Visit to Westfalia in Germany

Zach Woods

New member
The following posts are archives of my write-ups concerning a visit to Westfalia-Werke in Germany.

I post them here again in case they are of some interest/ use to folks.
 

Zach Woods

New member
I just spent a very pleasant afternoon visiting the Westfalia Werke
in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, Germany yesterday (I am in Belgium for
business and drove the 3 hours plus each way). I had visited the
Factory and Museum about 10 years or so ago - they have improved
things quite a bit since then. I can't recommend a visit strongly
enough - they took their time to make my afternoon and evening very
informative and entertaining!
 

Zach Woods

New member
As I mentioned in a previous post, I just visited the Westfalia Factory
in Germany. They were very welcoming and really took their time to
answer my questions.

They actually brought up the issue of a behind cab curtain before I had
the chance to ask about this. They have had many questions about this
(in Europe and the US), and have just recently designed and developed a
curtain. They currently only have this prototype but I believe I am
correct in saying that they plan to sell these at some time in future.

Their solution was to add snaps on the vertical surface below the
dining room table door but above the bend around to the drivers cab
ceiling and then use the existing snaps on both walls that are there
for the front and side window cab curtain.
 

Zach Woods

New member
Howdy -

Just got back from a trip to Europe in which I was able to fit in a
great visit to Westfalia-Werke in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, Germany! They
were very welcoming and generous with their time as I toured the
factory and visited their offices - I can't recommend a visit
strongly enough!

I will be posting a few more general write-ups, photos, etc.
concerning my visit but I wanted to pass along what I learned about
the "Limited Edition" and what Westfalia is doing to "customize"
their products.

The KundenCenter (newly opened within the past year, I believe -
Kunden is German for Customer) is both dealer showroom, service
center, and Westfalia "Custom Shop" (plus they provide camping hook-
ups - somewhat work in progress just now -, 24 hour shower and
bathroom facilities for Westfalia Owners, and have relocated the
majority of the old Westfalia Museum to this new location).

One of the showcase projects for the KundenCenter was the James Cook
Limited edition that OldFool mentions below. I saw a number of
pictures of that vehicle, heard about what it included, and saw a
blue James Cook that had also received the KundenCustom treatment.

First the black on black Limited Edition:

- beautiful all wood/ wood grain cabinetry

- wood floor

- upholstry was leather for the dark/ black portions and what in
German is called Alcantara (looked like suede to me) for the light
portions

- headliner (and I believe also all of the material/ locations that
are made of a material similar to the headliner in our Westfalias)
was also Alcantara/ suede.

- very well integrated back-up camera/ TV in place of the rear view
mirror/ navigation system (Westfalia is very impressed with a
Pioneer system for both the stereo and the navigation system).

- many very nice fit & finish/ interior upgrades throughout

- vehicle sold to a very satisfied couple on the first day of the
Dusseldorf RV Show (biggest in Europe from what I am told) for $100K
Euros - so there is a market for what the KundenCenter offers!

Now the blue Customized James Cook:

Also very nice with some similar interior upgrades and a lot of
attention paid to the media and entertainment systems. Westfalia is
putting two small screens in rather than one big one as in the
Airstream Westfalias because they have concerns about how cold
weather capable the large LCD screens are. One screen fits in place
of the rear view mirror and is used by the navigation system, a DVD
player, and a back-up camera on rear of vehicle (plus some other
entertainment related functions, if I remember correctly) and they
are mounting the other screen on the front (towards driver) end of
the cabinet above the sink/ stove. Stereo sounded great and along
with upgraded speakers and head unit it included a subwoofer mounted
under the kitchen counter (above where one's feet lie when using
the "downstairs" bed).

I would personally look forward to seeing what Westfalia can do with
the concept of a "ruggedized" James Cook - one designed to withstand
the kind of dirt and grime (inside and out - particularly upholstry
and floor covering) that happens when camping well off the beaten
path.

Look for more posts as I get myself back into the swing of things
after my trip!
 

Zach Woods

New member
While at Westfalia they talked about their interest / willingness to
offer European delivery of James Cook's for US (and other NAFTA)
Customers.

Delivery would likely be at the Westfalia KundenCenter and would
include hotel stay and "bon voyage" party. What you are describing
below sounds very possible.
 

Zach Woods

New member
Hello All -

I have posted some more fotos from my visit to Westfalia Werke in Rheda-
Wiedenbruck, Germany. As I find time I will be posting more messages
like this describing what I saw, heard and found interesting on my trip.

In this one I am going to focus on the new Westfalia Kunden Center.
Westfalia went out of their way to make my visit very pleasant and
informative - I can't recommend a visit strongly enough (obviously if
you happen to be in the continenthood, so to speak . . .)

Some highlights of info I learned re: the Kunden Center:

- Kunden (Customer in German) Center is new

- Kunden Center includes a showroom, parts and accessories displays, a
parts warehouse, a full service repair, upgrade and "customization"
facility, a very nice new building to house the majority of the
vehicles (plus a couple of new/ other rigs) that were in the old
Westfalia Museum, and so-new-they-are-not-quite-completed hookups and
other facilties for visiting Westfalia owners

- Showroom is fun for folks from outside Europe as it gives you a feel
for how many different vehicles Westfalia uses as platforms

- European RV accessories are often different than what we have in the
US and some would be quite nice to have here as well - usually designed
to be very lightweight and functional but they often have nice
aesthetic touches as well

- Westfalia can supply customers with any and all of the parts found on
stock James Cook and other reasonably current Westfalia vehicles (also
available thru their website - check links to find an English Language
link)

- Service center will perform repairs (while I was there a James Cook
from Italy was in with only roughly 600 kilometers on the odometer and
a very discouraging at that mileage but not too structurally bad case
of low bridge damage) and upgrades or customizations (ie the Black on
Black Limited Edition that has been discussed in previous posts)

- Museum includes most of the vehicles from the old Westfalia Museum
(my last visit was roughly 10 years ago) - Mercedes was wise enough to
buy these vehicles as they are an excellent record of Westfalia's very
long, innovative and proud tradition - more on the museum in a future
post . . .

- Hookups/ camping facilties are for folks in for service or even just
for Westfalia owners that are traveling thru - they include electric, a
kitchen (including some drinks and snacks) and bath/ shower room w/ 24
hour access and will soon also offer a dump station as well

- Westfalia can arrange for Factory delivery of a customers vehicle if
desired (this is even available for US spec James Cooks) - they have
often helped their customers get a room in the historic local town of
Rheda-Wiedenbruck and thrown a big "bon voyage" dinner for them and
their new vehicle - you could then travel Europe and further before
having your rig shipped to your home in the US!

- Westfalia/ Mercedes (Westfalia is now owned by Mercedes) calls our
Airstream Sprinter Westfalia the NAFTA (North American Free Trade
Association) Cook as funny as that might sound to us here in the US!

- Westfalia looks forward to more visitors from the US/ outside Europe
and will really make you feel welcome

- I'll cover the Westfalia Museum in a future post

- I'll cover the Westfalia Factory (no pictures allowed, sorry!) in a
future post

- I'll cover the differences between the European James Cook and
our "NAFTA-Cook" in yet another future post

I have been a Westfalia-phile for 20 years or so now so if I sound like
I am gushing about my recent trip that's part of the explanation. I
also probably should admit that I allowed myself to be seduced by
Westfalia's warm welcome and very generous handling of my visit. And
here I thought I'd become jaded over the years!

More to come . . .
 

Zach Woods

New member
You are correct. I heard from Westfalia that Airstream/ Daimler
Chrysler US suggested the vehicle not be called James Cook because
they were worried that nobody in the US knows who James Cook is.
Westfalia's response was "nobody in Europe knows who he is either
but the vehicle sells well here!"

As an aside, it is my understanding that James Cook was killed by
the Hawaiians because he so closely fit the main character in and
ended up by happenstance doing exactly what that character was
supposed to do in a Hawaiian myth that they had to kill him as that
was the next thing that happened in the myth.

Could be apocryphal but I first heard this from a source that I
consider very reliable.
 

Zach Woods

New member
I did not ask about larger fridges and did not ask specifically about diesel
generators but my experiences traveling in Europe a fair amount and a
detailed conversation about the propane generator and alternatives with the
Westfalia folks might help to give you a feel for how unlikely it is that
Westfalia has either of the options you are looking for.

First fridges. I did not see a larger fridge anywhere at the factory or in
the Kunden Center and I have not found one while poking around the Westfalia
website. In Europe, people have much smaller home fridges than we have here
in the US. Their fridges are usually 1/5 to 1/2 the size of ours. This is
probably in part due to their having smaller houses but they can survive
with these fridges because they typically shop for food once every day or
two. Often on the way home from work, a European will buy their perishable
groceries for the next 24 to 48 hours. Given this habit, they don't see the
fridge in the Westfalia as small. I am certain that they just buy
perishables frequently when traveling and this makes the fridge big enough
for their needs.

Now generators. Europe is quite a bit more temperate than the US. The
temperature just doesn't get to the extremes that it can in North America.
As a result, Europeans typically don't want or need an A/C in their campers.
It is very rare for a European Westfalia to have an A/C and when it does it
is a much smaller unit which neither draws as much current nor blows as much
cool air. While talking with the folks at Westfalia they were asking me why
people in the US want any kind of a generator. Without an A/C (and usually
also without a TV and microwave), they can't understand why a generator
would be necessary. Westfalia adds solar panels and charging systems to
many of their European units (possible without an A/C unit and TV antenna on
the roof!) and they have found that owners can camp without electrical
hookups for a week or even more while the solar panels keep charging the
batteries. It's interesting to note that along with the temperate climate
much of Northern Europe (where Westfalia-Werke is located) is cloudier and
rainier so less sunshine time than most of the US.

It sounds like their will be more room in the 2007 Sprinter based Westfalia.
The 2007 Sprinter is going to have a wider track and body and the Westfalia
(based on hints the Westfalia folks dropped) is probably going to be longer
as well. This may make it easier for Westfalia or private owners to install
things like larger fridges, diesel generators, or larger LP tanks.

It might be worth visiting the Westfalia site (http://www.westfalia-van.de/)
and emailing them (infoservice@...) with your requests and
suggestions. Probably worth copying Airstream (tech@...) on said
emails as well.
 

Zach Woods

New member
Sounds like you have already worked thru your questions on
installing better speakers. In case it is of value, here is some
info for you or others that I picked up while visiting Westfalia.

I have yet to upgrade my Westfalia speakers or stereo but I did ask
the folks at Westfalia what they were doing in their Customer Center
to upgrade things for their visiting Customers.

First and foremost they suggested upgrading the speakers. They said
that with good quality 2-way Speakers in front and rear there would
be a noticable improvement in sound quality. Westfalia seemed to be
stuck on Pioneer and they did say that they were grinding out a
little bit of the material in the stock rear speaker mount holes in
order to fit the Pioneer 2-ways that they installed.

The next step that they recommended was to install a self-amplified
sub-woofer. They had chosen to mount theirs (curiously, a Pioneer
unit) hanging upside down above the footwell area of the lower
bunk. This did seem to be a good location with only limited space
taken up for ones feet while sleeping in the lower bunk and without
any great cutting or other modifications needed.

Westfalia was then adding an upgraded stereo head unit (Pioneer, a
pattern is developing - they must have been getting some kind of a
discount!) in the stock radio location. The unit that they mounted
was a CD/DVD capable unit and they had also added a back-up camera
and a small (9" if I remember correctly) flat sceen in the stock
rear-view mirror location. The stereo included a GPS/ Navigation
system and the screen could be used to either view DVD's, view what
was transmitted by the back-up camera, or see the GPS/Navigation
information.

The next A/V upgrade that they performed was to add a second small
screen mounted in an added angled cabinet just in front and towards
the bottom of the cabinet above the kitchen counter/sink/stove.
This allowed people seated in the rear bench seat and in the rotated
and facing backwards front seats to watch the same movie at the same
time.

They communicated that they were not using larger screens as
anything larger did not handle cold temperatures well. I am not
sure if they meant that the larger screens visual quality degraded
as the temperatures got colder or if cold temperatures could
actually have a permanent negative effect on the display quality.
Anyone out there have any experience or know-how along these lines?
 

Zach Woods

New member
Photos from visit to Westfalia Kunden (Customer) Center

35bd.jpg
Ford Transit Westfalia right rear
This Ford Transit Westfalia could be compared to the old VW Vanagon Wolfsburg editions or Westfalia Weekenders - beds and tables but not much more. I have heard rumors that Ford is considering bringing the Transit in to the US - hmm, I wonder . . .

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Ford Transit Westfalia
Interior of the Ford Transit Westfalia - like a VW Vanagon Wolfsburg Edition or a Westfalia Weekender

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MB Viano Westfalia Front
This MB Viano Westfalia is most like the old VW Westfalia Campers of old - unfortunately, the Viano is not imported into the US

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MB Viano Westfalia Left Side Popped
The Viano Westfalia has a number of nice features - manual or electric poptop, impressive rear seat versatility, upstairs bed won an award for it's very comfortable spring system

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MB Viano Westfalia Rear Door Closed
There is that MB logo, poptop and Westfalia badging on a small to midsized but full featured camper

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MB Viano Westfalia Rear Door Open
Rear corner of cabinet on left swings open to provide access to propane tank and to next cabinet towards front of vehicle

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New Style Tent 2
New Style Westfalia tent has a very nice quick and convenient vehicle attachment system - roughly equivalent to 2 rubber C channels back to back that slides right out of the pieces that can stay on vehicle and tent

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New Style Tent Closeup
Tent options include a zip-in floor and a "room" for one side. Tent can be attached to the channel found on the Airstream Westfalia's awning
 

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Zach Woods

New member
More photos from trip to Westfalia Kunden (Customer) Center

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Colorful Food Storage
Look at all the pretty colors!

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Opel Westfalia right front
Westfalia has always worked on many different vehicles - still true today. Many of the vehicles, and therefore the Westfalias based on them, have never made it to the US

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Organizers
Got a kick out of all of the organizers Westfalia had for sale in the Kunden Center

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Plastic Carafe & Glasses Set
Plastic Carafe and Glasses set looks like glass

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Service and Museum
Kunden Center Service entrance is on the left w/ repair bays just after it. Museum is in back center of photo and the camper hookups are on the right.

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Showroom
Closest to road is the Kunden Center Showroom with a selection of Westfalia vehicles, parts and accessories inside

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Westfalia Plates!
As a long time Westfalia-phile I got a big kick out of the high quality Westfalia plastic plate service
 

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Zach Woods

New member
Westfalia Factory, etc.

tn_WF Step 1.jpg
Westfalia James Cook starts with a 140 low roof with the roof cut out.

tn_WF Step 3.jpg
The interior cabinetry/ walls are installed before the roof is put in place

tn_WM Westfalia Truck Factory Runabout.jpg
Westfalia Factory Truck runabout
 

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Zach Woods

New member
Westfalia Museum

tn_KC Museum Day.jpg
Westfalia Museum exterior by day

tn_WM Type 2 mit Camping Box.jpg
'50's VW mit CampingBox

tn_WM Camping Box as Spare Bed.jpg
CampingBox was designed to come out of the Van and be used as a spare bed in your home

tn_WM DKW Westfalia.jpg
Westfalia has always converted lots of different vehicles - this is a DKW "Class C" - beautiful light birch wood interior

tn_WM 60's Westfalia.jpg
VW Westfalia from the '60's

tn_WM Westfalia Trailer.jpg
Westfalia also used to make great lightweight trailers - again w/ a beautiful light birch wood interior

tn_WM 69 Hanomag Westfalia.jpg
This Westfalia is based on a '69 Hanomag - Hanomag was eventually purchased by Mercedes and could be an ancester to the Sprinter

tn_WM Westfalia Sven Hedin.jpg
VW Westfalia Sven Hedin - very important ancestor to the James Cook interior design

tn_WM Joker Dissected.jpg
VW Westfalia "Joker" cut open - the "Joker" was a high-roof version of the pop-tops that were so common in the US
 
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Zach Woods

New member
Westfalia Museum #2

tn_WM Early James Cook Exterior.jpg
Early Westfalia James Cook

tn_WM Early James Cook rear bottom interior.jpg
Interior of Early Westfalia James Cook - kitchen to rear similar to post-2006 James Cook design

tn_WM Early James Cook rear top interior.jpg
Interior of Early Westfalia James Cook - storage above kitchen

tn_KC Museum Night.jpg
The sun had set as I left the Westfalia Kunden (Customer) Center Museum!
 

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