Reclaimed 1/2" plywood back....after plugging the propane line that went to the fridge.

1/16" thick one-piece Kydex "aviation" plastic screwed to plywood. (screws were painted a matching dark grey after photo was taken).

This plastic is very easy to work with and ultra tough. You have to make a concerted effort to mark or scratch it.

To maintain a factory-like appearance, the bed platform from the back of the van was cannibilized and used for the cupboard door and shelf above the blue cooler. A pine platform was used as a replacement. See photos below.

The cupboard latch for this new cupboard door was taken from the galley lid. The second lid latch was also removed and both holes were plugged with black plastic plugs (see photo below). A low profile handle will be installed on the face of the galley lid.

The bookshelves to the right of the cooler and behind the drivers seat: The shelves are pine with the Kydex plastic laminated to their tops. I trimmed the face of these shelves with trim left over from the rear bed platform I used for the cupboard door. The vertical side is one of the original tables with hardware removed. The second table (shown below) stands vertically against this...just as it did stock.

I use the little cubby below the bookshelves to store a small broom and the privacy curtain that covers the windshield and door windows.

Desk plug I used in place of the original latch that I used for the new cupboard door.

Table in its original location. It is held in place with a rubber coated clamp of sorts that is fastened to the plastic side panel. Difficult to describe but it has a spring-like action to it that holds the table in place via pressure. It's very simple. The table can be slid into place with one hand.

The grey trim from the original platform was used on the rear most part of the new pine platform.

Roof Racks

A growing number of Eurovan camper (I'm talking about Winnebago conversions here) owners are reporting cracked pop top roofs. This makes for both a challenging and expensive dilemma. Making a good and long lasting do-it-yourself repair is beyond what many can or would like to do. Most seek out a "professional" .....but with the kind of expertise needed for this type of material, they are few and far between. One used to be able to buy new tops (rumor has it they are no longer available), but they are, or were, up to $7,000. And that is not installed! A custom top can be less but is still quite expensive. The best bet here is to do everything you can to prevent, or at least minimize the chances of cracking the top.

If I knew then (1996) what I know now about the consequences of a broken roof, fear may have led me to divise a hitch-mount system to carry my kayaks rather than install racks. But here I am. I had yet to hear of any horror stories about broken roofs... and though I knew this roof's design left a lot to be desired, I had the input from two different engineers (one of whom had a similar design on his van) .... and drawings straight from Winnebago showing how it was constructed. This allowed me to design accordingly and install strategically.

Below is what has worked for me thus far:

Standard Yakima 1A Raingutter rack attached to custom made 12 gauge stainless steel bracket. The stainless brackets are strategically placed to take advantage of the roofs stronger areas and mounted with five 1/4" diameter stainless button head machine screws with nylon lock nuts.

In addition to the five machine screws, each stainless bracket wraps around the top of the pop top for greater surface area to further spread the load. EPDM rubber roofing is between each bracket and roof.

Rather than standard "fender washers" (large diameter washers) on the back side of the pop top, stainless angles were used, bent to the contour of the roof. The short piece of the angle on top is to reduce the stress placed on the assembly caused by uplift while carrying loads at highway speeds. The length of this angle plate is several inches longer than the outer bracket.

In essence, between the outer bracket and inner angle plate, a stronger structural "sandwich" is created over the standard aftermarket rack systems...in both dead weight and uplift. I believe a greater surface area with this sandwich, and additional screws, is key to preventing issues with this particular roof...along with the noted areas below...and a bit of luck.

Potentially important notes:

1) I always have a rectangular car camping sleeping bag spread out on the upper bunk bed. This old synthetic bag eliminates the gap between bed and ceiling, creating a snug fit and minimizing potential sagging and bounce leading to, or expediting issues with the pop top (ALWAYS have the upper bunk folded out, as if it were when being slept on, when latching the top down in its driving position).

2) I use the same strength struts as the originals rather than the stronger versions often recommended for popping the top with loads on. If using the stronger struts and nothing is on the roof (ie, weight), more pulling force will be required to lower which will put additional strain on the roof. That said, I NEVER lift the top with anything strapped to or fastened to the roof. Yes. I've seen many owners of the older VW Westfalias do it. I did on my old Westfalia too. They are completely different roofs though. The older Westfalia roofs are very well designed and strongly built.

3) I use a tight fitting cut down wooden broom handle to prop the top up, in the center by the seat belt-like latch. While fresh struts hold the top up fine without this broom handle, the structural design is so weak that the front section of the top sags from the strut mount forward. That cantilever is simply too great for this particular roof, putting unnecessary stress on an already strained design. The broom handle taking/sharing the strain will likely give the struts more life too.

4) Lastly. When lowering the pop top, rather than pull down on the two interior handles to latch the roof, I lower the roof, step outside, and pull down from the top, on each side, until I hear the two recommended latching "clicks". I do this primarily to mininimize the strain on the weak handle attachment, since the sleeping bag mentioned above makes latching the roof a little more difficult.

Though I rarely exceed 60 MPH, I have carried anywhere from one to three whitewater kayaks (38-55 pounds each) on this roof for 82,000 of its 112,000 miles, many times over rough washboardy gravel roads, without a single problem. On 2-3 occasions, I carried as many as four kayaks weighing 50 pounds each... but for distances of less than 75 miles each time. I have also carried a single 12' long tandem kayak weighing ~90 pounds for ~800 miles. Lastly, due more to my lack of storage space at home rather than needing it on the van, I had a longish rocket box on top for ~1-2 years. Empty, it only weighs around ~35 pounds. I had up to 30 additional pounds in it for several hundred miles.

Some believe that sun exposure and locale (freeze/thaw cycles) plays a role in the longevity of these particular roofs. It may, or may not. This van has not seen the inside of a garage since 1996 (it sits in the shade a good part of the day, however) and resides in temperate South Central Idaho.

Best of luck if you decide to add racks to yours! They are awfully handy to have.

Luggage Tray

Like the roof, the Winnebago luggage tray leaves a lot to be desired. Even that may be an understatement, as its over all design is so poor, it is pretty much guaranteed that every owner will experience issues with it. This will be with the tray directly, or the cab it sits on or... most likely, both...whether the tray is used or not. Not only is it prone to cracking, the flimsiness of the plastic, combined with fragile brackets, allows the tray to move enough on the cab to wear the paint off. This, coupled with a design that allows debris to enter yet not easily escape creates a build-up of gunk under the tray ultimately leading to rust and worse yet, broken brackets. There's a growing number of hapless drivers who have lost their trays while driving down the highway. If your tray flies off, and it is damaged beyond repair, assuming you can even get it back...expect to pay around (including shipping and seal) $650 for a new one from Gowesty. Worse though is what could happen in traffic when the luggage tray becomes a large projectile. Though I am not aware of flying trays causing any serious accidents, I believe it is not only prudent to be preemptive, it is of moral obligation. Please. Address your luggage tray.

There are a number of areas on the tray and cab that should be given attention. Addressing only one or a few of these areas will not solve the issue as a whole. Each area should be remedied. Below is what I suggest:

Note: This is for the 1995 model. There were some changes to the outer brackets in the later years which I am not as familiar with. I still recommend investigating and taking corrective measures as needed.

1) Remove the tray and flimsy brackets mounted to the cab, clean the debris off the cab, sand, prime, and paint rusted areas

2) Replace the brackets you removed in step one with the "stainless luggage rack brackets" from Gowesty. This will set you back $80.

3) Place a couple washers between the two outer brackets and the tray to lift the corners a little off the cab or, better yet, do as I did in step 4.

4) I reinforced the area of the tray prone to cracking with 1/8" aluminum plate as seen in the photos. The plates are riveted to the tray.

5) Install, from the underside, rust resistant screen over the drain holes to keep larger debris from getting under the tray. The washers, or aluminum reinforcement in my case, lifts the corner of the tray off the cab enough to allow the smallest debris to escape.

6) With a grinder, round the corners off the front outside edges of the exterior tie-down brackets that hold the tray to the top of the van. The stock brackets do not fit the contours of the plastic luggage tray leaving the sharp corners to dig into the plastic, ultimately leading to cracks. See photo below.

7) Seal the back of the tray where it meets with the cab. See last pic below.

Having worked on this area many times over the last 27 years, I have come to view the tray as a fairing and esthetic compliment to the pop up roof more than something of much practical use. At most, I use it to to carry a small bag of stinky garbage to the nearest dumpster or a pair of wet swim trunks when I wish to expedite their drying. Carrying much of any weight, or something tall enough to catch the wind which can cause undue vibration, increases the chances of issues arising. Like the pop up roof, this luggage tray is not anywhere close to being as robust as those on the earlier Westfalia camper vans. Treat it accordingly.

The underside of a modified luggage tray.
Note that the corner of the bracket has been ground off. Note also my finger pointing to damage created by the orginal sharp corner of said bracket. The aluminum plates installed under (as seen in pics above) reinforces this entire area.	Water coming from the drain holes on the top of the tray exits through the slot I'm pointing to (one each side of tray). By lifting the tray with washers, or the reinforcing plates as in above pics, these drains can more effectively drain any debris that enters. Note the white foam in the corner between tray and cab. This keeps the tray off the metal where it normally vibrates, rubbing the paint off the cab creating rust.
	The pic to the left is looking at the rear side of the luggage tray with the top raised. Naturally, the space between the tray and the top (when down) accumulates debris. Even though there's trim on the tray, the seal is not good and some of this debris inevitably finds its way under the tray where it can build up. To prevent debris from entering, I sealed the gap between the bottom of the tray and the cab with Gorilla tape as shown in the pic. It does not sound like an overly sexy fix but, it is not visible and with some care, can be made to look fairly decent. More importantly, it works, and is easy and inexpensive. The tape will need to be replaced every few years.