Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 16:11:50 -0500
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Subject: Re: Vanagon safety and design?
In-Reply-To: <01BF7E09.5C5CE320.jj1@mail.tds.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
At 03:22 PM 2/23/2000 , Jennifer Jones wrote:
>His main issue (along with lack of power and crappy gas mileage) was safety
>and design. He said Vanagons just fold up like an accordion when hit.
Well, no. Maybe he was thinking of a Microbus -- I think they're pretty
tender in front. But the Vanagon is built extremely stiff to give as good
as possible protection in the absence of a big crush space in front. This
gives reasonable protection for occupants but does mean that (like
truck-based SUVs) they will cause disproportionate damage to a regular
sedan in a frontal collision. There are photos available (no doubt someone
will post the URL) of a 50%-offset frontal collision test btw a Vanagon and
a Volvo station wagon -- it's terrifying. The Vanagon looks sorta bruised
and the Volvo is mush right back into the cabin, with driver HIC numbers in
the 5000 range.
> He
>basically said the design was terrible and that it was analogous to he and
>I went going into a garage and building a car.
Hmph! The design is uniquely good in some ways especially rigged as a
camper, ok in others, has definite trouble spots. But if you want the
uniquely good you'll have to live with the rest. If I could design a
vehicle half this good I'd go into the business. If your "friend" thinks a
Caravan would make a useful camper, he must be a double amputee at the
knees. As to the crappy mileage, they're a much more capacious vehicle
than the Caravan and get somewhere approaching the same mileage. They
*are* underpowered by American standards, especially the pre-'86
ones. Well, *really* especially the diesel ones. But they move ok once
you adjust your mindset. They're rated to pull a 1300 lb trailer without
brakes and a considerably larger one with brakes -- but I don't think
pulling even a 1300 lb trailer through the mountains would be a lot of
fun. It will do it, though, even if it means using second gear a lot.
> He specifically mentioned
>the how everything was run by cables that run underneath the car, and that
>these are susceptible to corrosion, etc.
Hmm. Lessee -- there's the handbrake cable -- actually it's a solid rod up
to where it splits. And the throttle cable, sealed up pretty
good. There's a speedometer cable to the left front wheel, never heard of
them having any special problems. The shift linkage is made of pipe (all
right, tubing). There are the usual electrical cables, i.e. bundles of
wires. Nah...he's blowing smoke. He should be talking about coolant leaks
from the heads, and transmission troubles, and clapped-out old fuel hoses
spraying gas on the engine -- stuff that really *is* a problem. (Hint --
replace your fuel hoses, you may be sorry you didn't. Ken Wilford
http://www.vanagain.com has a complete kit ready to go with instructions.)
If you need a Westy, buy it while there are some left!
By the way, you can probably insure it as an RV...mine is. Rates are
better and you get coverage for the furniture which you otherwise wouldn't
-- which offsets the lower rate of course.
cheers
david
David Beierl - Providence, RI
http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"
