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Date:         Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:35:00 -0400
Reply-To:     Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Noobie Owner of 84 Westy Seeks Advice

Welcome Iden! The first thing to know is that you didn't buy a car, you
bought a house, an avocation, a course in basic auto mechanics, and likely
an addiction.


A few answers to your specific questions:
1) A lot of VW mechanics will work on these, but you're better off finding a
specialist in Vanagons. The only thing you might need an RV place for is
propane accesories, such as valves, and 12 volt gadgets inside.


2) You can get the propane tank refilled at places like U-Haul or other
rental yards.


3) It's not worth trying to run your fridge on 12v power for more than a few
minutes.


4) A couple of things to have done right away are: flush and refill coolant
(very important on these), and have the fuel lines inspected and/or replaced
as they fail with disastrous results.


5) If you're into DIY, get the Bentley manual, don't bother with Haynes.


Have fun & good luck!




Geza








On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:13:52 -0400, Iden Rosenthal <iden@IDENROSENTHAL.COM>
wrote:


>Greetings all !
>
>After years of eyeing your beautiful Westfalias I finally got one!
>
>But I don't know much about its care and feeding and servicing. I'm
>hoping some kind souls here on the list are willing to offer a noob
>some starting out basic information. It's just been to the mechanic
>for a going over and repair of the bus parts but they don't handle
>camper issues. So I'm hoping some folks here can give me advice on
>where to take the van to have it looked at and maybe fixed for the
>camper type things.
>
>Do I need to take it to someone who specializes in Westfalias or will
>any RV service center do?
>Can anyone recommend any place to go within reasonable distance of
>Philadelphia?
>What books do I need to buy?
>
>I know nothing about propane systems (other than they can be
>dangerous) - what should I know? Like: does it get refilled and how
>and by whom? There is a battery under the passenger seat. Is that the
>main battery for the engine? Do most people get a second battery to
>run the fridge from?
>
>Thanks so much for your kind advice,
>
>Iden
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