I was washing my VW bus the other day, when a teen aged neighbor pulled me aside. “I’ve been meaning to ask you exactly how DID you hang those curtain in your microbus?” he said.
Volkswagen buses and curtains go together like tie dye and the Grateful Dead. They allow you some measure of nighttime privacy when sleeping or give you place to change your clothes during the day. They also give you some desperately needed shade since a VW bus is legendary for it’s lack of heat and air conditioning.
The old VW Westfalia camper buses had a snap in/slider system for curtains; amazingly, reproduction curtains and parts are still being manufactured for those models. But for the station wagon style of bus such as mine, us VW bus pilots are on our own when it comes to curtains.
What kind of curtains can I use?
There are basically two types of curtains that can be hung in a station wagon style VW bus. One type is the tabbed curtains which has a series of little tabs running across the top. The other type of curtains are what’s called a rod pocket curtain, which has a small casing through which you insert the curtain rod.
Station wagon buses weren’t ever really intended to have curtains, so you won’t find a ready-made set in the stores, nor any after market hardware. I did find a couple of places online that will custom make a set of curtains; most folks, including myself usually make our own. If you can sew, you’ll need 5 yards of fabric to sew 8 rod pocket panels and tiebacks, to a finished dimension of 36″ x 16″ per panel.
Even if you can’t sew, you can still outfit your bus windows on the cheap. Buy 8 white cotton curtains with a width of about 36″ (watch the clearance sales!) and tie dye them using a tie dye kit. Cut them to 20″ in length, and hem the bottoms using fabric glue.
Once you have the curtains, it’s time to move on to the installation.
Supplies needed
You’ll need a length of synthetic twine, scissors, screwdriver, and the curtains.
The installation
Above and behind the driver’s seat in your VW bus is a part called a coat hook. This is a round little knob sometimes paired with a seat belt hook combination. About an inch above coat hook, you’ll see a plastic sheath with a screw in the center of it. This plastic sheath holds a rubber trim piece in position.
Gently reverse out the screw about an eighth of an inch. Tie a slip knot at the end of your twine, and slip the knot over the screw. Tighten the knot until it is firmly beneath the screw head, and then turn the screw back into place.
At this point, it’s time to take a measurement. Since it’s hard to measure a VW bus interior, I just use the twine to do the job for me. This is done by moving to the center seat, and locating the next coat knob (see picture #2). Wrap the string around the knob once, pulling tightly to take up any slack. Next, crawl to the rear of the bus, above the engine compartment. Look for the plastic rear door hinge cover, and locate the screw nearest the side window. (see picture #3). Bring your twine to the screw, add a couple of inches for good measure and cut. Unwrap the twine around the middle coat knob. You are now ready to thread your curtain panels onto the string.
Most people install their curtains facing out since it’s the “right” side of the fabric that is the most colorful. Begin by sliding two of the panels onto the twine, and pushing them towards the direction of the front door so they clear the middle seat coat knob. Loop the twine around the center knob as you did while measuring, then slide the remaining two panels onto the twine.
Locate the rear hinge cover, back out the screw one eighth of an inch and bring your twine around the screw. Pull in all the slack that you can, then tie a couple of knots. Rethread the screw and clip any loose threads. Your driver side curtains are now installed; repeat these same steps for the other side.
We immediately noticed the difference in interior temperature with our curtains. Not only did they keep the interior much cooler, they helped keep the sun off our passengers sweltering in the rear seats. For authentic curtain material, don’t forget to check out the local thrifts for vintage textiles and fabrics. You’ll be amazed at the selection of psychedelic polyester prints that will fit right in with your VW bus.
