Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 22:39:08 -0700
Reply-To: Bob McMain <RdRunr@ZiaNet.com>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bob McMain <RdRunr@ZiaNet.com>
Subject: Good News on Westies
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
-----Original Message-----
From: Royston, Jerry <gmr@obpa.usda.gov>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, May 18, 2001 6:40 AM
Subject: Westy/Vanagon Paranoia
>Please, more stories about how your Vanagon/Westy has been a great, safe,
>and reliable vehicle and how it has opened up your world like no other
>vehicle could.
>
>Gerry
Hey, Jerry. Keep your chin up about the Westy. My wife & I have owned four
vanagon westies---an 85, two 87's and an 88---all full campers. Our first
was the 85, purchased in 90 with 125K on the odo. We were the 2nd owners.
The first owner had to replace the heads at 75k and I had to replace the
head gaskets when we purchased it.
We drove and camped in that 85 all over Calif, Nevada, Ariz, New Mexico,
Colorado and as far east as Minnesota and a trip to Ft. Worth, TX. Sold it
in 96 with 212K on it and got $1000 more than we paid for it. It was
beautiful and never left us stranded on the road. The only major repairs
were replacing the ECU with a rebuilt; new small coolant hoses; and a new
coolant expansion tank. The couple who bought it planned to drive it to
Tierra del Fuego!!
The 88 had a glitch in the engine when we bought it. The engine would cut
out intermittently and turning the ignition off and restarting it would make
it run right again for a while. It took me several months before I
discovered that it was a loose ground wire at the block (two local mechanics
an a VW mechanic in Tucson couldn't find the problem). It almost drove me
to sobriety trying to find that damn loose connection. Once I did I cleaned
the connnections, screwed it down tight, and it never had the problem again.
We drove it for about 20k, mainly touring and camping in New Mexico, and
sold it for a few thousand more than we paid for it.
Next was an 87 Syncro Westy that only had 23K on it. It was almost showroom
new. Only kept it a couple of years, put about 12k on it and sold it for a
few thou more than we paid for it. This was a super vehicle and we only
sold it because dumb me thought we should move up to something bigger, like
a mini-motorhome.
Fortunately, I regained consciousness, we didn't buy a mini and now own
another 87 with 75k on it. It's our first with an AT and it looks and runs
like new. We've put about 5k on it. It did strand us on our first long
trip (Albuquerque to Phoenix and back) when a belt broke about 25 miles east
of Flagstaff. Fortunately, I shut the engine down quickly so that it didn't
burn up and we had AAA Plus and got towed in to Flag where all three belts
were replaced at Pep Boys for $60. Returning home the expansion tank
started leaking and we had that replaced at Burk's Auto Haus in Flag. I
noticed the leak while stopped for lunch at Macy's in Flag and drove it over
to the Auto Haus. Burk is an excellent mechanic, runs a clean shop, and is
a fine person with a wealth of VW experience & expertise. I recommend him
to anyone in the Flagstaff area who needs a master mechanic.
Both of these repairs on the current 87 were the fault of my inadequate
preventive maintenance. I should have known to replace the belts before the
trip. I had noticed the beginning of a leak in the expansion tank and took
it to a VW shop before the trip and told them I thought it needed a new
tank. They insisited the cause of the leak was a faulty sensor on the tank
and that's what needed to be replaced. I should have been more insistent on
my own diagnosis and remedy.
The most important thing with a Vanagon is to maintain them impeccably;
notice any problem in its infancy and get it fixed. Find and use a good
mechanic who knows Vanagons for the work you can't do or don't want to do.
Drive it at reasonable speeds (rpms); don't lug the engine; use the proper
coolant and good clean fuel; replace the belts regulalry; and wash & polish
it regularly. Washing it and smiling while you do makes the Westy want to
return the good favor by carrying you safely to fun places.
There is nothing quite like the Vanagon Westy for fun traveling and camping.
They will consistently get 19-20 mpg and you have everything you need for a
day trip or a long camping/touring trip. The one exception is the need to
carry a porta-potti. It fits nicely behind the passenger seat and serves as
a footstool when the seat is swiveled around at the campsite. Our real
vacations are always in our Westy. We've gone so many places we couldn't
have afforded if we were moteling it. Our next big trip will be to the
Grand Canyon North Rim. It's our favorite place to go to and to enjoy the
natural world. We'll boondock in the Nat'l Forest most of the time and be
quite content with a fridge, stove, and water in our compact camper van.
We're now considering a Eurovan camper just to move to newer equipment.
However, it will be very hard to beat the Vanagon for comfort, fun,
manueverability and special character. It never fails that we have good
interesting conversations wherever we stop. People love to take a look
inside the Westy and to ask us to tell them about our Westy.
Get your rig in good shape. Use the expertise of the vanagon list; do
preventive maintenance; find a really good mechanic to use as needed; and go
on the road with confidence.
Keep on truckin'---
Bob
87 Westy "RDRUNR1"
Albuquerque
