Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 21:25:16 EDT
Reply-To: VW85Westy@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Peter Krogh <VW85Westy@AOL.COM>
Subject: Starter, trip Update, Modifications
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
This seems to have bounced. forgive me if it did not.
Peter
Greetings List,
Thanks for the help with the starter motor (and the Oil Pressure last week).
It starts now, at least. I will take it on a bit of a drive tomorrow, and
see if the hot start problem returns. I only need to start it about 4 more
times before I get home, so confidence is high.
I thought I would take a minute and list the modifications and repairs that I
did before the trip, as well as give a little feedback on those. I thought I
had posted the Modifications earlier, but it never showed up on the digest.
Apologies if it did and I am repeating myself.
Before leaving, I got some cool stuff from GoWesty and the Bus Depot, and
Zippy has never looked better , as long as you gloss over the dents ;-).
**New Carpet Mats from GoWesty, $150 w/ shipping, very nice touch.
**New 3 window poptop canvas from GoWesty ($250, about 3.5 hours installation
solo.) This is an incredible improvement. Much more ventilation, visibility,
a great improvement.
**New 3 Point seatbelt from VW. ($95, 1.5 hrs installation) Great
Improvement. I urge EVERYONE to do this to their van. The hardest part was
locating the place to cut through the paneling, if anyone is doing this, I
would be happy to go out and measure. Also perplexing was that the seatbelt
bolts were not metric??? Now, has anyone put a driver's side rear 3 point on
a westy? It looks like it should be possible if one cuts through the cabinet.
** New Nizza 2 tent from Eurocampers. ($650 w/ sleeping cabin) Expensive,
yes. But what great design. Travelling with a family of four, with a bunch
of gear, it makes all the difference in the world. Added groundcloth and and
cotton rugs.
** New CD player. Putting my whole collection on burnables. Much more space
efficient. (Of course there are drawbacks. At our first destination we were
given a copy of Charlotte's Web on tape ( for our 5&6 year olds and for the 8
hour drive) Had to borrow a cassette deck to play it.)
** New Front Window screens from GoWesty. ($60) Expensive, but ventilation is
so great right now. Wish I had them for the last 15 years.
**New Muffler from Bus Depot. Got to use my new Sawzall on the old one. Now
Zippy only whispers.
**Not new, but a new use. I have started using my jack to level the van and
dampen rocking when camping. I can't believe I waited so long to try this,
it works beautifully. I will be looking for a second jack ASAP.
Trip so Far
We left DC thursday night and made it to northern Pennsylvania before
camping. Could have made it all the way to Deposit NY, our destination, but
I was secretly hoping we would not, and that we would be able to camp. Found
a nice state Park, Hickory Creek. Total Miles 340.
The camper was only a playhouse that weekend, as were were given house
privlidges. The 4 kids loved it, and played there all day.
Left Deposit early monday morning, and headed south, about 480 miles down
interstate 81. Went 55-75 the whole way, depending on the incline. The van
ran great, although it is running hot at idle, and slightly hot (needle in
the middle of the warning light) on the highway. I may try and bleed the
system either on the trip or later, and I certainly will have it looked at
when I return. I had asked my mechanic to put in a low-temp fan switch two
weeks ago, and he returned the car saying that the current one worked exactly
at spec. I guess I need to be more forceful next time.
Anyway, Monday night was our only family-only camping of the trip. We
visited Natural Bridge, both the bridge and the caverns. I spied a yellow 85
westy there with UNC stickers on it (just like ours) and met the owner,
Larry. He is a dentist from Long Island who found his van through the list
or through Vanagon.com. Nice guy and somewhat brave soul to take a week-long
trip in a van he had only owned for several weeks.
We stayed at a KOA in Natural Bridge VA, which we like because of proximity
to the highway and for the nice pool. We did not set up the side tent, as we
were only there for a night.
Left Tuesday for the In-laws place in Bakersville NC (40 miles NE of
Asheville). The van ran great for the 300 miles, except for the
aforementioned hot-start problem, and the hot idle. Did the mountian pass no
sweat. Currently parked in a beautiful spot off the long driveway, where my
wife and I sleep while the children sleep inside (everyone's happy).
On friday, we will head to a campout at a friend's property about 40 miles
from here, near a blip of a town called Edgemont. There will be 60 adults
and 40 children camping for the weekend, at the 19th annual version of this
party. We will undoubtedly have the choicest rig.
If all goes well for the last leg, we are all back in DC on Monday. Josie
prepares for the first day of second grade, Maddy for Kindergarden, I'm
preparing for a photo shoot in Nebraska, Erie PA, and San Francisco, and my
wife works to save the fate of her employer, Microstrategy. After
work/school, Josie and I will sit out in the camper and read Harry Potter,
and think about our family's wonderful time away from home.
Thanks for all your help in keeping the van running and making this possible.
Peter, His Family, and Zippy
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