Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 10:49:44 -0700
Reply-To: Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Alternative Vehicles
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Tim,
Very interesting post!
You have to give the makers credit, there is a need in the American RV market for SMALLER rigs.
The motor homes are so wasteful of space its a joke. This is good to see.
Before I bought my first vanagon I went and looked at all the Detroit offerings for a cargo van and I was going to do my own westy conversion to it.
I too was thinking about the better towing capacity, power, newness, parts at kragen, etc.
The full size ford had less room floor to ceiling in it by several inches than the vanagon.
The engine cowling was pushing my feet over awkwardly to the left. Getting up from the drivers seat to go into the rear was not anywhere as easy as the vanagon.
These rigs do not have a fully independent suspension systems so they handle like a turd on twisty roads.
if they are rear wheel drive they will spin on even the slightest ice or slick surface as they have no weight on the rear wheels.
A standard 2wd vanagon will run circles around them in the snow.
The feeling of the steering with all that engine weight on it has to have so much assist you loose all the road feel which is marvelous in the vanagon.
I know the vanagon blows around a bit but its steering feel with the engine in the back is awesome.
I recently humbled badly a Lexus SUV on a twisty road going out to the coast, every time we got into the turns I would put distance between us in my 85 sunroof 1.9.
Then he would go like hell to catch me on the straights to try to pass but we were back in the turns again and he would try like crazy to stay up but my little 85 was mashing him in the turns.
It was a hoot man!
Again I really appreciate the post and It is really good to see the RV community especially American mfgs to think in more compact terms. Its no surprise the took note to the "westy" and have developed a design that is already well thought out. (if they could only put a rear engine and IRS) just kidding.
If you offered me a 70,000 rig brand new for my 87 syncro westy, I would pass if I had to keep it.
Doug
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Schneider
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Alternative Vehicles
** At 09:37 AM 5/25/2004, you wrote: **
>Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:18:53 -0600
>From: Andrew Fox <afox@CNR.COLOSTATE.EDU>
>Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Alternative Vehicles
>
>have you checked out the american van poptop conversions with interior
>layouts identical to the vanagon westy?
>
>www.gtrv.com
>www.parnado.com
>www.sportsmobile.com
>
>The major disadvantage of these is that they are bigger than the vanagon,
>which may be an advantage to some. They typically get about the same gas
>mileage (sometimes better) as a 2.1 L Vanagon westy with the smallest
>engines available being half the size of a 2.1L waterboxer. Of course
>there are immense advantages to driving a vehicle that is still in
>production, is easy to get parts/service for, and has a reputation for
>durability and reliablity etc...
http://www.sportsmobile.com/4_4x4sports.html
>> Around $55,000-$75,000 for the van, Sportsmobile
>> and Sportsmobile 4x4 conversion.
and I thought my syncro was expensive!
gas milage? with a ford triton v10 or 6.0l diesel
fuggedaboutit! :-) the diesel version would be
cool though, lots of towing capacity, 16.5" of
ground clearance as well!
John Sherman (famous/infamous? boulderer showed
yp at JTree a few years back with one of these 4x4
conversion vans.. had a big screen plasma display
mounted on the inside with surround sound! :-)
would be nice to pick up parts from the FLAPS down
the street (3 of them) detroit muscle for an engine
would be nice, as well as much more reliable/forgiving
of you (w/r/t repairs and such)
there is something to be said for the VW thing.. it is
a cult which one does not easily escape from once in
its clutches.. took 15 years for it to recapture me..
now the whole family is smitten again ;-)
-tim
90 syncro westy
mesa, az
