westfalia james cook freunde

A few weeks ago, Peter contacted me that he is on the way from California en route to Oregon. Peter is the founder of the German forum dedicated to Westfalia James Cook - James Cook Freunde. The couple is traveling the United States in there sleek 2012 model Westfalia James Cook. I had invite them to come by my place to meet and have a meal while they were still in the East coast.


Their camper suffered from a cracked windshield and they had arranged to have it replaced in Portland. The built-in rain sensor making a Mercedes Benz original part from a Sprinter dealer the only option.

They have a third generation of the James Cook based on the NCV3 Sprinter chassis. Mine is the generation based on the T1N Sprinter chassis. The third generation is the last of the James Cook series from Westfalia. It is by far the most luxurious compact motor home and is most sophisticated and sleek in styling in the world. This model has a very short production life and as of today, Westfalia no longer produce the James Cook. While I can enumerate all the features of the third generation model I would just point out one feature. It has diesel powered hydronic heating (also known as radiant floor heating) system with 2 independent zones. The temperature setting of the modern bathroom and the rest of cabin can be independently set.

parking side by side it really dates my gen 2 James Cook - you can clearly see the aerodynamic improvements on the roof, as well as the side

a bit of mist making my Brunnhilde a lot more photogenic

As always there are pros and cons when comparing two related vehicles. In the case of the Westfalia James Cook one have to weight the differences in the Mercedes Sprinter platforms Westfalia built the camper upon, and the design and execution of the camper coach add-ons. The comparison would be a very long blog post in itself.

Peter and Barbara have owned both and even they admit that there are certain attributes of the older model is more desirable. There are many attributes the newer model is more desirable, especially in the more contemporary styling in and out, and aerodynamic overall exterior. We found ourselves in agreements in many points. Both are prime example of the pursue in excellence and one cannot help but to appreciate the painstaking design tradeoffs the designers made.
a catalog excerpt of the 2nd generation - i.e. Brunnhilde

 a catalog excerpt of the 3rd generation - Peter and Barbara's

we had dinner at my house with wine and dessert from Peter and Barbara

the next morning the German couple depart to continue their pan United State trek after a cup of espresso

amongst many gifts they brought is a James Cook friend decal - put it up a few days later

there is no need for me to write about this world's best appointed compact motorhome - here is a great video


14.08.10 15:22 update:
I forgot that I had taken a few pictures of their 2012 James Cook with my Canon 7D. Here they are.
the toilet cassette accessed from the back doors - the green canister is a German aftermarket charcoal filtration system

the grey water discharge system - i had no idea until now that the European systems utilize a very similar small diameter hose (very similar to those used for swimming pool vacuum) like the one I designed for Brunnhilde

Peter told me that in Europe, a lot of RV discharge facility has a metal grate for grey water discharge. To discharge the grey waste water you just drive up and release the discharge valve and you are done within a minute. No discharge hose is needed. As the world gets smaller, I have observed Europe is becoming more like North America in that big American like RVs are on the rise, however. Europeans are increasing buying more American size domestic appliances despite smaller average residences.

Westfalia really outdid itself in the design development, and manufacturing tooling of the third generation James Cook. According to Peter, it spent unprecedented amount of development cost and capital investment in the one-off production tooling.

there is no visible exterior RV utility hookups - everything is hidden; no aerodynamic deficit

 in this compartment there are only AC electric inlet, and fresh water refill

i have a lot of Gardena watering products but this is the first time seeing this nice shutoff valve; i checked amazon and no luck

I have a similar setup for the fresh water refill which I use many Gardena products.

even the awning is hidden behind the purpose built cover that is flush with the high top

the deployment of the lower berth is greatly simplified with a very fancy mechanism but at the expense of the under-bench storage space and greater bed height (hence reduced headroom)

 the skylights are much improved sliding type used in auto industry

it features a galley kitchen with the toilet one one side; the refrigerator has a triangle shape behind the bench seat - make for very challenging storage of items

 the wind windows on the sides have improved latches

 very modern and tasteful interior design with finish quality that rivals even the best of luxury yachts

the very cleverly designed sliding bath door that folds onto itself; the bath now has its own awning window; if i remember correctly, the shower pan is heated by the dual-zone hydronic comfort heating system

yes, westfalia retains the retractable laundry hanging lines