Doppelkabine: Cachuma CrewCab Campout

Friday, September 19, 2008

Cachuma CrewCab Campout

In 2006 I rendezvoused with another Doka owner, Joey from San Diego, at Lake Cahuma for what we hoped might became an annual campout for Crewcab owners. The jury is still out on that.
Joey has a Syncro TriSt

ar - a 4-wheel-drive 'luxury' version doublecab. Luxury means it has a full headliner and carpet, plus handholds above the doors and a rear door on the drivers side.
Joey's Tristar has a few 'extra' modifications and has recently been converted to a TDI powerplant which makes his 'way cool'. His is one of a batch of only 19, make that 18, as one was damaged in transit, that were imported directly to North America (Canada) by VW. Recently, a near twin to Joey's went up for sale on TheSamba. It too was one of the group of 18 North American import Dokas. It has emerged from being in storage for the last 14 years or so and if you have a spare $35k it can be yours.

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Doppelkabine...... Doublecab in German

I own a 1987 VW Transporter DoubleCab pick-up truck, also referred to as a Doka (a shortened form of the German term - DoppelKabine). It's a truck, according to the DMV, because it has a cargo bed. It's rare because these were not sold on the U.S. market. Mine came from Canada. It was from British Colombia, brought in to Washingtan state, then to Oregon.
After seeing one of these, maybe, once a year, I started looking for photos on the internet which eventually led me to TheSamba - a VW related website - which led to finding this one for sale in Portland, Oregon. I flew up there and was fortunate enough to purchase this from Bob P. He has a nice assortment of 4 wheel drive Syncro Vanagons - including a single cab syncro and an extremely nice and rare TriStar. This was his only 2-wheel drive model and he's asked me if I ever decide to sell it, he wants first dibs on buying it back from me. I guess he misses it.
As you may have surmised, I like it. It's rare, it's fun, and it turns heads wherever we go. A typical scenario is something like this. You go to a restaurant for dinner, and when you come out there's a note on your windshield with a name and address of someone asking - 'if you ever decide to sell this vehicle would you PLEASE call me as I would like to buy it'.
I've been told these weren't sold in the U.S. because, at the time, a duty was placed on light trucks that VW didn't want to pay, so they didn't import this model, leaving them to be sold on the European and Canadian markets. That explanation could be a bunch of hooey but it sounds logical to me.
In Europe these are considered work trucks - nothing too special. So they end up being used and abused. To find one in really nice shape is difficult. Then, if it is intended to be brought here, it has to be purchased and imported into the U.S. There can be a lot of hoops to jump through during this process.
Even a bit rarer are the 4-wheel drive or SYNCRO versions of the Doka, the Syncro DoubleCab. And rarer than that is a version known as a TriStar, which usually comes with 4 doors, 4-wheel drive, and is fully carpeted. There are some TriStars that are 2-wheel drive. Then there's the Syncro 16. It has 16-inch wheel wells to clear larger 4-wheel drive tires, as opposed to the 14-inch wheel wells on most Vanagons. Even rarer is the Jagdwagen or Hunters Special. A 4-wheel drive doublecab pick-up with 2 swiveling rear seats, a refrigerator between them, rifle racks in the locker below the rear bed, and full-body-enclosing rollbar on the outside.
I have converted my Doka to SUBARU power. A 2.2 liter Subaru engine now resides in the rear of my truck giving me about 125 to 130 horse power as compared to about 90 from the stock VW powerplant. Now when I start up a grade, the speed doesn't fade. I don't end up in the slow lane in 3rd gear at 45 miles per hour.
Since I also enjoy photography, I thought I'd post some images to share and see what shakes loose.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEFENDER OPTION

I jokingly refer to this as the Neighborhood Defender Package. Your DoubleCab combined with the optional nuclear-tipped ramjet-powered early model Bomarc supersonic cruise missile can be used to help keep undesirables from entering the no-fly zone around your neighborhood. Keep those pesky aerial invaders at bay and enjoy the peace and quiet you deserve. You can contact the Department of Defense for more details, but they will have no idea what you're talking about and may send some gentleman out to investigate all of your recent activities.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Cachuma CrewCab Campout

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Doppelkabine...... Doublecab in German

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ON THE ROAD TO HOLLISTER RANCH

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SELF PORTRAIT - HIGHWAY ONE - 3 A.M.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEFENDER OPTION

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