During our 15 years of manufacturing Safari Windows, we have constantly strived to make ours the best available. We have manufactured them in Steel, Brass and Stainless, but we have settled with what we beleive to be the best product available with our extruded Alluminium frames. The reason is simple. They are the most torsionally rigid frames ever made and they will never rust. Their internal channel that no other manufacture offers, reduces flexing which helps reduce the chance of leaks as well as helping to prevent glass breakages. Our frames also have a more authentic profile than any competitors frames as well as perfect joint alighnment due to the internal alighnment system. All brackets are stainless steel as is the hinge so no part can rust. Our hinge is perfect with the correct knuckle distance and has exact hole spacing and radiused corners as per the original, even the hinge pin is stainless. to prevent rust marks. We can even on request, offer the original style captive nut plate (yes, in stainless with stainless fitting screws) for securing the safaris although we do not supply it as standard as it requires drastic cutting of your windscreen appeture to insert it. Most customers do not want to do this.
Our catches leave all others way behind. Ours are 100% stainless and to date with several thousand made, we have never had one snap. Most competitors use alloy ones that snap regularly. Ours are investment cast to the exact profile of an original and polished to a high lustre finish. Any part of our catch is interchangable with an original catch. Also included in the kit are polished stainless steel slides, wiper disengages which are also stainless and the important "one eyed duck". All fasteners, brackets, clips, seals and glass* are included in the kit as standard. You don't need to buy anything else just get fitting!
Our frames are available in two finishes, Acid etched and Primered for painting, and Mirror Polished for a show finish. Our primered Safaris must not be powder coated as the heat will cause our bonding adhesives to fail. Use single or 2 pack paint.
NEW for 2009 ! All our Safaris frames and catches now come with a 3 year guarantee against mechanical failure upon proof of purchase date. If you have a problem outside this 3 year warranty, contact us and we will still help but there may be a small fee. (This does not cover dulling of polished frames which can be kept polished and waxed or corrosion through not being painted correctly. No it does not cover glass guys.) If a frame fails, all we ask is for you to return it to us so we can inspect it. We will then repair or replace it at our discresion free of charge. (We cannot repaint painted frames nor can we cover the cost .) We will return it to you carrage paid any where on the planet. Do the others offer this ?
DAVE'S TIP
On the subject of leaks, it must be noted that Safaris were not designed to be water tight. They were designed for ventilation in hot climates. We supply our Safaris with a modern seal that is neoprene based rubber so it will not collapse on the corners like original VW ones and all reproductions do. As far as we are concerned, all repro Safari seals are totally useless you live in California ! We have tried them all and if they were better we would be supplying them with every kit ! The amount of water you get in depends on the condition of your appeture, and how well fitted your windows are. Our advise is expect them to leak ! We do have customers who swear theirs are water tight but for most of us you need to carry a squeegy. However the difference between owning a bus with Safaris can be compared with owning a Coupe or a convertIble. When the sun is out, nothing is better than driving a bus with the Safaris open. If your bus is your only mode of transport and you use it every day, or it stands outside 365 days of the year, and you live in a rainy country, then my advise would be one of two choices. Either do not install Safaris or install them and remove them in Winter. Its not such a mad idea. Once they have been fitted, they can be removed in 10 minutes. You coud install your old non opening windscreens in less than an hour. Change back in Spring. Stay Kool !
USA CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE
The Glass we supply is known as "Toughened Saftey Glass" in the UK. In the USA I beleive its known as "Tempered safety glass." This may not be legal in some States. It is the type of glass that when broken, goes to a thousand pieces. Not ideal I know but it is what VW used. The problem is that to my knowledge, and I am sure someone will correct me, VW never supplied Safaris originally with modern Laminated glass in. This is because it will crack almost as soon as you open it as all frames, including VW originals will flex when being opened. I have seen all the USA buses at NEATO meets and the VW Classics with cracked glass in their Safaris. We will not supply laminated glass with our Safaris because of this. If you want to or have to, its down to you but it will break. All our glass has an acid etched E11 quality /safety stamp on it. It is manufactured to meet the highest European safety standards.
