national grid.
I'm sure the others do that.. But I couldn't possibly comment on how good or bad they are.

[Bucketbabe]

Mine is a lhd westy (converted from a German fire service caravelle).
I find the lhd a little challenging, but then I've not had it long and certainly need more practice.
Tbh, I don't get the Westfalia fuss. It's the only camper we've owned so can't compare fairly. However, for our purposes I find the storage irritating. In fact, I'm considering removing it and replacing with something custom built to our requirements. But then I'd be de-valuing my van.

My best advice is to get to as many meets and shows as you can and have a good nosey at as many vans as you can. I'm sure you'll work out what's best for you, your family and your budget.

[Sir Brixalot]

Another vote for Autosleeper. Totally practical, stop where I like, drive on the correct side and less sluggish

[The Bishop]

I have a home brew converted builders van. It works fine for me. I like dabbling with it and don't want yo be tied to originality. But I do covert a Westy, particularly a syncro Westy but that's probably just because I dont have one and the grass is greener on the other side. Many westys look to be well cared for and so are probably a good purchase.

Like others say. Have a look and see what you like, sod what others think, it's you that has to live with it.

[trucker]

They're all a bit of a compromise high-top or pop-top, diesel or petrol, rhd or lhd, blah blah blah...
Pick the one you like and go camping!

[keith]

Another vote for Autosleeper. Totally practical, stop where I like, drive on the correct side and less sluggish

Less sluggish than.......

[jason k]

Westys are IMHO the best t3 camper you can get in terms of practically and clever storage space. Every nook and cranny is utilized and there's no orrid 20 year old carpet moulting as in Brit conversions.

Vw themselves sold westys through their dealership network!

[voodoopenguin]

I have only had practical experience of two T25 vans. My first purchase was based on a newbie doing a bit of research and finding that a Westfalia was considered a good model. As the van was to take me on a long road trip in Europe I was looking at LHD anyway and had also decided that I wanted a pop top rather than a high top. I still have that van which turned out to be awful however that was not Westfalia's fault it was just the overall condition of every part of it. I have gradually been bringing it back to a better condition. The van I then bought to do the trip was also diesel and LHD but not a Westfalia, it was a Carthago. Having both at the same time I was able to do a thorough comparison of the interior set up and I have to say that the Carthago was better (to me) in many ways. The fittings seemed to be of similar quality but the arrangement and usable capacity was much better. I especially liked the under bed wooden drawers accessed from the back where I could keep all the oily bits, tools and spares etc. away from the living area. The cupboard arrangement also meant that using the rear view mirror gave a larger area of the road behind than visible with the Westy.

In hindsight I should never have sold the Carthago on my return and maybe just scrapped (!!!) the Westy however at the time I didn't think I would be keeping a van for much longer, so I got my money back plus more on the good one and thought I would have the Westy as my classic vehicle to tinker with. The Westy is a turbo diesel and the Carthago was non turbo but although it was slow it still managed to get up and down dozens of Norwegian mountains on some god awful roads and all the way to Nordkapp and back with absolutely no problems. Bugger, I'm really regretting selling it now!

Paul

[BigTam]

Buy what you can afford, yes the Westy's are good but so are a lot of other vans.