Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 19:20:58 -0400
Reply-To: "Christopher T. Berchin" <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Christopher T. Berchin" <ctb1@PEOPLEPC.COM>
Subject: Friday: First Vanagon Race Report
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi everyone. It has taken me until now to finally get to use my '84 Vanagon
WBX for its intended purpose - hauling my shifter kart and gear to the
track. Up until now, all my teammates weren't able to go, so there was room
in the other vehicles for my gear. This time, I was self-sufficient. : )
The bus worked great! All my stuff fits fairly easily in the bus (including
the kart), and loading/unloading is simple with the low lift height and side
door. Once at the track, there is enough room in the bus to be a changing
room, stretch out and relax, get out of the rain, whatever. I have tinted
windows, so it works well if you need to change clothes. The rear hatch is
a great place to lay out my tools - the hatch provides a little cover, and
the height of the rear deck is great for laying out wrenches, sockets, etc.
I was even able to tie a canopy (Easy-Up) to the rear bumper with enough
clearance to open and close the hatch.
Here is all the stuff that fits:
* 125cc racing kart
* Kart stand
* Large Rubbermaid canister that holds 8 kart tires
* Two smaller Rubbermaid canisters with all my spare parts, tools, solvents,
tape, etc.
* Igloo 48 cooler full of Gatorade and food
* Two 5-gallon racing fuel jugs
* Huge hockey bag full of my racing suit, boots, gloves, helmet, etc.
* Large overnight bag with my clothes, cameras, etc.
* Folding chair
* 12" subwoofer box that includes two 6" midrange and two 1" tweeters
* Extra sidepods and mounting bars for kart
And there's still room to fit an Easy-Up once I get my own (this one was
borrowed), as well as a passenger in the front seat. Outward vision isn't
even blocked at all with all this stuff in there. This is a great vehicle
for my purposes! You can see some pictures of some of the stuff at
http://photos.yahoo.com/ctbtyper in the "Race Bus" album. I have since
replaced the light green container you see with the big Rubbermaid canister
mentioned above.
I can't believe the mileage I got. I have undersized tires on the bus (came
with it - working on getting good tires now), so the revs are a bit higher
than they should be. While "drafting" behind my friend's trailer, I got
18.3 mpg! On the way back, they were going too fast and I really didn't
feel like screaming the engine for that long with the small tires, so I
backed it down and no drafting. 18.8 mpg! And that is corrected mileage
for the smaller tires - I calculated how much smaller they are and adjusted
the number on the odometer accordingly. I'd say it is running great. I'm
going to put larger-than-stock tires on the bus to drop the revs lower on
the highway - I think I'll be in even better shape then.
While at the track, another racer showed up with a 1983 Vanagon Aircooler!
He felt the same way I did about the bus - his son races, and they fit their
gear in the bus while still keeping the middle seat in place! He came over
to look at my bus, and we swapped stories, etc. Seems I'm not the only one
that thinks it's a great hauler. A few people commented, "Hey, nice VW!"
Yep, it's pretty cool. But you guys know that already.
Sorry about the length, but I thought I'd toss out some Friday content about
how pleased I am with my purchase. Later!
Chris
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