While at my FLVWD today (my breakaway mirror broke), I noticed a slightly used '99 MV on the lot.聽 It had the two rear facing middle seats.聽 Not wanting to be bugged to death by a salesman, I peered inside solo.聽 Does the rear seat fold down into a small bed on an MV?聽 It also looked like it had a nifty storage compartment behind the rear bench, a la the Camper set-up.

This model was not a weekender version, but looked like curtains could be added.聽 I'm curious to know from current MV owners whether the rear facing seats are useful or a novelty.聽 The little table was handy, but again, is it useful?聽 My wife has a Honda CRV which has a small folding table and cooler under the rear deck.聽 It's a clever idea, but we've only had the table out once since we bought it (a demonstration to my in-laws).聽 Sometimes clever ideas exceed practicality.聽 Is the MV as versatile as it appears?

Thanks in advance,
David

On Tue, 7 Sep 1999, David R. Johnson wrote:

While at my FLVWD today (my breakaway mirror broke), I noticed a slightly
used '99 MV on the lot.� It had the two rear facing middle seats.� Not
wanting to be bugged to death by a salesman, I peered inside solo.� Does
the rear seat fold down into a small bed on an MV?� It also looked like
it had a nifty storage compartment behind the rear bench, a la the Camper
set-up.

This model was not a weekender version, but looked like curtains could be
added.

If the '99 is like the '93, it should come with snap in curtains and yes
the bench can become a table. The vast majority of the time the bench is
up and the table is down. But sure is nice for those other times. At
least in our uses.

We had a lot of trouble with the handy dandy flourescent light falling
off on our '93 MV. THe table would sometimes not latcha all the way and
rattle but a quick shove always solved that.

--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets

mailto:killian@...

As to David's inquiry about the MV, we love ours; a '93 (not a weekender).
The rear facing seats are great for conversation in the back. I have
hauled grandkids, band members, friends, and it is the same; everyone
enjoys it. the table is great for games (although VW does not recommend
having it up while driving, we have never had a problem. The bed is a
nice touch, although we augment it with self inflating foam camping pads.
Instead of draw curtains (like the weekender), the MV has snap on curtains
to block out the light.

We chose the non weekender version for the rear AC (not available on the
Weekender). We have show dogs, and when we go to shows, we pop out the
rear facing seats, and throw in the dog crates. It is a truly versatile
van. We plan on trading the '93 for a '99 or 2000, one of these days.

Cheers

Tomas Jones

On Tue, 7 Sep 1999, InPhase ReSearch wrote:

We chose the non weekender version for the rear AC (not available on the
Weekender). We have show dogs, and when we go to shows, we pop out the
rear facing seats, and throw in the dog crates. It is a truly versatile
van. We plan on trading the '93 for a '99 or 2000, one of these days.

Well it works for show ferrets as well as for show dogs. Yes you can
actually show ferrets...

Had a llama take a ride in ours once as well.

bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets

mailto:killian@...

We love our 99 MV. Shortly after we got it a couple of months ago we (2
adults, 4 kids) took a trip from NC to ME. The table was up most of the
time, being used for card playing, coloring, etc. Nobody got sick in the
rear-facing seats.

The rear seat does fold to a bed, but when it's configured that way, the
rear-facing seats are folded up and unusable. Our '90 Vanagon GL had the
forward facing middle bench, and could have the middle bench in use with the
bed configured. We miss that part.

Tim

In a message dated 9/7/99 3:24:26 PM EST, drj9009@... writes:

<< While at my FLVWD today (my breakaway mirror broke), I noticed a slightly
used '99 MV on the lot.&nbsp; It had the two rear facing middle seats.&nbsp;
Not wanting to be bugged to death by a salesman, I peered inside solo.&nbsp;
Does the rear seat fold down into a small bed on an MV?&nbsp; It also looked
like it had a nifty storage compartment behind the rear bench, a la the
Camper set-up.

This model was not a weekender version, but looked like curtains could
be added.&nbsp; I'm curious to know from current MV owners whether the
rear facing seats are useful or a novelty.&nbsp; The little table was handy,
but again, is it useful?&nbsp; My wife has a Honda CRV which has a small
folding table and cooler under the rear deck.&nbsp; It's a clever idea,
but we've only had the table out once since we bought it (a demonstration
to my in-laws).&nbsp; Sometimes clever ideas exceed practicality.&nbsp;
Is the MV as versatile as it appears? >>


I have the 93 Weekender and for my use I find:
1) The rear facing seats are useful when you need to transport more than five
people. However, since our normal household consists of only my wife and me,
I have taken out those two seats to provide more room to haul "stuff." When
we have visitors, we put the two seats back in and use the EV to transport up
to seven people short distances (up to about an hour one way). When the rear
facing seats are in, the front seats cannot be reclined and often are better
suited if these seats are moved a little forward so that the middle seat
backs can be reclined from a straight up position.

2) The table is quite useful for meals and/or for a passenger to do paper
work. For safety reasons, the table is not supposed to be up when the
vehicle is in motion; however,....

3) The rear bench seat folds into a comfortable bed. I would not describe
the bed in the MV as "small." There is plenty of room there. This is in
contrast to the Camper version which has cabinetry on the left side impinging
on the bed's width. In the MV, when some sporting buddies and I travel to
races, we often travel with the bench seat made into a bed and we have two
guys resting while the other two navigate. Again, safety says the passengers
should have their seat belts fastened when the vehicle is in motion and the
head rests up but, here again, we do what we find is convenient.

4) If you have kids in the vehicle, I think you need to be very safety
conscious and ignore the above points.

Bob

In a message dated 9/7/99 5:57:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
taizo@... writes:

<< Must say the rear seats are cool for conversation as well as the
occasional rained-out picnic. >>

This was one of the big factors when we got our Weekender. We tailgate
before and after college football games and in Oregon we do get 1-2 games
with some drizzle. Also during the summer months we crew for hot air
balloons in the local area. Makes for a nice place to hole up if we are
trying to out smart a windy day.

Rolland
99 Weekender

In a message dated 9/7/99 6:19:38 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
hfleming@... writes:

<< In talking with the salesman, it appears the
only difference between the Weekender and the MV (for 1999) is;
no pop top on the MV and no cooler under the left hand jump seat. >>


The Weekender gets the curtains that slide instead of snap in place as well
as the extra battery and I think a larger alternator. My only regret is I
wish the AC was better venilated to the rear.

Rolland
99 Weekender

开云体育

Must say the rear seats are cool for conversation as well as the occasional rained-out picnic.聽 The only down-side is that the front seats do not recline at all when the two rear-facing seats are in place.聽 This can be troubling when passenger A wants to lean back a tad for a little shut-eye.聽 Solution is to remove the jump seat when camping and when 7 passenger seating is not needed.聽 Good spot for the cooler - seat belt wraps right around it and goes thru both handles - allowing access by long armed drivers.聽

MV storage is excellent - extending waaaay under the folding bed.聽 I can get all my camping gear under there leaving the back deck for clothing, food and necessities.聽 I think that there should be some curtains hidden away on-board that snap into place.聽聽 My weekender has them.聽

We rarely use the table other than for the occasional on-the-road or rained-out camping meal. I will sometimes use it to place a small VDO camera so my kids can watch a movie during a particularly long stretch of highway.聽 Nice to know its there in a pinch tho.聽

Bruce

93 MV WK

Does the rear seat fold down into a small bed on an MV?聽 It also looked like it had a nifty storage compartment behind the rear bench, a la the Camper set-up.

This model was not a weekender version, but looked like curtains could be added.聽 I'm curious to know from current MV owners whether the rear facing seats are useful or a novelty.聽 The little table was handy, but again, is it useful?聽 Is the MV as versatile as it appears?

We purchased a 99 EuroVan MV in July, the one we bought did
include the curtains. In talking with the salesman, it appears the
only difference between the Weekender and the MV (for 1999) is;
no pop top on the MV and no cooler under the left hand jump seat.

Howard

David,
The rear facing seats and fold out table get constant use in our '93 MV. Of
course mostly by my kids but I do enjoy sitting on the rear bench on the
table side. The rear facing seats are a problem for some adults.

The best deal is the newest MV out in Germany. The center seats are modular
and can be installed either facing forward or back. maybe we'll see it on
the 2000 MV.
Ron