Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:47:53 -0400
Reply-To: Daniel O Stevens <dosteven@SYR.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Daniel O Stevens <dosteven@SYR.EDU>
Subject: Buses by the Beach...pt-II Upstate NY
In-Reply-To: <200809150406.m8F46h8L000413@mx4.syr.edu>
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I've always envied the Bus Boo and other Michigan VW campouts, but
they've been a bit far for me..
And I didn't want to toss our Upstate NY VW camping event in the midst
of the Bus Boo chatter. So I waited.
BUT, it's now done and I'd like to toss out a general mention about our
upcoming 9/19~20/08 (THIS WKEND, I know)
Empire State VW camping club campout @ Southwick Beach State park. Has
over 25 VWs booked and eager.
On the Eastern Shore of Lake Ontario, this is as close to Dune camping
as you can get away from the ocean.
And actually closer to the water, Beach & Dunes then Assateague, MD but
that's no comparison.
The Empire VW camping club has also offered an open invitation for
anyone curious to stop by and visit on Saturday 9/20 (noonish) for a pot
luck Bring a picnic VW social, we're even hoping for local non-camping
VWs
Or there are still a few sites in the Electric RV loop (sorry the
limited space beach loop booked up back in May)
Southwick Beach State Park
http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=154
Also our Westies @ Watkins Glen event is coming up quickly.
10/10~12/2008
Last year 68VWs registered and ~40 on the race track.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=315266
Dan Stevens
president
VW club of Central New York
www.vwccny.com
Empire VW camping club
Co-founder
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=270214
Westies @ Watkins Glen
http://www.westies-at-watkins.org/brochure.htm
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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:41:42 -0400
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: getting cold feet Shot Down
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