Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:52:28 -0500
Reply-To: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Subject: Re: Which Type 2 to recommend?
In-Reply-To: <00b401c75917$075f6280$530c9804@gpa207joel>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
U.J.:
Thanks for the advice. I too had an a/c Vanagon. I drove it a little too
hard and fast...not the thing to do; but it was a great camper and kid
hauler.
I totally agree with you about the road handling and the brakes (over the T2
and 3)... both important features for the immature driver.
Comparative shopping is good idea, too.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
--
Stephen
Chillicothe OH
on 2/25/07 2:56 PM, joel walker at jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET wrote:
>> Westy. Having never owned a VW, he had lots of concerns. What was
>> the best
>> purchase for this novice teen with no mechanical ability? What should
>> he
>> buy? What to look for? Where to find the best deals? etc...etc.
>> Anyway, I was just wondering about the List's input on this subject
>> and how
>> some of you would answer his questions and address his concerns...
>> any
> .ideas?
>
>
> i would tend to agree with Greg Potts, except for the recommended
> year:
> i'd recommend the 1980-1983 AIRcooled Vanagons.
> i had a 1971, and drove it hard and drove it far, and loved that bus.
> but i had a 1980 vanagon and LOVED that bus ... it was SOOOOO much
> easier to fiddle with and much more comfortable on the road and just
> all-round a better design. and i think the engine was tougher; not
> easier to fix, but tougher.
> and yes, both were brand new with me as the very first owner. :)
>
> however ... your friend needs to be aware of the aircooled's peculiar
> characteristics. like not having a lot of heat in cold weather. now,
> in the 80 vanagon, it was a lot LESS of a problem than in the 71 bus.
> another reason i recommend the 80-83. and reading of the How to Keep
> book is, i agree, a must. first of all, it warns you about the beast
> you are about to drive and depend upon. secondly, it tells you that
> fixing a car is NOT rocket science. it CAN be done by idiots (albeit,
> idiots who have some common sense and don't just sit and stare at the
> problem). ;)
>
> since it's a kid that's going to be driving this thing, i'd still
> recommend the 80 over the 71, just because of the increase in power
> and drivability and visibility. it also has better brakes, and more
> room inside.
>
> now, if they plan to go offroading, like down in baja mexico or some
> such, then the 71 would make more sense ... it has nearly four MORE
> inches of ground clearance ... 12 inches ... than the vanagon (and
> most SUVs today): eight inches.
> but the vanagon is ok, as long as you keep good tires on it... the
> aircooled engine's torque curve is much better for slippery stuff like
> sand and mud and snow (than the watercooled vanagons, whose torque
> curvy is VERY steep and spins the wheels when you give it just a tiny
> bit of gas). imho. :)
>
> but it kinda all depends on what the kid is used to ... he might
> actually PREFER a chevy astro. god help us all, but he might. or a
> dodge caravan. so your friend and his kid need to go shopping: go
> LOOK, TOUCH, DRIVE. compare. like buying shoes, you won't know til you
> put them on your feet. then you find out where they pinch.
> and a chevy or ford would be a lot easier to find parts for, and to
> get fixed, if something did break. they are really lousy 'vans', but
> are easier to fix. :(
> and since we are talking up in your area of the midwest, i don't know
> which ones would have less rust. :( i know that nearly every chevy
> and ford van i saw when i lived in chicago had lots of rust all over
> from the waist down. but then, they used a LOT of salt on the roads.
>
> so i'd recommend they go a-shopping. go look at vans advertised in the
> local area, in thesamba.com, and ebay.com and autotrader.com and
> craig's list and anything else they can find ...even the newspapers.
> comparing chevys to fords to vws to dodges will give them much more
> info about what they like and what they think they want to do with the
> vehicle. THEN they can start looking for a good copy of the
> brand/model they want.
>
> one thing about the volkswagens, though ... they are fairly easy to
> find in the already-made-into-a-camper versions. not so with the
> chevys and fords and dodges ... with them, you have to go into the RV
> categories. small RVs, but still RVs. and those things are almost
> always overloaded as far as gross vehicle weight is concerned. also
> their transmissions usually don't last more than 30,000 miles without
> a fairly expensive rebuild.
> but a small RV camper might be what they would want ... they just need
> to go find out more about what's out there and how they compare with
> regard to room, comfort, fuel economy, cost, repair
> frequency/ease/costs, and so on.
>
> hope it helps. good luck!
> un cajoel ;)
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