Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (September 2008, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
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
Comments: cc: Syncro@yahoogroups.com
In-Reply-To:  <200809150406.m8F46h8L000413@mx4.syr.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------- 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


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.