Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:41:42 -0400
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Buses by the Beach... getting cold feet Shot Down
In-Reply-To: <c803c1a70809141626i7ae4a7c3p65f708c4409dfe5c@mail.gmail.com>
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I had a GREAT time at this event guys! It was so much fun meeting you all
and the weather was really not that much of a hindrence at all (My feet are
waterproof). It was amazing the way the group pulled together. I had made
the 400+ mile trek (each way) and was doing a solid 17mpg with a loaded down
westy and 3 people driving through some considerable rain.......and suddenly
about 300 miles into it i started loosing power and ended up yielding about
9mpg. We treked on though and made it to the campsite, where we got
assistance by a great group of people in patching some "known" exhaust leaks
and some "New" exhaust leaks, patches which i'm proud to say DID MAKE IT
HOME, and we determined i had the wrong distributor cap (2.1 on a 1.9) and
out of no where comes a brand new cap and rotor which were quickly applied.
We thought we had figured it out but as i left this morning at 8am before
saying my good byes to everyone (sorry), we discovered that we still had a
miss and would loose power and mileage accordingly. With a shocking "Gas
Crisis" that seems to have existed only in michigan ($4.45/gallon i paid at
one point!), we had a problem. So in a gap in the rain, we sprayed
EVERYTHING with WD40 and seem to have improved mileage back up to the
15-17mpg range (though i sitll haven't made my final calculations).
Needless to say, driving 20 hours in the rain can bring up problems that
didn't exist, and really shouldn't be too much of a concern : )
I enjoyed every aspect of my time in Grand Rapids. We stopped in Hell (The
town in Michigan) on the way home, so that i can legitimately say i've been
through Hell and Back with this vanagon (Which, i have!). I slept in the top
floor of my westy last night for the first time. Thanks to some cleverly
patched holes, it was dry and cozy up there. The food, drink, and friendship
were the best i could expect, and i anticipate finding my way back up north
sometime, when the money isn't tight and i have at least 4 cylinders to
bring with me.
On the moisture killing electronics thing....
I found that two random buttons on my cell phone are now dead, and my
Ukelele was drastically out of tune when i made it home.
I hit some 60+ mph gusts in the last mile of my journey. I got blown clear
off the road into a ditch once, but for the most part had them right at my
face. I was cruising at 45-50 on the highway as a result and learned quickly
that if it's a big gust, don't try to fight it..... Just let off the gas and
be ready on the brake. The surface area of the bus WILL win against any
steering corrections you could try, and the high resistance of it all will
slow you right down when you let off the gas. And yes, i have GOOD tires
(Hankook RA08's!)
I was a bit dissapointed to see the war reinactors that were sharing the
camp ground with us pack up early. The war has been postponed due to
weather.
So for those of you thinking about someday making it to a busses by the
beach event, DO IT.
Thanks for all those who helped me out, and made it fun. I speak for myself
and my friend Andy in saying, we had a great time and hope to see you all
again!
-Craig Cowan
'85WESTY
On Sun, Sep 14, 2008 at 7:26 PM, Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@gmail.com> wrote:
> Nice run down Pete. It was a great time as usual. A bit emotional with Kim
> in attendance and Kenny and Sue leaving us for AZ. It was great to finally
> meet Craig (sorry we didn't get a chance to talk more) and your not kidding
> about Andy's accordion skills - he's great and was very entertaining.
>
> The rain tried to put a damper on things but was unsuccessful. You can't
> keep us bus volk from enjoying our campout! Sure we will all be drying out
> and cleaning mud out of our buses but who cares?
>
> Patty and I decided to help Brien and Kirt in collecting up the picnic
> tables for the campground. Had to get them to high ground before the flood.
> We were glad to help but I tweaked my back at the end and although I'll be
> fine it made the drive home a bit uncomfortable.
>
>
> Patty, Jack, and I took the two lane home so it took us a while. At the end
> I jumped on 69 for a stretch. Grover did something strange on the
> expressway
> - I can't quite explain it but I was forced to pull over. It was running
> but
> I wasn't getting any response from the accelerator and then it just stalled
> out. I turned the key off and it started right back up and we didn't have
> any other problems at all - strange. I guess the bus was tired of being wet
> too.
>
> Ok, time to go empty out the bus. Had a great time - it was nice to see
> everyone again.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Thanks,
>
> Jeff
> '90 Carat (Grover)
> '86 (We call this one Parts)
> '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>
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