Date:         Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:31:22 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Canvas Replacement
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2006032710333364@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>  I installed the BusDepot 3 window pop-top canvas
> and it fit nearly perfectly and has NEVER leaked.

> Ok, i have installed 10 canvas in a row... most from GoWesty, 
> some from CIP1.com and 2 from Busdepot.
> 
> The Gowesty and CIP1 look alike and fit alike...
> The one from Busdepot feel different, at first i was not impress
> feel way thinner ...but after i had finish the installation, i was 
> very happy with the fit, feel and look ...and yes, the 
> Busdepot one are the closest in size to the original than the 
> other ones. Stangly, the Gowesty one were 2.5 inchs way to 
> high??? ... 
> Also, i did some testing with heavy water! Again, i was sure that
> the Busdepot one wouldn't be good under heavy water.... 
> again i was wrong.
>
> I would like to see a 3 windows from Busdepot?



Thanks for your positive comments, Ben and Malcolm.

Actually, most of mine DO have 3 windows, Ben - all but one, in fact. In
tan, we offer our European sourced aftermarket poptop canvas in either
1-window ($179) or 3-window ($237), as well as the OEM Westfalia one (in
3-window) for $332. ( Prices reflect listmember discount.) In Gray we carry
the 3-window OEM Westfalia one, for $332. (We also list cotton or acrylic
U.S. sourced ones, in gray or tan - the same ones the other vendors sell -
for a bit less, if someone wants them... but frankly I don't see the
advantage.)  Here's the full list...

<http://busdepot.com/view.jsp?model=43&category=40&group=94&prodgroup=909>

As for the BusDepot canvas feeling thinner than the U.S. made (GoWesty/CIP1)
canvas, this is because they are totally different fabrics. The U.S. made
product is more of a functional replacement rather than an attempt at an
accurate cosmetic reproduction. While it is indeed thicker than any of the
others (the original, our European made repro, or our OEM Westfalia
replacement), it is a totally different material - a courser textured cotton
with black stitching that doesn't look particularly stock. Our European
sourced repro is meant to look stock, so the material is more like the
original. (And of course our OEM Westfalia canvas is even closer still.)  As
you noted, even though the rough cotton canvas was thicker than the others,
it did not turn out to be any more water resistant (and didn't fit as well).
Speaking of fit, I too am surprised that you found the U.S. (GoWesty/CIP1)
canvas to be too big, because as I said, I have found some to be a bit
small.  So perhaps this could be a quality-control issue rather than a
problem with the pattern itself.  That would explain why some are apparantly
too big and others too small, even though the manufacturer insists that
their actual template is correct.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT