Is this a for-real Dormobile Roof Rack?

[JLT]

Hi, all.

I’m looking for a roof rack to fit my ’71 VW Dormobile Westfalia, and came across this:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=730137

Is this something usually seen on Dormobile VWs, or is it some sort of aftermarket thing that might possibly have been made for them at one time?

If it’s something that really makes my camper more “stock” it might be worth the money, but otherwise it’s a bit too much to pay.

Inquiring minds (at least this one) wants to know. Any counsel appreciated.

[Paddywack]

I have never heard of an “official” OG Dormobile roof rack but since Dormobile conversions were around for many years and installed in many different countries it is quite possible that one of the manufacturers/dealers decided that a roof rack would be a good idea. It certainly wasn’t widely available otherwise there would be lots around.
However, I would say that adding a roofrack does balance out your VW roof niceley. My Dormobile roof favours the front of the van so a nice Just Kampers roof rack sets off the rear very nicely. Mine was £99 (GBP) and lasted about 5 years before needing a respray and some new (hardwood) slats.

[JLT]

@Paddywack wrote:

I have never heard of an “official” OG Dormobile roof rack but since Dormobile conversions were around for many years and installed in many different countries it is quite possible that one of the manufacturers/dealers decided that a roof rack would be a good idea. It certainly wasn’t widely available otherwise there would be lots around.

Thanks for responding, Paddywack. As it turns out, I was at the Kelley Park VW show today in San Jose, California, and saw an identical rack for sale in the “swap” section. The vendor told me that it was from a bay-window Dormobile. I figured that there are probably more than a few people who consider this style a proper one for a Dormie and, since there was only a little surface rust on it, I bought it for $200.00.

@Paddywack wrote:

However, I would say that adding a roofrack does balance out your VW roof niceley. My Dormobile roof favours the front of the van so a nice Just Kampers roof rack sets off the rear very nicely. Mine was £99 (GBP) and lasted about 5 years before needing a respray and some new (hardwood) slats.

That’s a beautiful ride you have! As it happens, my Dormobile roof (which was mounted by a company in Copenhagen) is situated identically to yours, and the rack would seem to fit neatly behind it.

Now I have to put a coat of paint on it. The original looked to be a sort of gunmetal grey, but I’m torn between silver and white. The white would probably look a little better, but if possible I’d like to have it look as much like the other Dormie racks as possible, and I haven’t seen enough of them on this side of the pond to say for certain what that color might be.

[Paddywack]

Great that you got what you wanted and that it looks good. That is the only really important thing anyway! The picture I posted was supposed to show my roof rack on the back of my VW but the picture got cropped on the website.
Here it is in full if you want to look:

http://www.paddywack.co.uk/Eric/Eric_05.JPG
http://www.paddywack.co.uk/Eric/Eric_10.JPG This is an unusual shot taken on the cross channel ferry to France!

All the best

nick

[JLT]

@Paddywack wrote:

Great that you got what you wanted and that it looks good. That is the only really important thing anyway! The picture I posted was supposed to show my roof rack on the back of my VW but the picture got cropped on the website.
Here it is in full if you want to look:

I see that your roof rack bears no resemblance to mine, which doesn’t use wood at all. Yours looks a lot like the ones the VW Beetles used to sport, and I’ve seen some versions on buses (usually 1 to meters in length, no good for Dormies).They usually go for over $300 for even the smallest version nowadays. I still have no clue who made mine.

@Paddywack wrote:

This is an unusual shot taken on the cross channel ferry to France!

Great picture. It brought back many memories of my hang gliding days, since I had that view of my 70 and 71 buses more times than I can count. They were always parked near the landing field, and I would usually end up setting up my final approach over them. I probably had at least twice as many views of my bus from directly overhead as I did of the underneath.

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