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Date:         Wed, 7 Mar 2012 17:28:49 -0800
Reply-To:     Daryl Christensen <daryl@AATRANSAXLE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Daryl Christensen <daryl@AATRANSAXLE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Trip Report: Detlef has Left Utah & is Safely in Maine
In-Reply-To:  <CAHtJhYNGn5uGaj-ucoE3PE_gE__NNVsXkVcNqCS9q6yrykS+qA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I have the Hankook Winter I-Pike tires. More of a siped ice pattern and found they work quite well. Don't use them in summer as they are a soft compound that wears fast in hot weather I am told.

Daryl of AA Transaxle 425-788-4070 "On the cutting edge of Old technology" 86 Syncro Westy w/Turbo Zetec in the trunk

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Mark Tuovinen Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2012 1:20 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Trip Report: Detlef has Left Utah & is Safely in Maine

In my experiences Hankook makes a very nice snow tire that while not equal to Nokians are a great second choice and cost less. The Dealership I worked at for the last 16 years liked them well enough that we acquired the rights to distribute Hankook and have sold or used internally thousands of their tires every year. I have not looked into what they offer as a snow tire for Vanagons as we do not use our van in the winter but as long as you can find an appropriately rated tire go for it. My father has three winters on theset under his Honda Odyssey and they are doing very well.

Mark in AK

On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 5:38 AM, Tom Buese <tantonbz@gmail.com> wrote:

> Greetings fellow Vanagon Pilots- after a several week hiatus, I am back on > the list w/ a new email address, whether you care or not. Please note new > personal address to avoid or covet as you may so desire. > > When we last visited, I was debating pre-emptive maintenance on my 84 > Westy, Detlef, before moving to Blue Hill, Maine from Salt Lake City. Much > advice was given, most of it taken, which allowed moi to have a great drive > across the country for over 2800 miles.(not 2607 miles according to > MapQuizz). > Had my water pump replaced, new spark plugs, RF wheel bearing, all my fuel > lines w/ BMW fuel lines courtesy of Van Cafe, & I forget what else. Did not > replace my 4 YO worn Hakka CS's, cuz I couldn't find suitable replacement > tires locally & thot I would be more able to get the Nokians in real Winter > country like Maine, but NO! > > Finally got all my crap, I mean valuable gear, loaded into a 4' x 8' HF > trailer filled w/ 2 bikes, many hand tools, & assorted office files, empty > propane tanks, & miscellaneous Kaka. My Aloha shirt collection, along w/ my > computer, & Carl, the giant dog, comfortably situated in said Westy, & we > finally left SLC @ 5 pm Saturday, Feb. 25, headed for I-80 in Wyoming, > which we knew was closed between Rock Springs & Laramie because of RWW > (Roger Whittacker Weather)(high winds, blowing snow & black ice). Drove 150 > miles to Infamous Little America for the nite, where Carl enjoyed his 1st > sneaking into a motel room on the 2nd floor. Left the next morning for > points east, having heard that the freeway was now open, but said road > conditions were just as bad as in in Roger's nightmare, sunny skies, dry > roads, & clear visibility, except when the road became covered w/ black ice > w/o any warning. Made it alive & w/ all wheels still on the ground to > Rawlins where the road had been closed again because of a big accident > ahead. Hung for 30 minutes in a Golden Arches eating breakfast & observing > all the stranded travelers checking out road options on their IPads, > laptops, phones,etc. & called the spousal unit in Maine to look on her > laptop & see what was really up. She checked & mentioned a big accident > that had occurred a day or 2 before & was finally cleared up after several > dead, 9 miles of crashed cars & semis who had all run into each other in a > chain reaction to the 1st accident. But, she said the road was now open, so > I moseyed out to the Vanagon & headed down the freeway which still had > flashing lights saying the road was still closed. WTH, I figured, I'll > just keep driving until I can't, but that ended up being in the middle of > Nebraska, 500 miles down the road, when we quit for the nite in Kearney. > > Detlef was running flawlessly, except for poor gas mileage(14-16 mpg), > probably caused by 65-70 mph driving w/ a trailer, but we did have a tail > wind! Made it to Joliet, Ill. the next night( 3rd floor motel stay > executed by Carl), w/ a little anxiety caused by semi glowing idiot lights > for the battery & the blank spot below it. Talked to my mechanic Jeff @ > Utah Imports in SLC, as I was crossing the Mississippi, & he said could be > loose wire on the alternator, bad brushes in the voltage regulator, or > battery going bad, but since lights, etc all still worked, shouldn't be a > problem to keep driving & he would walk moi thru trouble shooting the > problem over the phone when I got to a stopping place. Next am, unloaded > the Aloha shirt collection & computer in a windy Chicago area Super 8 Motel > parking lot, & checked the blue wire on the alternator which felt fine, > could see nothing else to blame so headed off to find a FLAPS that could > test the alternator. Finally found 1 after a WGC (Wild Goose Chase) > outside of Toledo, Ohio. Alternator tested @ 13.85+-V under load, which > wasn't perfect, but OK. Needless to say the FLAPS couldn't find a voltage > regulator or alternator anywhere in the Midwest, & so he plugged the blue > wire back in, & I drove off towards Cleveland. But lo & behold, the lights > were not on anymore. Must have been a loose connection @ the blue wire, > which when testing the alternator, got better fastened by the FLAPS than > moi, who had just pushed on the connector & called it good. So problem > solved by accident, & that light never came on again the rest of the > trip.(but not another light) > > Drove past Erie PA & bedded down in Northeast, PA for the night after > rejecting 2 motels that didn't allow pets or actually charged extra for > them- Harumph, why would you not want a petite 100 lb Great Pyrenees > sleeping in your guest rooms? > Woke the next am to rain, & that was it for the dry weather the rest of the > way. Finally hit snow east of Syracuse, NY, & it continued to degrade as I > went thru the Berkshires in Western Mass, when in the dark in rush hour > heavy snow conditions, my dreaded oil pressure sensor light came on w/ no > exits, pull over areas, etc on the Mass Pike. Now I have instructed the > spousal unit that if that light or the coolant level light ever come on, to > immediately turn off engine & pull over. Didn't do either(& thinking I now > need a new engine) until I could get to an exit several miles down the > Pike, & coasted into a service station where under the canopy I could check > my manual, the oil level, etc. & not see any issues. The manual said don't > worry about a flickering oil light after a long/hard drive, & even tho my > light was not flickering. it was solid on, so I figured this was the 1st of > a Mr. Squirrel flickering light episode? Kept driving carefully & the > light didn't come back on the rest of the trip, but I kept watching > nervously for it. > > Finally stopped in Portsmouth, NH for the nite, & tried to leave the next > morning from a fairly flat parking lot w/ about 4-6 inches of snow on the > 100 yard long access road to the freeway exit. Said road was not plowed, & > I could not move along the road at all, w/ snow plows & cars/people walking > by & not even asking if they could help. What is it w/ these NHers? Live > Free or Die, sucker? > Finally a motel clerk, not at the motel I stayed in, but 1 across the > street, got moi some salt & a snow shovel which allowed moi to move about > 50' up the road, but no more. Went into my hotel to ask the staff for > help, & finally after the Police arrived, I got a single scrawny kid to > push moi enough to make it across the road to the freeway! The cop > explained to moi that people are a@# holes, but then had to leave for a > car > flipped over. I will skip the part before when the motel clerk called the > cops to report an irate former guest stuck in the middle of a flat unplowed > street in front of the hotel, as it is below the dignity of this forum. > > Drove into friendly, snowy Maine all the way to Augusta, where I got a flat > tire in front of a tire shop, & had to drive on an alloy rim w/ the Hakka > almost coming off the rim about several 100 feet to get to where they could > fix the flat. Tried to buy new tires there, as my spare has not been out > of the clamshell in over 10 years, but no, you can't get 14" vanagon > suitable tires anywhere on the road. They plugged the hole in the tread & I > was able to drive off thru white knuckle road conditions the rest of the > way to Blue Hill, where the spousal unit flagged moi down at our new > temporary home w/ my Burning Man flag! > > Welcome to Maine! Carl, is now in Heaven protecting us from Bobcats & > squirrels! > > I would have to say, that other than the idiot light malfunctions & > horrible traction in wet icy snow, the Westy performed wonderfully. Now > about those worn Hakkas & new Torque Biasing differential, the jury is > still out looking for Elvis. > > So to get the conversation going, anyone got comparative experience > driving in icy snow w/ both Hakkas & Hankook tires? > > As usual, > > YMMV, > > Mr. BZ-every 37 years you gotta do this. >


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