Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2005 12:37:23 -0700
Reply-To: Steve Schwenk <Steve@SYNCRO.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steve Schwenk <Steve@SYNCRO.ORG>
Subject: Re: [syncro.org] Saved by a Guardian Angel...Again
In-Reply-To: <5.2.1.1.2.20050404103500.0169e9f8@mail.dslextreme.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
And wouldn't you know it. The guy who arranged the SA purchase and went
through all hell to pull it off, with little or no profit, has now offered
to refund the price of the shocks...even though i abused the hell out of
them and there was never any warranty. And he didn't even make them, he's
just a middle man! Thanks, Bill, but that would be taking undue advantage
of the incredible good will that defines this place ...most of the time,
any way. Besides, the knowledge gained was well worth the cost of the
experiment.
Steve
At 11:04 AM 4/4/2005, Steve Schwenk wrote:
>Yes, it is possible to drive a syncro with no rear shocks. We did it. For
>about 80 miles of rough dirt road and 50 miles of paved road. The paved
>road was the scariest...due to heavy winds. Lots of rocking and rolling
>and instability.
>
>But thankfully, after all that, we pulled into the first sign of
>civilization we had seen in 10 days and there waiting at that dusty Mobil
>station was a pair of brand new Old Man Emu shocks, with my name on
>them. We were saved!
>
>I decided to test a set of rear shocks I bought from the south africa group
>purchase some time back. They were the only high-pressure monotube shock
>supposedly available for the syncro, so naturally I had to try them. And
>so I took them out to our test facility, which is huge. Thousands of
>square miles. We crossed over the mountains fine. Nothing remarkable to
>report. Then came the long stretches of washboard on the valley
>floor. After 15 miles or so, we heard a bang and pulled over. The left
>rear shock had popped its top and completely separated. Oil
>everywhere. The shock shaft was bent. The lower tube was hanging
>free. The passenger side shock was still intact, but the cap that holds
>the tube and shaft together was crooked and clearly about to blow,
>too. And it did, on the next bump we hit. We were still 30+ miles of dirt
>road from camp and now had no rear shocks..
>
>The big concern, of course, was that a rear spring might now pop out of the
>perches since there were no longer any shocks in place to limit the range
>of travel. If the spring popped out, the suspension would collapse and the
>wheel would be resting on the wheel well, making travel impossible. We
>knew the tow fee to get out of there was over $1000, so we took it real
>easy and thankfully made it in fine.
>
>Once there, we met a couple who were headed out the next day. They kindly
>agreed to call Peter at www.VolksCafe.com once out of the valley and in
>cell phone range. Peter then had to call the Mobil station and get their
>address and then ship the shocks there...all without being paid first. We
>had no idea until we got out whether or not the call was successful. Had
>Peter not come through for us, we would have been delayed getting home by
>two days at least. Last year about this time, I called Peter from the top
>of a mountain at Hollister as we were removing a snapped rear axle from a
>syncro adventure wagon. He had new axles delivered to Hollister the same
>day! It saved the event for the owner of the Adventurewagon. That kind of
>service is above and beyond the call of duty! Volkscafe.com is now the
>official guardian angel for my syncro! Thanks, Peter!
>
>Steve
>
>www.syncro.org
>
>
>
>------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
>Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research
>Hospital's
>'Thanks & Giving.'
>http://us.click.yahoo.com/6iY7fA/5WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/gd26lB/TM
>--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
><*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncrolist/
>
><*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> syncrolist-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
><*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
| 
