Identifying a bus

[Welly]

Hi all,

A little embarrassing this but .......ive owned a late bay on and off for around 2o years and never really looked into the ins and out of vans. After selling my latest van im now looking to purchase an early bay. The issue I have is my son is loving the idea of the VW scene/hols etc and he has started asking questions about vans that I cant answer :? He is only 8 but like most 8 year olds he knows how to search the web and has started trying to find our next early bay. He is now asking " dad whats the difference between a devon and a dormobile or a westy "etc. I have no idea and am unable to find a web page that explains it to me. The only thing I do know is that a tin top has no pop up roof ( sad I know ).

Any help would be much appreciated and as well as help me not seem so aft to my son but it would also help me potentially look for what we need in our next van.

Many thanks

Paul.

 

[Graham L]

take a look in the history section lower down http://forum.earlybay.com/viewforum.php?f=17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, has sections on most of the manufacturers, theres a good guide written by David Eccles on all the conversions http://www.amazon.co.uk/VW-Camper-Conversions-Interiors-1951-2012/dp/1847974171/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450271146&sr=8-3&keywords=vw+camper+guide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Davydomes]

........a good guide written by David Eccles on all the conversions http://www.amazon.co.uk/VW-Camper-Conversions-Interiors-1951-2012/dp/1847974171/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450271146&sr=8-3&keywords=vw+camper+guide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I second that!

 

[Happystamps]

Easiest way to spot 'em is by the style of the poptop roof where they have 'em, the most common types you'll see are:

-Early Devon (plinth with concertina sides, flat section lifts up)

-Dormobile (poptop that hinges from the side, further forward than most, over the cab seats)

-Westfalia (full length with a split 1/4 of the way along, the 3/4 hinges from front or back, the 1/4 is an inegtrated roofrack, looks like a wedge of cheese on the roof)

-Danbury (Like a dormy roof, but in the middle of the bus).

-Late Devon (same place and similar profile to a Danbury, but "squarer" and doesn't go all the way down to the gutters)

-Viking (Massive full length boyo that hinges at the side)

Obviously there are lots of variations on that, because people are never bloody satisfied.

Here's a link to a site that has LOTS and LOTS of different photos of interiors, all organised by conversion type-

http://www.camperinterior.webfotos.co.uk/

 

[Welly]

Thanks all, very helpful .

Am I correct in saying you could potentially have a Devon roof van but have a Westy interior??

I think I could now determine the model by the roof now ... Ish!

 

[ozziedog]

One of the things that people miss out is just how old these vans are. At some time in their life, most of these vans were right down the food chain in terms of value but obviously not now. Because they were `low value` at some point, a lot of these vans were refurbed or repaired with whatever was at hand and made to fit so it is very likely that you could find a van with the combination of what you said above. My van for instance was originally a panel van that had some horrible windows cut into the sides, but I don`t know if that was done when new ish or much later in it`s life. Some companies actually bought vans new as panel vans and during the conversion they fitted windows like mine and Devon is one such company and so were Holdsworth that bought windowed vans and panel vans to convert. Mine had a Danbury type pop top and mostly Westy interior that was added at some time but I`ve changed it. I put the genuine sides and windows in from a donor van (rusted out) and I had an Early Devon roof on it for a bit but didn`t like it then converted it to a later Devon roof, the interior is now a little ad hock consisting of a bed and a very large cool box for keeping lots of bottles of Stella cold, and that with a gazebo is pretty much perfect for what I need. So you`ll come across every possible combination from perfectly stock and as original as is earthly possible to vans that have been adapted to suit the owners needs / budget. Pop some pictures up and we`ll tell you what you have, but every now and then something very unusual comes up.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, We likes a little intrigue we does :mrgreen: