Volkswagen Westfalia Camper
Production of Volkswagen camper variants continued until 2003 and was based on the Kombi, then the Vanagon, then the LT Mk 1, then the Transporter.
Collectors often have difficulty determining whether one of these options was specifically available from and for Westfalia models, or was developed and sold by other camper conversion vendors such as ASI/Riviera and Sundial.
During this period no tent per se was available from Westfalia, but one could obtain a striped canvas awning that stretched almost the length of the vehicle and extended about six feet out to the side.
This earliest of Westfalia tents is shown on the cover of the July, 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics[3] and in a 1956 brochure that describes it as "a large, colorful side awning.
[5] It consists of a single piece of heavy canvas, with a strip of vinyl along the bottom acting as a reinforcement and splash guard.
A long white zipper runs up the middle of the front, while the back is open and contoured to fit the bus.
The frame consists of four metal poles that fit into pockets inside the top of the tent and lock together to form a square.
Two additional poles dogleg into the top frame and have small chain hooks to hold the doors open.
Tent poles are steel, either black or grey, around 2 cm in diameter, and fourteen sections that must be assembled to create a rectangular, peaked awning with support rods leading to the bumpers.
Once the awning has been set up, curtains can be attached to the three outer sides (with Tenax lift-the-dot fasteners) to achieve a weatherproof - though windowless and floorless - portable shelter.
Leather straps secure the sidewalls to the support poles, and stakes hold the bottom edges down as with the small tent.
An additional set of poles and stakes were available to permit the outer flap to be extended horizontally as a second awning, resulting in a large shaded space on the side of the bus.
Both front and rear flaps can be rolled up and held open by cloth ties or (on later models) straps with lift-the-dot fasteners.
When Volkswagen transitioned to the bay window or bread loaf model with a large, single-curved windshield and sliding side door, the Westfalia camper was modified to include an angled pop top.
For one, the tent's frame is now external, with the canvas supported by elastic loops and plastic hooks, somewhat like a shower curtain.
