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[edit] Build Your Very Own BZ Shelf!

Never have enough room in your Westy for you and all your stuff? Wish there was an out-of-the way place to stash camping items when the poptop is up? Wish no more, my friend, for here are the long-awaited plans for Tom Buese's most marvelous invention: the BZ Shelf!

It folds flat against the underside of the Westy poptop when the top is down, and holds all manner of stuff when the top is up. Mr Squirrel uses his to hold tons of groceries when in camp.

(Click on the pictures for larger images).

Here's the shelf in use. All that stuff that is normally underfoot can go overhead!

When the top is down, the shelf folds flat against the underside of the poptop.

The BZ Shelf is attached only to the crossarm (with a couple of U-bolts) and rotates on it when stowing.

The brilliance of the design is how the shelf rests on the bends of the crossarm when it is deployed, giving it plenty of strength when in use, and simply rotates flat against the ceiling when stowed. Mr Squirrel found that once the U-bolts were tightened enough, the shelf would stay in stowed position without further adjustment.

Click here to open the plans for the amazing BZ Shelf (pdf)

NOTES, COMMENTS, ENHANCEMENTS:

1. This shelf has been tested in two (2) 1984-ish Westys. The designer (Tom) makes no claim that the shelf, as drawn, will fit other model years due to possible variations in crossarm configurations and/or dimensions, so you need to verify those things yourself.

2. Mr Squirrel found that the front corners tended to dig into the canvas a bit so he increased the radius of the fillets to about 3.

3. I installed a BZ Shelf in my 1986 Wolfsburg "weekender" vanagon. (I was fortunate to win the complete autographed shelf in the Wiki contest!) The dimensions were perfect for my van. I did notice that in the photos the lifting hardware of the roof appears to be plated, and on mine it is painted. I added some small pieces of plastic hose to the U-bolts to protect the paint on the crossarm and also give the U-bolt more "traction" on the crossarm. The hose is 1/4" ID and 3/8" OD, and about 2.5" long. Below is a photo.  It's a thumbnail so you can click it to see a larger version. ---Edward Maglott