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Date:         Mon, 22 Jan 2007 21:27:41 -0500
Reply-To:     Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Subject:      Re: VW supplied reman. 2.1
Comments: To: Pensioner <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <HHEAJIOMDPBGGCKHACGJIEIKCJAA.al_knoll@pacbell.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

Hi Volks,

I would like to formally apologize to all the residents of Upper Podunk, whether you live in Wyoming or not. I did not intend to imply that such residents weren't mechanically competent; I wanted to note that such places are not particularly vanagon-centric.

As Pensioner's message so elequently stated; vanagon-centric locations are not all that common. As the driver of a 36-YO bus, I can attest first-hand to the wisdom of Pensioner's post.

I originally joined this list simply to pimp my campouts to the vanagon crowd but stuck around to learn more about the strange newfangled rides my parents seem stuck on. (They own three). I've been the custodian of their 1985 sunroof automatic 8-passenger vanagon for about 3 weeks and close to 2,000 KM and am finding the vanagon platform more attractive as each week passes.

A winter with heat is kinda nice. A guy could get used to that.

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts 1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato www.pottsfamily.ca

On 22-Jan-07, at 5:53 PM, Pensioner wrote:

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:02:15 -0500 > From: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA> > Subject: Re: VW supplied reman. 2.1 >>>>>> > Hi Frank, > > It's only a good deal if the build quality is high, and the install > done right. Not all dealers are willing or competent to work on > vanagons, either. > > I winder what happens if you break down in Upper Podunk Wyoming, and > the local dealer hasn't seen a Vanagon since 1991??? > <<<< > > I'll second the first paragraph. However, in Upper Podunk Wyoming, > a rural > agricultural area where almost any competent farmer can fix almost any > mechanical device you may not be so SOL as you might think. If > something > breaks he fixes it chop-chop, he has to. The local John Deere > fellers or > such can also fix almost anything mechanical. However > troubleshooting why > your radio quit is not in their particular line of business nor is > knowing > much about your ECU, printed circuit dash wiring or the bad smell > from the > heater. > > As many have graciously hinted, for those of us with 17yr old > almost unique > vans, learning to fettle about successfully and understanding all the > basics, owning and reading the venerable Bentley, carrying those > tools and > spares not likely to be found along your route or at your > destination, along > with general repair materials to improvise, adapt and overcome is > the order > of the day. > > Long gone are the fine cherman mechanics who could fix anything from a > kubelwagen to a 911S using metric slip-joint pliers and old soviet > submarine > parts. Now we have only Stephan, Mr. Schwaia, Fred's Garage, Black > Rock > Motors and the Kombihaus and the BusFarmers, who know the ins and > outs. As > the support for your ancient and crumbling conveyance continues to > evaporate, it behooves you to take the reins and learn to do what > will be > necessary to keep the ride rollin' and then practice in a warm, > well-lighted > place using only the tools you brought in the van as if your fixing > the > failure is all that stood between you and the Jihadists. > > Preventive Maintenance goes a long way towards peace of mind and > infinite > understanding of your beast of burden. > > Do some every month, at least LOOK at stuff and see what it looks > like when > it IS working. So you can understand what it looked like before it > broke. > Now JB Weld, real steel bailing wire, Cloth duct tape, hose repair > tape, and > other such things as quick set epoxy are really handy. All the > things you'd > need to fix a boat stranded on an unfamiliar beach, like. > > Visit your loco er local recycler and get a few german wiring > harnesses or > at least a bunch of wire from one or two including perhaps some > connectors > and a few relays and fuses. Now you have the repair materials to > fix yours. > > If you modif*ckate your van by wiring in various interesting > accessories > MAKE A DETAILED WIRING DIAGRAM based on the track pages in the > Bentley and > clearly annotated so you can fix your modif*ckations should you > have to. > > Pick up a bicycle box from the local purveyor and make a foldable > cardboard > "creeper" for getting out and under. I use a discarded plasticised > corrugated sign kept on top of the engine cover. Easy to slide > around on > and shelters your backside from the inevitable rocks, thorns, glass > and > scorpions under where your ride died. You don't expect it to go > nips up in > a warm, clean, well lighted place, do you? Ask vanmanbajadan about > field > maintenance and repairs in the bush. > > At the very least, practice changing a tire or two. A cellphone and a > credit card only works where there is service and landline phones. > Squirrel > away a few Franklins in the van just to pay for that out-in-the- > tules repair > in cash. If you never venture beyond the gates of the city then > you may be > able to just get by. However carry that Bentley. Even the most > modest > mechanic can usually read and understand if he has a manual to do > it by. > No, esmerelda, Mitchell, AllData and the like don't have very good > details > on Vanagons. Get used to driving that "unique whip" and that > entails. Be > humble. Owning a high maintenance lady like ours can be a humbling > experience, so get a good start. > > Understand basic physics, electricity, and simple mechanics so that > you can > more accurately describe the failure to someone on the list like > Benny, > Frank, Mark, Dan, Karl over the phone, in the dark, in a paybooth, > in the > Mojave Desert. (Mojave phonebooth, May She Rest in Peace) > > Read the gospel according to Mark, Frank, BennyHuot, Dennis, Jim, and > others, there is wisdom and knowledge there. Zen and the art of > Motorcycle > maintenence is a good read while you wait for the parts to arrive. > Keep the > phone numbers of your local favorite mechanics in the back of the > bentley > along with Ken and 1/13th and Peter and Ron and your local parts > supplier. > > Or you can just stay there safe and warm on the porch. The view > rarely > changes. > > Entropy is inevitable, the rate of entropy is up to you.


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