Volkswagen Westfalia Campers

Volkswagen Westfalia Camper was a conversion of Volkswagen Type 2 sold from the early 1950s to 2003. Volkswagen subcontracted the modifications to the company Westfalia-Werke in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.

Early Volkswagen split-windshield Kombis were built between 1950 and 1967. Production of Volkswagen camper variants continued to 2003, and was based on the Kombi, then the Vanagon, then the LT Mk 1, then the Transporter. Other coachbuilders, including Dormobile, ASI/Riviera, Holdsworth, Danbury Motorcaravans, and VW Sun-Dial, also built campers based on the Transporter.

Between 1951 and August 1958, approximately 1,000 Camper Box conversions were made by Westfalia, official builder of Volkswagen camper conversions. In August 1958, the SO (German: Sonderausführung, German for "special model") models were introduced.

Westfalia special models included the SO-23, -33 -34, -35, -42, -44, and -45.

Westfalia Campers were available from Volkswagen dealers worldwide and were also delivered via the Tourist Delivery Program — whereby a customer would pick up their new van in Germany, drive it in Europe, then VW would ship it to the customer's home. Many Volkswagen Campers were purchased by American servicemen and sent home in the 1950s and 1960s.

From 1979 until 1992 Westfalia Vanagon were built.

A number of tent and side awning designs were available as extra-cost additions. Collectors often have difficulty determining whether one of these options was specifically available from and for Westfalia models, or were developed and sold by other camper conversion vendors such as ASI/Riviera and Sundial.

SO-22 "camping box" Period (1952–58). During this period no tent per se was available from Westfalia, but one could obtain a striped canvas awning that stretched almost the length of the vehicle, and extended about six feet out to the side. The awning frame seems to be similar to that of the SO-23 period large tent described below. This earliest of Westfalia tents is shown on the cover of the July, 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics and in a 1956 brochure that describes it as "a large, colorful side awning."

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