Vanagon Upgrades to Enhance Your Camping Experience
Meet Trina.
“I love the solitude of getting away and escaping the noise of the city,” shares Trina Lindal. “Living in the Seattle area, it's so easy to get somewhere in an hour or two—you can get away and get lost in nature.”
Trina wanted to enhance her adventures in her ‘91 Westfalia Weekender by improving a few key features. She purchased the van in 1996. For decades, it’s been her trusty everyday car transporting her everywhere she needs to go.
“I always wanted to have something with a little bit of personality,” shares Trina. “I didn't want a minivan, even though it would have been perfectly suitable to carry around my Great Danes. And that's what a Volkswagen van is—it’s basically a really cool minivan.”
Today, the van continues to be her daily driver. It’s a no frills Vanagon. Just the way Trina likes it. With a simple pop-top conversion, it still functions as a full 7-passenger vehicle.
“You see another VW van and there's a wave—you don't get that when you're driving a Chrysler,” Trina laughs. “People are curious what you do with the van, where you take it. ‘Well, I go camping and I also go to Home Depot and the grocery store just like you.’ I love that it's got the footprint of a passenger vehicle and I can take it on a road that your average Prius can't do.”
In the early days, the van was Trina’s trailhead vehicle. She would park it, grab her backpack, and go hiking for a few days. Soon, she realized she could access really cool places and not have to carry all of her gear. She started to use the van for camping.
“Once I got the van gremlins nailed down and the maintenance schedule figured out, it was time to put energy into the little luxuries to make it more comfortable,” says Trina.
The heater was Trina’s most important upgrade to tackle. Trina is a self-professed cold-weather camper. She embraces winter road trips.
“There's no heat inside when you're not driving,” says Trina. “When you wake up and you’ve got ice forming on the inside windows in the van, that's cold. And I've been there. I woke up in the morning and I couldn't wait for the sun to rise over the mountains so it could hit my van and thaw me out.”
With the old radiant heater, Trina was always trying to keep her dogs from getting too close. Same precautions were taken with her long hair. There was always someone who was too hot and someone who wasn't getting enough heat. And then there were the safety issues of dealing with propane inside the van. The new Webasto Heater has been a game changer.
“It’s been the first major upgrade work that I’ve done that was ‘optional.’ An elective surgery. Work that wasn’t vital to the van running, but made it much more comfortable camping.”
Music is such a fundamental component of a classic road trip—and Trina’s old CD player no longer worked. Her requirement: something that didn’t look like it belongs in a teenager’s car. We installed a vintage-looking radio with bluetooth capability. Problem solved.
Trina is a big fan of the convenient, easy camping her Vanagon provides. When she goes camping with friends without vans she sees them pack all this gear they have no good place for, they’re struggling with their poles, and dealing with setting up their tent. Trina loves that her “tent” is simply popping up the van’s top.
Trina replaced the pop-top canopy and added an awning, an install which she admits is one of the best upgrades she’s done on the van.
“The awning is something I can easily deploy on my own. And when it rains, I don't have to retreat back inside the van. It creates this outdoor living room.”
Trina’s able to tackle van projects with complete trust that our team will do a quality job.
“People that work on Vanagons are few and far between. They’re unicorns—to find someone who has a really good understanding of these old, finicky vehicles. That’s why I gravitated towards Peace Vans. And the great thing about these upgrades is you’re putting in things that are tried-and-true in the Vanagon.”
“People that work on Vanagons are few and far between,” says Trina. “They’re unicorns—to find someone who has a really good understanding of these old, finicky vehicles. That's why I gravitated towards Peace Vans. And the great thing about these upgrades is you're putting in things that are tried-and-true in the Vanagon.”
Trina has her sights on her next upgrade: a solar recharging system for the auxiliary battery. The ability to head out for an extended period of time, be able to work from the van, and extend her trip is a major plus. As long as there's connectivity and Wi-Fi, she’s able to work from anywhere. A 360-degree view of the great outdoors is the best office.
“A 6-day trip won't be a problem for me anymore, especially if I have solar. If I had a more reliable source of auxiliary power, I wouldn’t have to worry about charging a phone and laptop. Especially if I'm in a place that's sunny. And that's the type of place I want to go camping.”
Trina’s advice for those looking at upgrade options: think about how you use your van.
“I'm now able to chase down things that I want to have, rather than things I have to have to just keep me on the road. I like to use my van for cold weather camping. Having forced-air heat is definitely an upgrade, because that's the way I use the van. And I love that Peace Vans knows who I am when I call; they know all the work I've done. They run a really tight ship. I don't feel the need to keep an inventory of all the work I've done. I don’t have to hold onto this stack of receipts. And they're not trying to sell me stuff that's not necessary.”
Trina purchased the van 26 years ago with 60,000 miles—and it’s still going strong 200,000 miles later. She’s made it a priority to take good care of her Vanagon. She gets the van regularly serviced and she recently joined our Peace Vans Membership program for special perks and discounts as a Vanagon owner.
“I feel like I know this van really well,” Trina confesses. “I have a deep understanding of it. A connection. It’s been my car for the longest time. It's my daily driver. And then I realized—actually, I have this really cool vehicle.”
Trina’s Upgrade Work
Awning
Pop-Top Canopy
Webasto Heater
Vintage-looking Radio
Shocks
Level Up Your Camping Experience
Upgrade Your Vanagon
Whether you want to incorporate a few upgrades or you’re interested in full restoration work, we’re here to help. Our talented team of technicians tackles Vanagon projects big and small. Let’s connect to discuss what restoration work best fits your needs.
Contact our team to begin your journey.