Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 09:36:20 -0800
Reply-To: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: novice seeking enlightenment
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hi Karen,
I've noticed that the list has not had enough useless
drivel lately (big smirk here) so I thought I'd chime
in my much desired (even bigger smirk here) $.02 here.
So you want to plunk down the lowest possible sum
for the most VW camper you can get and not have to
get your dainty pinkies dirty in the process? Well,
you've come to the right/wrong place. "So what the
hell is that supposed to mean!?", you ask...
The VW camper can be the most euphoric ride on this
planet that you can get for your money and yet it can
be the biggest con-founded pain you could ever wish on
your worst enemy.
By that, I mean that with the VW camper you get not
only a built in bed or two, but you get a fridge,
stove, well thought out cabinets (some may argue
this), a large galley, the kitchen sink and a water
supply for cleaning and drinking. But wait! There's
more! You get an up front ride in a captains chair
with a spectacular view that is, bar none, better than
any other vehicle on the road out there today. And
when you get rolling down the highway, you just cannot
beat the feeling of freedom/joy/power you get being up
there in your self-contained space vehicle because you
know darn well that it's the only one of it's kind
out there that covers all the bases so well. And no
matter what those other slick "minivan" vehicles
equip themselves with, you know damn good and well
that it's just fluff on an otherwise VW wannabe
stationwagon. They can't just stop, pop the top and
flip open a bed and crash for the night. They can't
flip up a stove top and cook up some meal when they
want. They gotta go find a hotel or put together a
tent! What a piece of sh*t! Oh sure, it got them
there in maybe a 3rd less time, or did it? You know
with all of those seats, they're carrying a crew that
must go to the bathroom every 1/2 hour. So maybe
they can do 90 down the freeway, but you know they
have to stop because those bladders just can't wait.
How do I know this? I just rode with my brother in
is standard minivan and sure enough a potty stop just
had to be made in a 100 mile trip. Now with me and
the wife? She would've just had to hop/climb around
the passenger seat, shut the curtains and use the
porta-pottie and I just keep rolling down the highway
happy as a clam. No stoppin' for me. Whoo-hoo!
Okay, so now you're rolling along in your VW camper
in glorious supreme euphoria when all-of-a-sudden,
you feel it. A little minor jerk. And just when
you're dismissing it as nothing, it happens again.
"higgup".... jerk.... "What the heck?". The van
starts bucking and jerking like it's trying to shake
a bug off it's ass. So you pull over and stop and
scratch your head and try to think of what the hell
is wrong. If you're brave you toss everything out
of the back and have look at the engine compartment
and still scratch your head because you don't see
anything wrong. (unless the air cleaner boot is
disconnected in which case you reconnect and roll
along merrily). So you think to yourself, maybe
it's bad gas and go get some gas treatment, add it
to the tank and roll along until...
Higgup! .... jerk....
It starts again.... Sh*t!!!!
What heck is going on? Well, my friend. In most
cases, it has to do with the Air Flow Meter (AFM).
What happens is that the AFM has a wiper that contacts
a metal surface which is used to tell the engine
computer how much air is flowing through the intake
so that it can adjust how much fuel to put out of
the injectors. Well... that's the simple explanation.
Anyway, to make a long story short, a track gets worn
on the meter surface by the wiper and there are slight
imperfections on the surface that cause the wiper to
send misinformation to the computer which in turn
causes it to output the incorrect amount of fuel to
the injectors. So you end up with a herky-jerky
re-sponse from the engine. But there is a fix for
this
and this list will be happy to tell you how if you
do indeed get a van. But this is one of several
issues
you will have with a VW Camper (Vanagon, that is) so
you know that it is not completely care free.....
The other problems include head gasket leaking, fuel
tank leaking, hard starting warm/cold. And a few
other
misc. problems. But hey! This is a VW and you must
love your VW to keep it going the way it ought to.
And.... if you don't already know... all other
vehicles out there have their quirks and problems too.
Don't let them fool you. They have
quality/reliability
issues and if you let them convince you that VW is the
worst, then you deserve that rotten piece of useless
road crap that you paid for!
So, there you have it. The VW Camper is the most
unique, versatile, charismatic vehicle out there.
Everyone knows what they are. They just don't realize
its capability and how to fix t he quirks. So you
buy a VW Camper and consult this list and you drive
it, enjoy it, work on it and it becomes a way of life.
If you are not ready for that, then go on your merry
way and pay for some other ho-hum mobile and never
know the joy/agony that you get from a VW magic bus.
End of drivel.... :)
Steven
'91 Camper
'86 Transporter
--- Karen Kiester <kmkiester@USWEST.NET> wrote:
> Hello,
> I am considering buying a VW camper van. I'm guess
> I'm in
> my midlife crises and want to reconnect to those
> things that
> I used to do and love. And camping is one of them
> but not
> roughing it too bad. I have never own a VW camper
> but it
> seems like what would work well for me. Because
> this will
> also be my primary vehicle. I like the pop up and
> the size
> of the vans. So please share with me what you can.
> Think
> of it as VW Camper Van's 101.
>
> I cannot afford a brand new one, at least until I
> hit the
> lottery (I'm not holding my breathe there!). So
> what should
> I look for (I've seen the notes about the head
> gasket)? Are
> any years better than others (or is this really
> opening up
> opinions rather than facts ;-) What are good
> features to
> have? I've heard that some people don't like the
> stove
> because of the cooking smells in the van. They
> would rather
> use a Coleman stove.
>
> I don't work on cars - I'm kind of a girlie girl but
> not too
> much. So all work will be done by a mechanic. I've
> found
> some information on the web. But if you know of
> other sites
> please pass those along. And if you know of any
> books, I'd
> also like to know about them. I'm a computer
> program so I
> research and analyze. I'm not in a hurry to
> purchase. My
> first trip in planned for late July.
>
> Thank you in advance for your wisdom and your time.
> Blessings and Joy to you and your families this
> holiday
> seaons.
> Karen Kiester (yes, like get up off it - it helps
> one to
> have a great sense of humor and not take life too
> seriously
> - in emails I go by k)
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