This world, she’s full of incredible little details, is she not? All these things I thought I knew so much about turn out to still have so many fascinating secrets! Take the iconic Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus, especially in its camper form as upfitted by longtime VW partner Westfalia. These little campers were genuine packaging marvels, with everything folding into something else and everything seemingly having multiple uses. I just learned of another one these incredible little details, and I’m very eager to share it with you so, you know, prepare accordingly. Maybe get a dropcloth.
By the way, be sure you don’t confuse the VW Westfalia campers with Westphalian hams, because while their names and shapes are quite similar, they actually are used for very different things. The VW Westfalia campers are used for driving around and camping in; the hams are used for food, or possibly experimental data storage.
Just so we’re clear, this is a VW Westfalia camper:
…and this is a Westphalian ham:
Are we clear? Great. You may want to print those images out and keep them in your wallet, for reference.
Okay, back to the VW campers. Here’s what I want you to see: you know how these old buses had spare tires? I feel like I need to point this out specially now, since so many modern cas forego an actual spare tire.
A real spare is actually a wonderful thing; I say this as someone who, not too long ago, found themselves trapped on the side of the road lacking a spare tire, and it sucked. Anyway, the VW Type 2 in this era, the early ’60s, kept the spare in a special little well behind the front seat backrest, which would flip up to form a child’s bed, as you can see above.
Because nothing, and I mean nothing in a VW camper is wasted, that spare tire had another job aside from being alert and ready to take over road-tire duties. It was this:
See that? The tire forms the base of the table, when used outside of the bus! Holy crap, that’s such a good idea! You can see it in the top shot, too:
That’s clearly shot indoors and I believe that dog (and possibly the dad) are taxidermies, but that doesn’t change the fact that the table is supported by that spare tire.
It’s so damn clever! The spare is nice and heavy and makes a solid base for the table. The owner’s manual describes how:
The table’s “tubular leg” can be unscrewed from its usual socket in the floor inside the bus and then screwed into a matching socket on the spare wheel, just like this dirty old bastard is showing that family that seems to have giant marbles strapped to the roof:
Hot clams, is that clever! You have to lug the spare around anyway, why not put it to work? There’s nothing I don’t like about this.
I hope this clever use of a spare tire helps to inspire you all day long. I know it will for me.
Did it also provide pressure for the windshield washer too ?
I think those are hams on the roof
When I set up a canopy at a car show or racetrack, I steal my friends’ spare tires to use as wind ballast.
VW busses had the big 5 x 210 mm stud pattern, with the big empty centre area, up until (around) 1972, so there would have to be something attatched to the wheel in the floor end, you would then have to remove (and not loose) to use the spare tyre. But cool idea! 😀
I’m pretty sure that entire family is taxidermy.
Now that’s my kind of camping – a sound stage with changeable backdrops and actors to play my family.
COTD!
As a kid our family owned a few of the VW buses. But with 5 kids the campers were not an option.
Unless my old man wanted to toss a couple of us out on the side of the road.
Which seemed to happen on almost every trip longer than 20 miles.
BTW, by age 14, I had stood on the side of the road in at least 20 different states.
But my best memories are the times the old man would have a flat and need to pull that spare out only to discover it had no air in it. Every damn time.
Those are some of my happiest memories, that always bring a smile to me.
Because my old man was a huge ass wipe…The vision of that bastard having to roll/carry the spare down the road in search of a gas station is making me smile as I write this.
Years later I learned that me, (and my 3 brothers) were always making sure that spare contained no air before we would leave on a road trip.
I can still see the old man trying to air up the spare with a bike air pump on the side of a Nebraska highway in -10 degree temps. Always a good time for all involved…
Bastard.
Be nice to your kids, please.
I bet the nursing home you picked for him was SUPER nice.
Thanks for the huge laugh!!!
We debated for years over who was gonna pay for that…
He got lucky though and croaked at age 88. At home.
Funny story, his game was to lay in bed and pretend he was dead in the mornings.
So when he died, wife #5 ignored him till the late afternoon before she figured it out.
When only 2 of his 5 kids show up for the funeral, it tells you something, right?
Thankfully as a vet, the government paid for it all.
Did I already say he was a bastard? LOL.
I wonder if anyone’s ever tried to make an insert so you can do the same with the little table that came with the Swivel ‘n Go Grand Caravan/Town & Country, although getting the spare out of those (from a little compartment coming out the bottom near the front seats) is so onerous you’d probably be better just chopping down the nearest tree and building a table from scratch.
Given that this is a VW, it wouldn’t surprise me that the van and the ham come from the same factory.
Volkswagen Currywurst XXL 25cm | Original VW Part | The Sausage Man
I can’t find them for sale quickly in the US, but you can get them in the UK. There is an official part number, maybe you can order them from your local VW dealer?
Oh, they were available – but too frequently the VW parts department managers would get a digit wrong and wind up with a Type 1 crate motor.
I guess people got tired of their picnic tables falling over.
Genius!
I think that whole family is taxidermy, except for the mom. She has a look that says she got what she always wanted: a photogenic family that has finally shut the hell up.
and they are STILL distracting her from reading the damn newspaper
The old guy looks to either have a pipe clenched in his teeth a la Popeye, or he suffered some kind of awful injury in the war.
I also enjoy the kid’s bed up front – mostly that VW seemed to have actually planned for it to be used by actual humans, not like now when firms might tout a feature like that, but in reality, it’s fairly theoretical: things don’t actually fold flat, there’s a giant plastic seam in the middle, etc.
VW back then seemed to actually intend that it be used, not just mentioned in ads.
Spare tires can also be deflated and tossed into the campfire to create a lovely pest deterring smoke! Don’t deflate it if you want to put that campfire right out (of the fire ring and into the surrounding area)!
Follow me for more helpful hints!
The old dude is clearly humiliating his son-in-law. And little grandson wanted to go to McDonald’s, but he’s going to eat PB&J at a wobbly table with flies buzzing around.
The little kid looks less than impressed.
“Das ist Nicht Mac Donald!!!”
“…. just like this dirty old bastard is showing that family that seems to have giant marbles strapped to the roof”
Those are Westphalian Hams – which he would later strap to the bumpers for use as Westphalian Bumper Guards
(See page 10-11 of your manual)