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Date:         Tue, 20 Jun 2000 21:15:52 EDT
Reply-To:     DHornberg@aol.com
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doug Hornberger <DHornberg@aol.com>
Subject:      Advice for a long road trip
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Hello Everyone, My wife and I will be traveling throughout the US and Mexico for three months. The total trip should be between 18,000 and 20,000 miles. Knowing what a great source of information, knowledge and experience this site is, I wanted to ask for any suggestions/advice/experience with regard to preparing my Vanagon for this trip.

First let me give some history on our Vanagon. We own a 1991 Vanagon GL Camper, 2.1L with 90,000 miles. I am the 3rd owner, 1st owner is unknown and had the vehicle from 0-60K miles, 2nd owner had from 60,000 to 85,000 miles, and took very good care of the vehicle (regular maintenance, kept records, etc.). I have owned it for the last 9 months and have put on about 5k miles. I had the front and rear brake pads changed, freon put into the system, had overall check and maintenance done by local VW dealership and garage. They told me the van checked out in excellent shape. For this trip I am having installed an auxiliary battery, inverter, 30 amp recharger, Carver P4 heater, auxiliary propane tank. In addition I have installed a Catalina 2500 awning, Thule rack and storage box, and Fiamma bike rack.

What I am trying to do with this posting is prepare/anticipate any mechanical difficulties that may be common to the 1991 Vanagon between 90,000 and 120,000 miles based on your experience. Also, I am looking for any suggestions or "pearls of wisdom" to make this trip go smoothly with regard to the Vanagon.

I have 5 areas I would like to ask your suggestions/recommendations on.

1) Based on the history of our Vanagon given above, what mechanical failures, if any, might I expect in the 90,000 to 120,000 mileage range and is there any preemptive measures I can take to avoid these problems? For example, it has been suggested to me that I have a new clutch installed based on the mileage. Another person suggested at 90,000 to 120,000 the heads might start to give me a problem. Any thoughts or suggestions to these or other issues you might have experienced?

2) It has been recommended that since VW parts may be scarce in some parts of Mexico I should take the following items: Spare Alternator, Power Steering Pump, Replacement Belts, Fuses, Spark Plugs/Wires, Oil and Fuel filters. Are there any other parts (mechanical or otherwise) you think I might want to carry with me?

3) I have a friend who has experienced the "Westy Buck." Can anyone shed light on this subject and/or give recommendations on how to avoid having this happen?

4) Any general comments/thoughts I should be aware of with regard to the Vanagons performance in the 90,000-120,000 mileage range?

5) Since this is the 1st trip we will be taking for this length of time, any general comments/thoughts/suggestions on how to make this trip as trouble free as possible, mechanical or otherwise? (Yes, my wife and I am very compatible, therefore one possibility down).

Thank you for any help you might have to offer pertaining to any or all of these questions, it will be of great help.

Sincerely, Doug Hornberger 1991 Westfalia Vanagon "Romer"


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