A question for Westy owners (maybe others)...

[Benyon]

I am looking at building a storage unit to go against the bulkhead behind the passenger seat. While I understand "It's whatever your used to..." I want to know if people think a bulkhead unit gets in the way when opening/closing the sliding door from the inside?

I currently have an option of going to the height of the bulkhead for extra storage (two compartments) or half height (one compartment) so the sliding door handle remains unresticted and the unit can also be used as a seat/stool.

 

[the councillor]

depending on how your personality / state of mind allows you to view it (glass half empty etc.) EVERYTHING gets in the way in a westy interior due to the fact that you're trying to fit a pint into a half pint pot OR it's a masterpiece of teutonic ingenuity with a place for everything and everything in its place.

whatever you put in is going to get in the way sometimes, due to the fact that even in an empty panel van there's barely enough room to swing around a fully grown mole, never mind a cat :|

i'm going for the 'half-height' option, because you're aping a westy continental interior, which is perfection in plywood 8)

 

[Doris]

I wouldn't personally say the Dormobile one gets in the way - never thought about it so I suppose its not that much of an issue for me. hth

 

[Benyon]

Mine didn;t come with one, do you have any pics?

 

[steve92]

hi andy,although our bus is missing the genuine westy sink, we do have a homemade unit by the sliding door up to the bulkhead. its pretty narrow, so theres plenty of room to get your hand in to open the slider. i do find it gets in the way a bit with the bed up, but usefull for storage.

 

[Graham L]

Why do you think so many westy interiors are missing their sink/fridge unit :?: , cos it gets in the bloody way and makes opening the door from the inside a pain in the arse :lol: :lol:

 

[Tiki-Al]

yep whipped mine out :shock:

going to fit a half depth unit in it's place to house the JD! :lol:

 

[faux]

I find mine ok now I have bought an extended westy interior sliding door handle... :mrgreen:

Quite hard to find though, but works a treat.

 

[birchyman]

yeh the extended westy handle makes life easier but ive never used my sink not even to clean my teeth but the storage is handy if i was building from scratch id go a lot lower so you can sit on it

 

[faux]

The sink in my westy is removable so I can use it to wash up outside, it has a removable cutlery draw so this helps too. The cooler is the least useful in some ways as it is not a fridge, but packed with ice it keeps stuff fresh for a long weekend and has a drain hole for when the ice melts.

It all depends on how you use it and how many of you you want to fit in. For the three of us it makes sense, anymore and I would be tempted to remove and put in an additional buddy seat.

 

[Turkish]

In my opinion it gets in the way, especially after her in doors has far to much to drink and need to exit sharpish if you know what i mean. When you are desperate to get out it is an arse :twisted:

 

[Benyon]

Thanks for everones opinions.

There are only two of us who use the van, but want some storage for shoes and any other bits. We have decided to go 'half height' and use the unit as a seat. Have knocked up a bit of a design based around some other units I have seen:

Possibly not the clearest picture, but will have a cushion on top for seating.

 

[froggy]

Nice idea, i might have a go at something like this,
Basically its a 400mm cube, with an opening front and a fold down / away table.
What you making it out of? MDF and then painted / stained?

 

[Benyon]

Yes, but not totally convince on the height yet. The bottom of the sliding door handle is around 450mm (measured wroughly) which is what I based my 400mm height on.

I need to work out what my other units are made of and try and match this unit, possibly Oak and Pine? But I'm not goo with wood, so gonna bring a friend in to help!

 

[froggy]

Had another look at this today while out pottering in the van, measured up my Devon buddy seat just as a reference.
The seat is 14" high, 18" wide and 22" long (easier to measure in old money)
In new money this is 352mm high, 457mm wide, 559mm long (worked out with an on-line converter!)
Would just re-check the height your planning on going as you need to be able to get on the seat :lol: :wink:

 

[noddy]

Mine has a unit against the bulkhead and yes it make opening and closing the door a little harder but not enough to cause a problem. the only thing I would look out for is a new interior door handle, some of the early westys were fitted with a handle that had an extra top peice to the moulding to make it easier to open the door. will post pic if you need one just let me know.

 

[Benyon]

Had another look at this today while out pottering in the van, measured up my Devon buddy seat just as a reference.
The seat is 14" high, 18" wide and 22" long (easier to measure in old money)
In new money this is 352mm high, 457mm wide, 559mm long (worked out with an on-line converter!)
Would just re-check the height your planning on going as you need to be able to get on the seat :lol: :wink:

Cheers Froggy

I was a bit concerned when my measurements came out as a cube, didn't like the sound of everything coming together so conveniently. I'll mock something up using cardboard boxes until I get the dimensions I'm happy with. Don't know why it's only come to me now, but I'll probably make the unit the same height as the bench seat in the rear (providing that doesn't foul the door handle.