I have a 1975 camper van and...well...it might be time to let him go. Now, I know the whole vw camper van concept seems to have died with the 1990's, but is it coming back??? I was surfing through the vw germany website and found the "Multivan California". My german's rusty, can anyone tell me more about this model? Is it just a concept or a full production model? When did they start making it? Available in Canada (or at least north america somewhere)? Price point?
Also, if anyone can suggest a good alternative I should be considering, I'm all ears. I was thinking of a Mercedes Sprinter conversion, but as near I can tell you need to pay through the nose for the conversion. Would also consider a japanese van conversion - anyone heard of such a thing?
Never gonna happen here. The T5 (the one you saw on that site) van came out for the '04 model year after the T4 (Eurovan) died off but the T5 never came to the US or Canada and there are no plans to bring it to the US or Canada either. VW has abandoned the van market in the US and Canada except for a Chrysler-based (yes you heard that right) minivan for 2008.
If you don't need brand-new, you can look for a 1997-2003 Eurovan full camper...that's about the closest you're going to get to "new" in a VW in North America that's also at least somewhat modern (in that it has a V(R)6 engine, airbags, front-drive, etc.).
Or you can start looking at domestic-brand Ford or Chevy conversion vans and see if there's something close to what you want. They are however, uh...."domestic". :)
Well that's sad..I mean that VW seems to have left this market segment for the domestics to monopolize, I guess I'll keep looking for alternatives. Too bad because the T5 looks interesting in that to my knowledge, it's the first camper van to roll off the line alreay "camperized" at the factory, not a conversion. Not that Westfalia or Winnebago (later) ever did a bad job, but it would be comforting to know that VW engineering and manufacturing expertise went into every component.
Yes and I believe the T5 is VW-camperized, not even Westfailia-camperized...because (guess who!) Daimler-Chrysler owns Westfailia now and so after the contract to camperize T4 vans for VW expired at the end of T4 production there was no new contract for the T5 vans (for obvious reasons...D.C. is having Westfalia camperize their own vans).
Winnebago has been criticized for so-so quality on their conversion though. However, at least it was an option, and now we have none.
From what I understand the T5 would have been too expensive to have made a US/Canadian version. I suspect it could be done cheaper if it were built in Mexico (like how other VW models have been built there for NA markets) but VW for whatever reason didn't opt to produce the T5 there for NA...the ditched the idea of the T5 for NA altogether.
Hmmm.... We have a 1987 Westie and a 1999 Winnie... They are substantially different vehicles well beyond the simple front/rear engine stuff. We also looked at the Sprinter options and at the "new Westie" option on Sprinter chassis. We also looked at the various US- made chassis conversion options.
Our goal was a vehicle that would (eventually) replace the '87 Westie, but have more/most of the modern safety-related bells and whistles such as ABS, traction control, air-bags and so forth. AWD was NOT a consideration as we would not be taking the vehicle out in either truly nasty weather or on truly nasty roads/trails that not being the point after all.
The logic of our search was to find a vehicle that all in the family would drive without fear or concern, and one that we could drive 'locally' without having to haul a pull-behind car or similar. We also decided early on that a full-service bathroom was not a big consideration either. Cost was not an object if below $50K.
We went around the horn, driving two Sprinter-based units, and looking at the "modern Westie". Climbing the cabinets to get to a wide-but- short bed (I am 6'-3") eliminated the Westie. It was elegantly laid out but just not made for tall people. We also drove two "Pleasure- Way" vehicles. Standing up was a major PITA in the fixed-roof units. Those with the Pop-Top quickly went over our cost-limits, even for one with substiantial miles on it. Beds also ran short, and the toilet was dead-center-back... Awkward.
We wound up with the 1999 Winnie, built on the Eurovan MV chassis, basically this one:
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Look at the "FULL CAMPER" specifications for 1999. We got one with
57,000 miles on it, at substantially less than half our maximum budget even if a trip to New Hampshire, a full dealer-based service and sales- tax was factored in, just in November of 2006. We recently completed a
2600 mile trip and were greatly pleased with it. As compared to the 87 Westie, the changes are subtle but important. Summarized:
The bed is better. The floor area is larger making 'walking around' more comfortable (we do not have the third (center) seat option). The stove, refrigerator, storage, pop-top and so forth are much easier to use and to monitor over the Westie, and the tell-tales are very nice. Due notice is made to safety, with a propane alarm, CO alarm and low-secondary-battery alarm, as well as a neat system that cuts off the main battery well ahead of 'unable to start' conditions. And, finally, the propane furnace is quite elegant, quiet, and well designed. Unlike the gasoline-fired models in the earlier versions.
The front seats are more comfortable and the swivel system makes sense. Controls are better as well. The pop-top is substantially different (and easier) to use, a big consideration for my wife who is not a power-lifter. I think that Winnie got it right (at least in our case). The neat little rear hand-spray is an excellent addition, as well as a clearly intuitive electrical center. Lots of storage, even for big items under the bed... wasted or taken by the engine on the Westie.
On the very practical side, we averaged 21.45 mpg/regular on our trip, the vehicle parks in a normal spot, turns on the proverbial dime, has great visibility and can get out of its own way in a pinch, does not collapse on hills... and so forth. We had well over 500 pounds of load on half our trip, no worries.
They are hard to find on the open market. But emphatically TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
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