Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 13:41:25 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: trip
In-Reply-To: <B9012273.1C4D%mwmiller@cwnet.com>
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At 10:08 AM 5/10/2002, mike wrote:
>Business, book tour with an author as a helper.
>NYC
Kewl, best of British luck. Call if you need anything.
Some thoughts. You won't have time for all of them before you go, but
worth considering, and can do things along the way as convenient:
On our honeymoon, second day out we made our first mod to the van -- stuck
a paper-towel holder onto the face of the overhead shelf aft of the
stove. A bicycle clip keeps the end from blowing around. Big sigh of
relief all around.
If you haven't already, grab a little tent or maybe two -- You can either
sleep one or toss your gear in it, and either way it helps. They pack up
in a shoebox-size stuff sack.
Ditto a Porta-Potti (the smallest --Thetford model 135 or similar). Works
great, discreet to use, doesn't stink when its closed, makes a nice
auxiliary seat/foot rest. You can store sewage until it's full, and it's
made so you can carry the tank off separately to dump it -- carrying
handle, folding spout and all. The blue chemical with formaldehyde in it
is nasty by itself, but it works a treat. Dunno about the "green"
ones. These are "real" chemical toilets that flush, not just
bags-on-a-frame for emergency use. Ours cost ?$75? a few years ago. We
stow it just behind the passenger seat -- if not all the way forward it can
roll over on sudden braking (no mess, but still).
Finger foam -- a bed-size piece will store doubled-over under the rear
cushion. Makes sleeping almost luxurious for those older bones...
Keep the bigger table stowed upside down at the rear of the upper berth --
pad the stem if you care about it mussing up the mouse fur. Keep the
smaller table on the after arm -- it's ready to use and easy to switch if
you want the big one. The forward arm makes a nice place to hang a plastic
bag (the kind with handle-holes) for a trashbag. Without the table on it,
lies nicely aft along the cabinet front but reachable by driver and passenger.
If your closet door doesn't clear the table (and you aren't in love with
the mirror) just leave the door home. Works great without the door, no huhu.
The front table is good keyboard height for the swivel seat if you shorten
the arm ?about 3 inches? I kept the cut-off piece in case I wanted to
restore original, but
A piece of carpet to cover the floor -- takes all the beating. Also a
couple strips for doormats, kneelers, whatever. If they get messy and you
don't want to deal, toss in nearest dumpster and get another.
A Black and Decker Super Car-Vac (something like that) -- it's a 12-v
DustBuster *with a power brush that sticks on the front.* Got good suck,
and the beater brush will bring up stuff that will amaze you. Without the
beater these things are basically useless. The B&D one is the best I've
seen but anything with a beater will be a great help.
A small (150-watt) inverter with an extension cord and a spring-clamp
gooseneck lamp with a Compact Fluorescent bulb are great for making the
light the way you want it. We found an 11-watt lamp that's a PAR
(Parabolic Aluminized Reflector), like an outdoor floodlight) that works
great, but others should do fine. Clip high for overall light, nearby for
solo reading. Also charges/runs laptops etc. A one-into-three cigarette
lighter adapter very handy (I've put a triple outlet right by the front
table leg, but you haven't time for that.
12-v tire pump. We got a nice sturdy Chinese one for about $15 at a local
outlet (I know it's sturdy because I looked inside -- unfortunately you
won't be able to). Lets you run with a slow leak and makes it practical to
let air out if you get into an iffy traction situation. A gauge on the
pressure line is worth $$ in convenience -- ours reads 4# high but we know
that.
Victor Truck-tire repair kit -- Tee-handle rasp, tee-handle inserting
needle, tube of rubber cement and half a dozen sticky-stringy inserts. You
rasp out the hole, then butter the hole with cement. Stick an insert
sideways through the needle, butter it with cement, shove the needle into
the hole (insert doubles up) and yank the needle out. Insert stays
put. Wait a minute, cut off the sticking-out part, pump up and go. I've
fixed at least a dozen tires this way, never heard of one failing even
after many thousands of miles. They make a lesser one that has screwdriver
handles instead of tee-handles -- works fine, but a lot of strain on your
hand using the rasp. Only a few bucks either way. Easy way to be a hero,
to your own crowd or folks beside the road.
100-ft 12-ga *flexible - the limper the better* extension cord, also phone
cord one-into-two adapter, 100 feet of phone wire with ends installed and a
cheap phone. The phone stuff may be irrelevant if you have cell phones,
but I've certainly found it convenient for driveway camping. Also Radio
Shack has a very cheap little battery-powered intercom set that works
beautifully, comes with 100 ft of skinny wire. Handy for the
office-on-the-go. Battery trickle charger (2-amp) can be handy -- we
actually have a 10-amp automatic charger permanently attached in the
pantry, plugs into the fridge outlet box and runs whenever the van is
plugged in. That's more wiring than you'll want to mess with,
though. With a lighter plug on it the little guy will charge through the
cigarette lighter.
A dishpan under the sink drain works, but messy and inconvenient. Around
here lots of places sell plastic gas cans with vent caps that snap on and
off, and a skinny corrugated polyethylene extension tube that pulls out of
the main cap -- nice slide fit inside the drainpipe and the ?2 gal+8 oz?
size is a perfect fit underneath. We have a cord with a clothespin tied to
the can -- clip it to the reefer vent so you don't forget and drive
away. All this makes it pretty easy to be discreet on the street and still
use water. We also have a little round basin that fits nicely in the sink
-- very handy in various ways, including keeping small uses of water from
ever getting to the drain.
Awning (if you don't have one) makes all the difference in the rain. We
carry 8x10 cheap tarp, bungees, a nylon strap and two telescoping tent
poles from WallyMart. Bungee to the poptop hinge, bungee sideways across
luggage rack, strap forward, under windshield wiper, across to left-hand
metal post behind the lower grille (I can't visualize this right now but if
you look you'll find it). Guy lines from the tent poles lined up with the
diagonal axis of the tarp. Wooden pads for poles. Adjust pole height for
conditions, hang a weight off edge between poles if you need to shed
rain. Nice shelter, nice shade. On city street with no poles, lets you
get under and get in and out without rain getting inside. Green or brown
tarp nicer than blue but they all work. Only weakness of this setup is
wind -- the grommets tend to tear out.
A couple chocks -- two chunks of 4x4 post or a couple bricks will work fine.
A chunk of half-inch or 3/4" plywood for footing for the jack. If you can
find a second jack, great -- they work marvelously to level and to
steady-up the van for sleeping. A scissors jack works fine, doesn't have
to be Vanagon special.
Check your lug wrench -- if it's starting to crack out at the inside
corners now is the time to find out. Pretty sure it's 19 mm...
Sixteen-foot 4-ga or 6-ga jumper cables -- if the donor car can't come
alongside you need long ones, and they won't have 'em.
The pantry shelf is held up by little plastic buttons nailed into the walls
-- don't load it down with heavy stuff. If they're already pulling out
(likely) or if you just want something more secure, give me a forwarding
address and I'll send along some brass buttons you can screw on in their
place (picture attached).
I have seen it happen (three times now on different vehicles including our
Westy) that an oil filter gets dinged and/or corroded and springs a pinhole
leak -- we find it useful to carry a spare filter, filter wrench and 4 qts
of oil -- can save a tow, and the FLAPS in E. Podunk ain't all that likely
to have the proper filter. Ditto fuel filter -- if the fuel pump starts
making a noticeable noise it's probably trying to suck through a clogged
inlet filter (the square plastic one between tank and pump -- you may not
have one).
If you want to carry coolant for topping-up, the FLAPS have cap/spouts that
shut off with a quarter-turn. A couple inches long, perfect for the
overflow tank.
cheers
david
--
David Beierl - dbeierl@attglobal.net
