Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 09:05:00 -0700
Reply-To: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Trip report (summary and longer version) was:URGENT HELP NEEDED
in Iowa (around Davenport area)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hi all,
I'd like to take the time to thank all of you that
contributed to my plea for help (via Joel Walker)
while I was out in Iowa wondering if I was going to
make it Massachusetts or if I was going to have to
dole out a healthy sum of $$$ to some questionable
or quite reliable mechanic. I'd like to especially
thank Joel for his efforts and concern for my wife
and myself 's welfare. We did make it to
Massachusetts
and did so by basically stopping every 60 miles or
so (based on toll road turnouts) to check the level
of the coolant and to add when necessary. I typically
added a few ounces (maybe .5 to 1 pint) every 120
miles. That's the basic summary of how we got here.
I've since acquired a dial-up and can now access my
email and the web. If you want more detail about
the trip, read on!
The general gist of this trip is because I left my old
job and Intel (sjohnson@pcocd2.intel.com) in Folsom,
CA and am reporting to work this Monday at Sun Micro-
systems in Chelmsford, MA. This came about when I
decided that 16 years at Intel was enough and I wanted
a change. I lived in the Central Valley all of my 46
years less 1.25 years commuting to the Silicon Valley
in Santa Clara. Anyway, I because of the snow and po-
tential rust, I opted to purchase another vanagon
transporter so that I could park my VW camper in a
garage to avoid rust damage. This '86 transporter was
shipped along with my wife's '86 Nissan Sentra thanks
to the generosity of Sun. So with the rest of our
belongings, we headed out of Sacramento around
noon.....in the opposite direction, because I needed
to drive down to my mom's in Manteca, CA to say a last
goodbye before we headed east.
At around 5:00PM we arrived back in Sacramento and
continued on up I80 towards Reno.
Now let me get this piece of information out before I
forget. I knew about this flange leak for Months and
wasn't too worried about it as it didn't leak too much
and the coolant was not leaking at any alarming rate
at all. I had gone on other fairly extensive trips
with very little coolant loss at all. So, I thought
we'd be okay for 3,000 more miles. Little did I
know..
....
So we tootled along all the way to Wendover, NV and
stopped there at 4:00AM and stayed at a Super 8 motel
as the camper was too loaded down for any kind of
lodging that would be comfortable with all the rest
of our belongings in the van. Besides, Sun was
covering the cost of lodging, so why not be as comfor-
table as possible?
Next morning at 9:00 I checked the coolant and added
some as usual, loaded the van, secured the bicycles
and headed out after getting a quick breakfast at
"The Red Garter Saloon". MMMM---MMMM! ;)
So we were on our way and I also want to mention that
we did experience some of the hesitation problem which
I though that the 22uf capacitor solution would fix.
Well.... compared to my last drive through Nevada
(which seems to be the place where it bucks and
hiccups
the most) the camper performed much better. So
despite
some bucking, I was pleased with how well it did
perform.... I thought that maybe it was because I
hadn't put in the additional ground strap from the AFM
to the block that may be the reason for it not
completely fixing the problem.....??? Probably won't
know for a good while...
Okay, so on we went through the Salt flats, the Salt
Lake City (SLC) detour loop on 215 and back up on
to I80 again. According to Linda (my wife), she
experienced no further engine hesitation. That
would explain why I slept so well.... :)
I took over driving after a fuel stop and coolant
check in SLC and as we continued on up over the
Mountains. I enjoyed a lovely view of the foilage
color all over the range there while Linda got some
much needed sleep.
This was my first time on this part of I80 and didn't
know what to expect. I just wanted to get to the next
destination to meet my goal of 500 miles a day. The
trucks drove by and passed us quite quickly as I main-
tained a speed of 60 - 65 MPH. I hear most of you
shuddering at such a slow rate, but I drove conserva-
tively thinking that maybe it would keep the coolant
loss down. Anyway, most of the scenery was pretty and
it gradually gave way to open prairie with canyon
pockets with small caches of snow here and there.
It was pretty much mile after mile of gentle up and
down rolling highway for most of the way. After a
couple driving trade-offs we made it to our next
destination of Cheyenne, WY where we stayed for the
night at a Best Western motel. Nothing special, just
unload that night and then reload the next morning.
Our next destination was Lincoln, NE where we planned
to spend two nights so that we could get to go to the
State Records and obtain a copy of my father's birth
certificate. Linda is doing genealogy research and
this would help her confirm information about my
father's parents. We had to go to a library to get
on line to make sure of my father's birth date as I
did not know it off the top of my head. We also
contacted my mom who, of course, confirmed it. So
we got the certificate, did some laundry, dinner
and pretty much ended the day early on.
The next day we were supposed to receive an express
mail from the representative for our temporary
lodgings
in Mass. Well, by 11:00AM, there was know sign of
a package with our apartment keys and I was really
not happy about this as I needed to get down the road
to our next destination - 500 miles away (Gary, IN).
I talked with the rep. on the cell phone and said
I couldn't wait any longer and headed out of town
around 11:15AM. When we got to our first fuel stop,
I noticed that the coolant had gone down dramatically
and was not very delighted with this new problem.
I added coolant back up to the max. line and hoped
that it was just a fluke and headed down the road.
At our next stop about 50 - 100 miles later, the
new rate of coolant loss was confirmed and I started
to worry. Where was the nearest large town/city
with a VW shop? I decided that we could keep adding
coolant and hope that nothing drastic happened. I
had brought another gallon of pure coolant with us
to make sure we could make the full trip. At this
rate though, I'd have to get more. We made it all
the way to Jordan, IA where I located a VW dealer from
the phone book. I talked with the service rep. there
and was weighing out my options of staying to wait
for them to fix the leak or to just continue on with
crossed fingers and extra jugs of coolant to satisfy
the vans thirsty need... :(
Since the dealer stated that if the heads had to come
off, the earliest it would be done would be the next
week, I made my decision and purchased four jugs of
the Audobahn coolant and headed out east.....
Living dangerously, I left a message with Joel Walker,
(one of "the" vanagon authorities and the only one I
had the phone number for) who I knew could trust to
help make contact with someone from this area of the
country. I kept driving on and on and added coolant
about every 60 miles or so. This seemed to be the
best amount of miles to stop and check the leak
progress and to determine if more needed to be added.
On average, I added coolant every other stop, but
I wanted to stay on top of any possible further damage
that might translate into more $$$$....
By the time we arrived in Davenport, IA, I decided
it would be best to stop. There was a thunder storm
accompanying us a little too close for comfort and
I thought it best to call it a night and to let some
of the stress go so that I could think better. When
we arrived at the motel, the storm really bared down
and there was quite a dazzling display of lightening
strikes. I thought about the propane tank on top
of the van and decided that I didn't really have
anywhere else to leave it, so there it stayed. We
were in our room and I was looking out the window
when a bright strike hit just outside the window and
popped on someone's car antenna. I said, "Wow!" Linda
yelled, "Get away from that window!" I promptly did
and the phone rang.... It was Joel.....
[Wow! what an omen!!]
I discussed the situation with Joel and at the time
I thought it might be the heads leaking as well, but
he felt that it was probably the flange further
opening/warping and that I should not try to drive
further. So my plan was to get up early the next
morning to fix the leak. I thought I had the correct
sealant (High Temp RTV) but as I found out the next
morning, it was the wrong kind.... bummer!
So, taking another chance, I decided to keep nursing
the coolant reservoir and heading further east. We
made it all the way to Erie, PA (~600 miles) from
Davenport, IA, where we found it extremely difficult
to find a no-smoking, first floor room or any rooms
at all. Finally at one of the exits, there was a
no-smoking room that we were happy with. The coolant
loss was unchanged thus far and I started to become
optimistic about our chances.....
We ate very little for dinner that night as we were
both tired and stressed from the long trip and the
added bonus of leaking coolant. So we went to bed
and woke up to our final day of moving....
Linda drove us from Erie through most of PA and a lot
of New York. This allowed me some sleep and rest.
We stopped regularly for the 60 mile checks and
the rate of leakage remained the same or sometimes
a little better, sometimes a little worse. I added
coolant as needed and we kept driving with more and
more rain added to the mix. It drizzled on and off
most of the day.
That evening, as we arrived in MA, the rain increased.
It got darker and darker and the rain came in sheets
and was blasted into our windshield by trucks and
other vehicles. We progressed through the mountains
of western MA and it seemed to go on forever. As I
watched the miles click by I started thinking, "hey,
we're getting within AAA Plus towing distance.." :)
I kept driving and watched to see how slick the road
was as best I could. Occasionally, I'd slow down
because it rained so hard and the surface of the road
was not visible. This went on for quite some time.
At around 8:00PM, we finally got off the I90 turnpike
and headed north along I495 which is the outer belt
way around Boston. We had about 30 miles to go and
I wanted to stop for dinner before we arrived to get
our bearings and to make sure we had food in our
stomachs for the unloading part of the adventure.
After a couple bogus turn-offs for places to eat we
found a nice dinner spot called "Ken's American Cafe"
just north of Bolton, MA. We both ate to our hearts
content and I was able to contact the rep. that had
our keys for our apartment.... She had decided to
hide the keys so that when we arrived, I could locate
them and gain access. I also needed the directions
on how exactly to get to the apartments, which I got
as well.
So we headed out thinking we were almost there.....
But, as be were driving along shortly after the
restaurant stop, a minivan in front of us hit a
slick spot and careened off the inner guard rail
and then shot across in front of us as I slowed
down (Linda was urgently telling me to stop!) not
wanting to skid myself on one hand and yet not
wanting to collide with the other van. Fortunately,
neither happened and the other van stopped immediately
after it hit the outer guard rail. I pulled over
just behind them and Linda hit the flashers. We
got out as the husband was helping his wife out
and hugging her. Linda stayed with the van while
I asked if both were all right? I asked if they
wanted me to call 911 (seems stupid now, but you
never know). So I had Linda call and then she got
out and helped to comfort the wife as she was
obviously
in a bit of shock. We talked with the couple and
off and on we looked at the damage. The horn was
blaring but I didn't want to get close to the vehicle
because I wasn't sure of its condition. The front
end was damaged badly and I assume that it would be
totaled by the insurance company. The rain continued
and other motorists stopped. One of them recommended
that we stand behind the guard rail as it was apparent
that another vehicle could do the same or worse. So
we stood back for what seemed like a quarter of an
hour before a police officer arrived. I stated to him
what had happened and he checked out the couple and
said that a fire truck and ambulance was on the way.
Several more police vehicles arrived and finally the
fire truck. Not long after, the ambulance arrived
and from there we said our goodbyes and the officer
in charge allowed us to go.
We finally found the entrance to our apartment complex
and made it to the door. I tried finding the keys,
but
did not find them. So, once again, I contacted the
rep. from the company and explained what had happened.
She exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" and that she had
actually stopped at the accident and talked with us
to make sure we had contacted the police!
This was too wild and funny! So she said she had
decided to deliver the key personally and there
we met and had a good laugh about it. From there
we got our belongings in and finally got a real
good night's rest!!! :) So we made it in good
shape and I'll get on that coolant leak right
away!!!!
Thanks to all again for your help!!!!
Thanks Joel!!! Your the best!!!
Steven & Linda
P.S. For those of you who got this that are not
on the vanagon list, I just wanted you to have a
copy so you could read this account of our journey
as well....
--- Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET> wrote:
> Steven Johnson, of the list, late of California, is
> on his way with
> his 90 camper to his new home in New Hampshire. his
> bus has started
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