Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:38:53 +0000
Reply-To: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Trip report -- Florida Keys, State Parks, and Repairs
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=O9rdJUKz-YgLZsFn5T6QJxQugZs2V2uzDsQj1@mail.gmail.com>
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Very depressing, I may have to call in sick today and just look at your pics of the Florida Keys all day! BTW, it is snowing in Virginia as I write this, normally at this time of the morning I'd already be out on the roads on my lovely commute from Round Hill Virginia into downtown Washington DC, but I just saw on the TV that one of the major commuter routes I use (GW Parkway) is closed due to a crash, so I think I'll get another cup of coffee and look at the pics one more time! As I posted in the last week or so, this and Oak Creek Canyon in AZ. are my two main goals to do someday in the Westy. Jeff
Jeff Stewart
----- "Harold Teer" <teer.vanagon@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
On the 19th of Dec, my wife and I left Harrisonburg, VA for a trip to
Florida and back. This was our first Vanagon trip to Florida and we have
some suggestions for anyone taking the trip. First, we do not like to plan
too much ahead of time as to the places we will spend the night and just
take each day as it comes. However, if you are going to the Florida Keys,
you need to change that mindset since the State Parks are fully booked for
months in advance.
Also, if you plan to spend any time on Florida Toll Roads, you might
consider purchasing the SunPass Mini that sticks to the windshield --- when
we purchased ours, there was an introduction special and bought the pass for
$4.99 and immediately received $4.99 worth of toll credits. Here is a link
to the information "https://www.sunpass.com/pdf/MiniWebPDF_E.pdf"
We only decided to take the trip in early Dec and since the State Parks in
Florida use Reserve America "http://www.reserveamerica.com/" for
reservations, I used that service to book our campgrounds. At first, every
State Park in the Keys was fully booked during the time we could be there.
I kept checking back on an hourly or daily basis and finally put together
consecutive nights at three different parks in the Keys as people canceled
their reservations and ended up with an ocean site at each state park.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
We left Harrisonburg in freezing weather and spent the first night in
Colleton Sate Park in SC and other than the camp ground host, we were the
only people in the park. Nice park and shower facilities and the place was
great for what we wanted --- a place to sleep and take a shower before
hitting the road. We knew we were not far enough south when the temps
dropped to about 30 degrees that night.
Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine Beach.-- While the campsites are not
on the beach, they are wonderfully situated and the great beach is nearby.
We were lucky to get in here since we did not have reservations ahead of
time. We spoke to some locals and they highly recommended O'Steen's
Restaurant for seafood but the place was closed the night we could eat
there.
In the Florida Keys, we spent a day in Key West just being tourist and
stayed at the following State Parks. For us, Bahia Honda was our favorite.
Curry Hammock - 1 night
Long Key - 2 nights
Bahia Honda - 3 nights
We spent several nights in Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park
-- we did not have reservations and from what I could see, they do not fill
up at least during the time we were there. Lots to do in the park
especially if you are into canoeing. The Ranger said campsites are free in
the summer --- but that you would be crazy to fight the heat and mosquitoes
and humidity then.
Collier-Seminole State Park -- does not compare to the others. The
campsites are not private if that means anything to you.
Koreshan State Park--Nice park, pretty with private campsites. Historic
state site of Koreshan Unity Settlement
Hillsborough River State Park -- Nice place to rent a canoe and paddle the
Hillsborough river
Manatee Springs State Park -- Cold and rainy while there -- Saw Manatees in
the river
Our intention was to spend time in the Florida panhandle, but we ran out of
time before we had to head home.
Like many of you, I try to do all preventive maintenance and fix issues on
our 1991 Westy (130,000 miles) as soon as they become evident. My goal is
to take trips without issues on the road. In this case, my goal was not met
and we experienced some problems. I noticed that while the clutch was not
slipping, it just did not sound right. At the same time, I happened to
notice a little fluid leak from the clutch master cylinder and from the high
pressure rubber hose from the power steering pump to the metal line, and
that an inner CV boot had separated from the flange. About 6K miles ago, I
had all of the CV boots replaced by a shop and they assured me they used
high quality boots so the issue with the boot was a real surprise.
Using the Roadhause repair shop list to find a good mechanic, I called
Volksrepair in Sarasota and spoke to the owner (Fran Hetherington) and the
technician (Ron Leftwich) who could work on the van the next day. We
dropped the van off, talked to Ron and I asked him to replace the master and
slave clutch cylinders, fix the power steering line, replace the CV boot,
and check out the clutch. Then Fran took us to the public library where we
could wait for Ron to work. After awhile, Ron called and said that 3 out of
4 CV boots were torn and that he had a used power steering hose if I was OK
with him using it. I asked him to replace all four boots and that replacing
the power steering hose with a used hose was fine. Later in the day, Fran
brought us back to the shop and I spoke to Ron at length. While the van was
drivable, he said the clutch needed replacing but he would have to order one
which I asked him to do. It turned out that the original clutch lining was
close to the end of its life and the throw out bearing was completely gone.
After installing the clutch, Ron adjusted the shift linkage and it has never
shifted smoother.
Ron said the CV boots that he replaced were not high quality and that he
only used VW/Audi boots made for the front of a Golf (?) since he did not
want to have to redo any of his work. He showed me the old boots and a new
one like he uses and the quality difference between the boot he used and the
ones he took off was apparent. I forgot to get the part number of the boot,
but I am certain he would give it to me if anyone was interested.
While I do minor maintenance and work on the van, I leave the tough stuff to
the real professionals. Of all the pros I have met, none have been more
honest or competent than Ron. I can not say enough good things about him,
the quality of his work, or his candor. He knows what he is doing and is
able to work fast and minimize the number of hours he has to spend on a
job. And the markup on parts was reasonable. If you need work done in
Florida, I highly recommend Ron.
Volksrepair (the name of the shop) ran into problems with VW on the name of
the shop and it is being changed to Sunshine Auto Garage and their website
is: "http://sunshineautogarage.com/"
Here is a link to trip pictures--mostly pictures of campgrounds and the view
of/from them to give you an idea in case you are considering a trip like
this. "
http://picasaweb.google.com/teerhb/FloridaVanTrip201011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNuRiISp9JPKqgE&feat=directlink
"
If you have any questions, just ask.
My next project is to caption and post pictures of our trip to Newfoundland
in the summer of 2009.
Harold
________
Harold Teer
1991 Westy (Vangaux)
Harrisonburg, VA