Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:21:44 -0800
Reply-To: Ben McCafferty <ben@KBMC.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ben McCafferty <ben@KBMC.NET>
Subject: LONG gear report and travelogue
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi all,
Wow, what a trip. Thank you again to all who offered assistance if needed,
and especially to Richard Jones in Boulder for getting me pointed in the
right direction when my clutch master cylinder failed last week in Denver.
It was an easy repair, and I didn't lose a single day.
I'll start with some statistics, then move on to a gear report, and finish
with an abbreviated travelogue.
I am running a 1990 syncro westy, BFG 27x8.5x14, factory rebuilt WBX 2.1
with about 35K on it. Van has 205,000, including tranny and VC. Driveshaft
is 100K old. Before leaving, I did plugs, dist cap, rotor, wires, timing,
coolant flush (Autobahn), thermostat, rad fan switch (lower cut-in temp),
P/S pump, Castrol 20W50 (non-synthetic), and Mann oil filter. The tires
were at 48 PSI rear, 44 PSI front. I discovered mid-trip that the BFGs may
not be the same diameter, even though they are all the same size. More on
that later.
I estimate the BFGs to be about 6% bigger than 205/70/14s. In my stats,
I've given the indicated mileage/etc. first, and the 6% higher figure in
parenthesis. Strangely, my indicated mileage seems to jive perfectly with
mileage signs on the road, but you know how that goes....
I ran on cruise control all the time, indicating 70-72 MPH at most.
STATISTICS
States visited: 21 plus D.C.
Total hours of travel: 123.75
Total hours of stops: 13.83
Net total hours of travel: 109.92
Total miles: 7010 (7431)
Avg. MPH with stops: 56.65 (60.05)
Avg. MPH without stops: 63.77 (67.60)
Gas stops: 34
Total gallons of gas: 453.50
Avg. MPG: 15.46 (16.39)
Longest travel day: 20 hours
Shortest travel day: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Average travel day: 9 hours, 10 minutes
Windiest f*%$@$g state in the union: Wyoming
Coldest night: Wyoming (ice on my comforter in the morning)
Number of times I cursed Wyoming for said wind: countless
Best road traveled: turnpike across northern Ohio (great travel plazas)
Max. days without a good cup of coffee: 10
Total Egg McMuffin breakfasts consumed: 12
Dog injuries: 2
Number of people who yelled at me to warn me of the "forgotten" gas can on
my roof: 11
Number of policemen who pulled me over for the same reason: 1
GEAR REPORT
Coleman PowerCat Catalytic heater--on the advice of the list, I bought one
of these. With the propane cylinder removed, it fits nicely under the back
seat on the passenger side. It worked very well, even in sub-zero weather,
to keep the edge off the cold. In milder temps (20s and 30s), it was
downright comfy, i.e. sitting around in a T-Shirt. Regardless of what
Coleman says, it does generate fumes, and I wouldn't go to sleep with it
running, even with the poptop up and the window cracked. It also served as
a nice defroster in Wyoming, to melt the ice on the inside of all windows
and on my comforter.
Cup holders from Bus Depot, folding Carat style--These worked very nicely.
Unfortunately my van already had broken ones installed, so I used the same
screw holes (I hate making new holes). The old ones are mounted too high,
so anything taller than a 12 oz can doesn't fit very well--hits the heater
controls. I will probably add an extension plate behind mine that mounts to
the original holes, and lowers the cupholders an inch or two. I'd recommend
installing these as low as possible if you're doing it for the first time.
The Bus Depot version are very nice in that the retaining arms are on a
pivot, instead of a slide like the old ones--the slide style is very easy to
break.
Scissor jacks for leveling from Bus Depot--Again, these worked well, with a
couple of caveats. First of all, the pin that goes into your jacking point
is smaller than the vanagon jack point, so you have to be very careful to
seat it all the way in, and make sure it stays there when you start putting
pressure on it. Also, they rely on a little bit of sideways torque when
they start lifting, which became apparent the night I was camped in a truck
stop coated with ice. I couldn't use the jacks that night, as they would
just slip out from under the van. The stock jack didn't have that problem.
This is a rare situation, but nonetheless. A handful of sand would have
solved the problem. Also, I bought two jacks thinking I'd need them both,
but so far have yet to use more than one. I.e., if the van is sloped
downhill and to the right, I just jack up the RF corner, and problem is
solved. I'm sure that with enough slope, two might be necessary. If I
could do it over again, I'd probably start with one. I also discovered that
I can fit the stock jack and lug wrench, two scissors jacks, and two torque
wrenches in the shelf behind the A/C with a little work.
Blitz, USA Spill Proof 5-gallon gas can--Biggest equipment failure of the
trip--what a piece of junk this was. It has a nozzle that is spring loaded
so you can invert it and then open to fill. Trouble is, the nozzle doesn't
reach in far enough to open the restrictor flap on the van, so gas can't get
into the tank quickly enough and just pours out everywhere. The nozzle also
leaks badly around the spring mechanism. In addition, it leaks badly when
closed due to elevation and temperature changes. I'll be pulling the
luggage rack off the westy to clean the gas out from under it. Still
searching for a safe and useable external gas solution...
Splash Slug A Bug washer fluid--worked well to dissolve bugs, but got slushy
in moderately cold temperatures (20F).
Castrol 20W50 (non-synthetic) oil--Was sluggish in Wyoming (below 0F), but
great everywhere else.
Mann oil filter--Well, all was ok in CA, but the oil pressure light/buzzer
was coming on again at low RPMs and/or under load. I may try the synthetic
Castrol to see how it goes. Not a major problem, just something to be aware
of.
RedLine synthetic tranny fluid--I forgot that temperature is usually an
issue with shifting ease--it was like being in warm temperatures all the
time. Awesome.
Honeywell Ceramic Electric heater--Worked great. Has a shut off if it gets
tipped over, so I felt confident leaving it running at night with the dogs
in the van (they weren't allowed inside at all places I visited). It is
small enough to easily fit in the closet as well.
Ogallala Down Comforter--I've had this for years, but mention it for those
with allergies. Ogallala Down is a mixture of down and milkweed fiber,
which has properties identical to down. Milkweed also traps down allergens,
which makes for a hypo-allergenic down comforter. I have the mid-weight
version, and was actually too hot in the sub-zero temps in Wyoming.
Everywhere else, I found myself needing to let in some cool air all night.
An awesome product, worth the money. By pulling it in from the sides of the
poptop bed, the poptop can be closed with the comforter still in place, and
no gaps around the poptop seal.
Stock Westy Water Pipes/Tank--I was very worried about pipes freezing and
bursting. The two coldest nights, I was without electricity, and ran the
Coleman heater morning and evening. The rest of the time, I kept the
ceramic heater running on low at all times I was parked. I never saw so
much as slush in the line to the sink. I still would be careful with a long
trip with no heat (i.e. camping in the mountains for 5 days or something),
but I am much more confident that the insulation in the westy did its job.
TRAVELOGUE
The trip was as follows:
Foster City, CA to Denver, CO, one day in Denver
Denver, CO to Chicago, IL, one day in Chicago
Chicago, IL to New York, NY, one day in NY
New York, NY to Goldsboro, NC, one day in Goldsboro
Goldsboro, NC to West Jefferson, NC, two days in West Jefferson
West Jefferson, NC to Hillsboro, IL, one day in Hillsboro
Hillsboro, IL to Denver, CO, one day in Denver
Denver, CO to Foster City, CA
Highlights of the trip were: visits with lots of family and friends, bearing
witness to the World Trade Center site, viewing a taping of the Late Show
with David Letterman, seeing a splittie bus with a very cool 60s paint job
called the "Shaggin Wagon", finding Starbucks and Cinnabon in the travel
plazas in Ohio, sunrises and sunsets in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska, not
having any bad weather the whole trip (save Donner Pass on the way home) and
Woody's Pizza in Golden, CO.
Low points of the trip were: crosswinds across the country, crossing
headwinds ALL the way through Wyoming and Kansas (can you say 45mph?),
losing the clutch master cylinder in Denver (though it was an easy repair),
bad coffee.
Here's my thoughts from my travel journal on the WTC:
"1/16/2002 Rode the ferry over to Pier 11. As soon as I got off, there was
a firehouse with memorials to its lost members. As I walked up through
Manhattan, there was evidence everywhere of 9/11, mainly in the form of
heightened security and red/white/blue everywhere. As I walked, I found
myself still unable to comprehend that an actual attack on US soil had taken
place. I passed one fenceline covered with memorials, and could see plenty
of window holes in adjacent buildings that were covered with plywood after
they had been blown out. Turning left on Fulton, I soon came to another
memorial wall, and the entrance to the recently opened observation platform.
A NYPD officer asked if I had a ticket, and I said no, where could I buy
one. He said they were free, but I could go on up. I headed up the plywood
ramp, which was covered with inscriptions from visitors. Both here and at
the memorials, I was stunned by the number of personal messages, i.e. to one
particular lost soul from family or friends. At the top of the ramp, I
waited for the deck to clear, so I could have a turn. While waiting, I
noticed a hanging sculpture up in the tree to the right of the platform. It
was made of strips of aluminum, kind of star-shaped, and made a nice sound
in the breeze. Looking again, I noticed a regular pattern of holes and
nylon cord, annd realized it was a venetian blind from someone's office,
still hanging where it had landed over four months ago. I noticed the tree
had lots of bits of magnetic tape, cable/wire, bags, etc. in it as well.
Reality check.
When I got to the front of the platform, there was not denying that this was
real, not something Hollywood dreamed up. The rubble is mostly gone, but
there are still pieces of foundation wall, piles of twisted I-beams, and a
big hole in the ground. The entire blank spot must be several hundred yards
on each side. Lots of activity still, probably months of cleanup to go.
Another strong impact was seeing blue sky everywhere, knowing the WTC should
be there to block it out. Also realizing that the WTC was about twice as
tall as the surrounding buildings, which are skyscrapers unto themselves.
If WTC hadn't fallen so straight down, the carnage would have been much
worse. After a prayer and some tears, I left the deck and went back to the
first memorial I had seen. As I read, the enormity of this tragedy really
hit me. I stood there a long time, unashamed of the tears running down my
cheeks. I was struck most by the messages from children, but one note from
a wife to husband was very compelling: "I'll make you proud, and will never
forget you or stop loving you."--pictured with their two small children. So
very close to home; these were real people with real lives, and they were
the most important person in the world to someone.
I leave New York with a renewed sense of what it means to be free and be an
American; Lady Liberty stands there, still beckoning to all who would know
of a better way of life, be it here or abroad. What we have and stand for
is still freely available to all who want it. I also leave with a deeper
resolve than I have ever known. I realize not that freedom and our way of
life is never paid for completely--there will always be those who will test
our resolve, and we will again give freely of our lives to turn them away.
My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to all who were affected in this
tragedy, and to our great nation. Long live our country and free men
everywhere. --Ben McCafferty, Jersey City, NJ"
With best regards,
bmc :)
"Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel...."
| 
