Westy in Hibernation

With the Florida temperatures in the mid to upper nineties and rain nearly everyday, Primrose is safely parked inside.

Summer in Florida just isn’t the best time to be traveling or camping in a thirty-two year old VW camper. Especially without an air-conditioner!

Out last night of camping in Primrose for the season was in late May. And we realized that a fan will be needed for any future warm weather camping.

We’re lucky that almost twenty-five years ago that I had the idea to build a separate garage. I was driving a ’78 VW camper and wanted a place to keep it out of the weather. It was just a few inches to tall to fit through a standard garage door.

I found a nice location in the big back yard, drew up plan for a detached garage with a taller door opening and visited the county’s permits office.

Keep in mind that this was a few years before Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida and the codes quickly changed. Don’t even think of trying this today! It can’t be done without professional drawings, engineering seals and lots of red tape. Back then all I needed was a hand drawn plans on a quarter inch grid desk pad. After a few helpful suggestions and changes, I paid my fees and started building.

I paid a local concrete guy to pour the slab. And with the help of a talented friend named Bob we started assembling the walls. With two garage doors, five windows and a side access door, this wasn’t just a plain box.

With the help of a third friend we positioned the trusses in place. And the roofing began. I was up on the roof nailing shingles – which is a skill that I can honestly say that I still do not possess – when an out-of-work roofer made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and finished the job.

All these years, surviving several hurricanes, it still stands and provides a home for Primrose.

She’s tucked inside until it cools down this fall. For now we’re gathering more cool decals to adorn her rear bumper and window. Let’s face it, an old VW camper with out all kind of bumper stickers just looks naked! At least we think so.

We’ll be dusting her off and heading to the Big O Hike in a few months. Be sure to stop by and say hi!

Author
Recent Posts

John Keatley

A native Floridian from the Space Coast, John Keatley grew up on the water and in the woods. Co-author of a dozen guidebooks, he's an avid cyclist and paddler, sometimes covering those topics jointly with his wife Sandra Friend.