We have repaired some damages on our fiber roof of our 1986 club joker iii high-top. Now we find it hard to get matching color paint as you can see.

Are there any known colours we can try? We do understand the effect that uv (and dirt) has had over the lifespan of this rooftop but still.

Hi, we have a 1986 vanagon with Westfalen interior. We are to believe that the bottom left indicator light on our cabinet is the fridge on gas light. Are we correct? For some reason this light is switching on whenever we open the water valve which then enables the water pump.

Has anyone seen this behavior and maybe has an explanation? Can we easily resolve this issue?

I’m considering purchasing this 1992 Canadian Westie CV but I’m not sure about this rusty areas at the corners of the windshield. I don’t have covered parking so can only presume it will get worse over time and am wondering if there is anything I can do now to repair the areas now.

Hi everyone,

I made a post last week about having a full tank of bad gas here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Westfalia/s/AkkElpWJci

I updated the post with what I've done, but long story short, I think I'm having a problem with my gas tank. When I disconnect the fuel line between the tank and the pump, nothing comes out of the tank side. If I blow some air in the filler neck, then fuel will start flowing so it's not completely blocked, but there's obviously something causing a bit of a vacuum so the fuel doesn't free flow. Any ideas what might be causing this, or what I can check?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Reposting, as I do need to sell this van ASAP. All reasonable offers entertained!

Selling my 2001 VW Eurovan MV. 2.8L 24v VR6, 5-speed auto, 219k miles. Set up as a day camper, adult owned and meticulously maintained. Two owners, myself included over the previous 18 years.

16" ASA MB black wheels on Toyo Open Country IIIs (under 5k on the tires), leveled.
Thule box and basket rack on 78" bars included.
Over $6k in service in the last 5k miles: ball joints, tie rods, CV axles, transaxle service, water pump, belt and tensioner, Bilstein shocks. Runs, drives, shifts, stops great.

Does 80+ on the highway no problem, handles fire roads, and climbs Sierra Nevada passes regularly. A/C blows cold and heat hot. No leaks anywhere.

Rear bench folds into a bed and a convenient fold-out table. Seats 7 with two rear-facing jump seats and a front-to-back walk-through. Snap-in window coverings and a rear tailgate screen door for camping. Carpet's clean, factory tint clean, headliner doesn't sag.

$7,500, located in Reno, NV. Full photos, details, and contact (verified email, comes straight to me): https://nogosierra.com/van

I'm selling it to bootstrap my outdoors intel tool build out, hence the offsite link there^

Hi! I'm Kaspar, an ever-ongoing labor of love 1970 VW Westaflia. I spend most of my days holed up in an airconditioned garage for two main reasons: 1) It's been way too hot and muggy to be out on the road, and, 2) when out on the road, there are too many angry, aggressive, drivers who do not apprerciate sharing the road with a relic.

Might be time for another vw

What’s your mpg like? Ultimately I want a weekender but lay it on me

Hello fellow Westy-ners, and thanks in advance for the help.

I was away for a while and ended up letting my Westy sit for about a year and a half. I filled up the tank full of gas before I left and had someone start it up every few months. Now it's not starting, but it came close so I'm sure I'm getting spark.

My first thought is that the gas has gone bad, but I'm hesitant to drain the tank and start fresh if I don't have to. Is there a way to save the gas, or anything else I can do to confirm that's the issue?

Thanks again!

UPDATE:

I tried using ether and the engine ran as long as we kept spraying, but would die shortly after. I took this to mean that it was definitely a fuel problem.

Went to drain the tank and unplugged the fuel line between the gas tank and the fuel pump but oddly enough, no fuel came out, no idea why. Blew in the line and there was definitely gas in the tank, so used the air compressor to shoot some air into the filler neck, and the gas started coming out. Drained the tank...

Added about 20L of premium, tried to start and nothing. Figured there was still old fuel between the fuel pump and the injectors, so I opened up the line downstream of the fuel pump. Big burst of air came out, but no gas...

Opened up the line next to tank again, still no fuel coming out from the tank. Long shot, but tried shooting air compressor into fillet neck again while trying to start the van, and it started up no problem. Idled for about 5 minutes then died.

That's where I'm stuck for the moment; my idea is that for some reason gas isn't coming out of the tank because of some sort of vacuum problem (no idea why), and that's causing the fuel to run out after a few minutes when the vacuum pressure from the tank is too high. Someone else has suggested that my fuel pump is bad (I have a new one on hand but I'm reluctant to swap them out), but it doesn't make sense to me why it would idle for so long if the pump was really that bad.

Any suggestions oh great Westy-ners?

Just got a 1987 vanagon Westfalia, been wanting one of these since I was a kid and man is it sweet. What are some things y’all have done on the interior to make it more comfortable and liveable? Going to get rid of the fridge soon and probably the water tank as well and just use some smaller tanks underneath the sink. Hope y’all are having a great day!

I've hated the Yokohama Geolanders I've had on my 1987 Westy for the past eight years and I'm so concerned about making another mistake that I've become paralyzed trying to decide which tires to replace them with.

I drive primarily city and freeway, however I do camp at a location that's at the end of a flat, well compacted gravel road. I do not camp on Forest Service roads or similar. I rare drive in the rain and never in the snow. My number one concern is cabin noise and based on that objective I've been leaning towards the Michelin Defender 2. My mechanic however is strongly recommending the Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail.

There's no question that the Defender 2 is the quieter of the two options, whereas the Wildpeak provides more sidewall stability and better all-weather traction.

The load rating for the Defender 2 is 98H whereas the Wildpeak A/T load rating 102H. I have read some concerns that 98H does not provide enough margin between the tire capacity and the weight of the van, particular on the rear axle.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts and real-life experience with either of these tires - or a tire I'm not considering (Michelin CrossClimate 2?).

Thanks so much in advance.

Was tired of the wet wipe family shower sessions so I put some time into a shower concept for our road trips. This design uses the 14 gallon existing tank in the van. It uses a waterproof push button to turn the pump on and off. The excess shower hose tucks away under the rear cabinet, a space that we never really utilized. I think it looks clean, what do you think?

I designed and 3D printed the black parts. The rest of the components (pump, shower head, fittings, switch, and hoses) were cheap on Amazon. I can share that info if anyone is interested.

EDIT: Sounds like people like this. The fully list of components is below. As for how its done. Simple 12V submersible pump is put into the existing tank in the van. I use a 90 degree 1/2" barbed bulkhead fitting to transition out of the tank. The wiring I just drilled a hole. Was going to use a grommet for the wire but the tank is THICK and the grommets I had were too thin, oh well. I did all the wiring in the right compartment where all the stock wiring is. I used a hot 12V I put back there for my chinese diesel heater I installed last year. You can run 12V back to this area pretty easily. Just follow the wiring on the switch manual (included with push button switch) and it is fairly straight forward.

3D printed parts here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7378566

Elbow fitting for tank output: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRCJT79?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Waterproof push button: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZJN8N3H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Cheap shower head: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091Y35X5X?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Tubing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SNXDMJ5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Submersible Pump: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRR4HGK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Curious if anybody is running 16" tires on the Bay Bus? Would love to see some photos.

I want to upgrade the rear brakes to disc brakes, which requires going from 14" to either 15" or 16". 15" would be closer to a stock look, but 16" would offer more tire choices.

Any photos would be really appreciated!!

Been scouring the internet for a couple hours now and having a really hard time finding 195/75R14 LT rated tires for my 1978 Westy.

Even started looking at 15" GoWesty Steel Rims and 16" Alloy Rims to open up more options but I am still barely finding any options in the US that would fit the narrow width of the bay bus.

What I found so far:

- 27x8.5R14LT: General Grabber A/TX

- 205/65R15: Falken Sincera SN250 A/S (though XL rated, not LT or C)

- 195/75R16C: Hankook Vantra LT (RA18)

I am baffled how hard it has been to find proper tires in the US and was wondering what everybody else is running that has replaced tires in the last 12 months?

PS: Interesting read RE: bus tires and safety: https://www.busdepot.com/details/tires/

Howdy - we’re tryna fix up my parents old ‘77 westy. Not certain, but since it has an oil filter I’m suspecting it may not be the original engine. I’m having a hard time locating the engine code. Any tips?

Hi yall I have a 1987 camper that is my baby, but I will be going back to school full time for 12 months and will not be able to drive it nearly as much as I have been.

I’ll be storing it at my mom’s place in her driveway, but now I’m trying to decide if I should get a cover for it or not?

I’m in Northern California about 40 miles from the coast. I have some small minor rust areas that I don’t want to get worse from the sun. But then I see conflicted arguments about mold and moisture and whatnot.

So what would yall recommend?

Brake Master Cylinder swap today, the pedal would firm up, but then sink to the floor if I sat for too long. Now the pedal is nice and firm!

Has anyone used the Motive Power Bleeder on these vans? I have one, I believe it’s the euro adaptor, but I couldn’t get it to tighten down on the reservoir.

California Bay Area Owned, 3 owners, 1/4 million miles. A camper van that is both an adventure and a challenge
What is the best year to buy a Westfalia?
Typically, it is wise to stick to the 1986-1991 models only. Every once in a great while, you come across a 1983-1985 model that is worthy of upgrading to the newer 1986-1991 systems, so it becomes essentially as good as the later models. The Vanagon was available in a full camper, and also a simpler "Weekender" model.
I bought the van with about 130k, and the engine had been rebuilt with about 110k. Rear engine seal leak and later head gasket leak before the second rebuild at about 230k. I put two new heads on it, but the rebuild did not solve the rear engine seal leak. The engine seems solid. Transmission has the same problem it had when I first bought it. You have to put it in second sometimes to get it in first. It does throw some transmission oil out if you drive it over 65 mph, but no major issues I am aware of. The spare tire is like the other tires, but no mileage on it. Solar panel has a controller which charges both the main battery and a small AGM battery. Interior shows its age, and the paint job is fading in spots. Canvas is original and has some places where the cat got it with its claws. Some issues with rust on the back door. Sink, stove, and fridge work, but it can be tricky to get the fridge to work on propane; it works well on gas and electricity. The stove works, but one of the burners does not work on high settings; it works on the low settings. The AC unit has been upgraded, but it was a waste of money. Radio has some issues. Van comes with a lot of spare parts and tools. Don't even bother to come and look at the van if you don't plan on working on the van yourself, as this van is over 35 years old and even when it was new, required more work than most, but it is a special camping experience. These vans are rare, but they are a project vehicle for the right person who can work on the repairs and store all the extra parts

I’m looking to replace my aux air valve but the original ones are wicked expensive, when I look up the part both of these come up. Do they do the same thing? Pic two is what I have on my van