And so to bed

[Pippa chides me for not having any updates. However, I am a fair weather camper fan; unable to be torn away from my regular transport's heated seats and, well, heating during the winter months, and my van is lurking under its cover in the garden devising new ways of turning to rust. She has, in the community spirit, taken the chance to write something herself, for which she has my great thanks. Season's Greetings ]

It was a sad day today; Claude eventually had to leave pride of place on our drive to go into winter storage. It's a day I've been putting off for the past month or two, using excuses such as the unseasonably mild weather; the need to finish off the restoration work; the fact that moving him will reveal the steadily-growing oil-patch on the driveway....

In reality, it's just because I'll actually miss my van! He's been great fun for little trips throughout the year, and he's also been a really enjoyable hobby, taking up much of my time and energy (not to mention the bank balance!) since the day we bought him. And now that I've just got the van how I want him, it's time to mothball him until spring - so unfair!

So, I spent most of today emptying all of the cupboards, removing the curtains and cushions, washing, T-cutting, rust-removing and waxing to try to ensure Claude emerges in April reasonably close to the same condition as he is now. Then it was a quick trip down to a local farmer's barn in the next village, where he'll hopefully be safe and dry for the next 3 or 4 months, at a cost of £10 per week. (I hope I'm not being ripped off!) Obviously, I'll pop down every week or two and start him up, or preferably give him a run to keep his brakes and tyres in order, but in the meantime, I'll just have to find myself an alternative hobby... any ideas?

Pippa

[Hobbies? Well, there's always blogging, I suppose]

Printed Material Sought

If anyone has any printed material (manuals, brochures, etc) or magazine articles featuring Palominos, please let us know. We'd dearly love to see them. Thanks

upper bunks

The upper bunks are supported by a cross beam support piece of wood, which is 1165mm long, with two 45mm extensions on the end: ie: The total length of the cross beam is 1255mm.

The cross beam is 60mm high, and 58mm deep.

On the front of the beam are two U shaped plastic supports, with their centre 520mm from the end of the main section.

The cross beam slots into the front of the upper bunk cabinets.

Into the cups is unfurled the bed - which consists of a 1770mm long hollow metal pole, 30mm in diameter. Around the pole is wrapped the bed material, the other side of which is secured to the van inside of the bunk cabinet.

As you may be able to tell, technical drawing is not my forté.

[Update: Pippa's photos
]

More palominos

Thanks to Curious campers we have some more pictures of Palominos.
This pale blue example has a roof box. The lucky devil.



This example has been painstakingly painted with an undersea paint job.






These orange ones are more curious. They look similar to Palominos but are missing a few details, such as the side roof windows. Could they be the sister model Autobahn or Autostrade, perhaps?

Another day, another palomino

Alex writes to me, with a picture of his Palomino. He's missing the roof beds, so if anyone has any spare, please get in touch. This weekend I plan to measure my roof beds, so anyone who is particularly handy will be able to make their own.

How to join the Palomino club

To become a member of the Palomino club, send us an email (address below) and tell us a little about you and your van. If you can include a picture of you and/or your Palomino van, so much the better.

Membership is free and confers the following benefits

• A warm glowing feeling of well-being
• A sense of belonging
• An air of superiority over other less fortunate non-Palomino owners

Claude

Today saw the doubling of the membership of the Palomino Club with the inauguration of member number 2, Pippa, and her van, Claude. Claude has been recently modernised inside and now features delightful cream leather furnishings, but still is easily recognisable as a Palomino.

A Palomino T25 brochure

For your interest, I have scanned a brochure for a T25 VW Palomino camper. The interior is practically identical to the earlier Bay window Volkswagen Palomino.

Where can I buy a Palomino camper?

It's unusual to find a Palomino for sale, possibly because of their desirability, or the general tendency for VW campers to turn to rust. But at the time writing, there's an orange automatic one for sale at quality campers.

Or you could make me an offer I couldn't turn down.

Identifying the palomino

"How do I know if my camper is a palomino?" A question that I've not yet been asked, but if I ever am, this will be my answer.

Does it look like someone has taken a boat, overturned it, and stuck it on the roof of your van? Or does your Volkswagen have the word Palomino on the back? If the answer to either of these questions is YES, then you could very well have a Palomino camper. You lucky devil!

Welcome to the palomino club

This is the VW Palomino Club. Its purpose is to people with information about the Palomino camper conversion of Volkswagen's T2 and T25 vans. If you're very lucky, there might be pictures.