Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:20:52 -0700
Reply-To: Tom Buese <tombuese@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Buese <tombuese@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Death Valley
In-Reply-To: <vanagon%2007012412510414@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
Yes, I agree & why I repeat my mantra in regards to this thread- AAA
RV + card at about $45/year will tow you up to 300 miles (in 3
separate tow jobs) to a place where you can
1. get access to all the tools/parts your haven't brought w/ you or
2. get the van to someone equipped to do the work, or
3. get you to a place where the SO will not shoot you such as a nice
motel, restaurant, bar, or massage studio or nail salon!
YMMV,
Tom B.-made a stop in LV, NV for a new starter, water pump, once as
the SO got tired of pushing the westy to start at each stop in the
flat desert.(she can't jump start the car, so she had to push!)
On Jan 24, 2007, at 10:43 AM, Geza Polony wrote:
> The other question that comes up is: How much fun is it? Do you
> really want
> to be totin' a wagon train of tools and parts around while you're
> on (what's
> supposed to be a) vacation?
>
> Imagine the reaction of Beloved Other when you tell her: "Honey, it
> looks
> like we're going to be staying here in Borax, NV while I replace
> the 3-4
> slider. Could you hand my circlip pliers under here? Not those, the
> second
> to largest size!" No wonder the ladies won't buy it. They have too
> much good
> sense.
>
> But that's another thread. For me, I bring along as little as
> possible and
> hope for the best. Gotta focus on having a good time, otherwise
> what's the
> point?
>
> Part of the VW Bus ethic is learning to accept imperfection.
> Breakdown in
> Borax? Hey, groove on natural beauty. Even if it's the roadside.
>
> As the Doonesbury comic once parodied Jerry Brown when he was
> governor:
> "Hey, ho, go with the flow!"
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:54:45 -0800, Michael Elliott
> <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>> Yeah but that's near your house and presumably within easy walking
>> and
>> driving distance of tools and parts.
>>
>> Setting aside the ATV jack that we'd all be wishing we'd packed
>> before
>> we headed out into the desert, I reckon that a fellow would need
>> to be
>> packing a pretty extensive list of tools -- and probably plenty of
>> good
>> beer for afterwards -- to pull off a WBX swap on the roadside out
>> in the
>> middle of nowhere. I don't want to start a "here's my tool list"
>> thread
>> because that's been done a gazillion times, but is there such a list
>> published online? Coolant . . . and how about cleaning up spills
>> so as
>> not to leave a mess behind?
>>
>> --
>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
>> KG6RCR
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Jeff Stewart typed:
>>> <But if you
>>> could do that with a WBX engine, my hat is off to you. Your
>>> skillset,
>>> the collection of tools you pack, and your confidence far exceed
>>> mine>
>>>
>>>
>>> I just did an R&R on a WBX engine in my '84 not too long ago, and
>>> on the
>>> gravel portion of my driveway, so similiar to being on the side
>>> of the
>>> road. Luckily, though, with the late arrival of winter here in the
>>> mid-Atlantic area (Virginia, anyway) it wasn't too bad. I keep
>>> hearing how
>>> much worse it is to R&R a WBX over an aircooled (72-79), but
>>> having done
>>> both, I really don't think the WBX is THAT much more difficult.
>>> The one
>>> thing I would miss roadside is the ATV jack I bought (and should
>>> have
>>> bought years ago) to do the WBX swap-it makes it so much easier
>>> than trying
>>> to balance the engine on a standard floor jack, but it's just too
>>> big to
>>> take along on a road trip! Jeff
>>>
>>> Jeff Stewart
>>> fonman4277@earthlink.net
>>> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vwcampersmidatlantic/
>>>
>>>
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