Date:         Sat, 16 Feb 2013 21:00:40 -0700
Reply-To:     Richard A Jones <Jones@COLORADO.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Richard A Jones <Jones@COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Friday Philosophy: On Community
In-Reply-To:  <201302170217.BAB56990@Colorado.EDU>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

> I just want a camper like I have now but reliable enough for me and the wif=
> e to trust.

I bought a '61 Splitty in '64 and drove it for 3.5 years.  I
limped home from Scorro, NM, with the classic "cylinder 3
burnt exhaust valve" but I made it--it just took longer.
It also took me to New York, Canada, North Dakota--and back.
I drove it over Cinamon Pass and Engineer Pass and other
primitive roads.

I bought a '67 Splitty Kombi new and drove it for 9 years
and 150,000+ miles.  It got to California and Wisconsin
several times--and back.

I bought a '76 and drove it 5 years.  It got me to California,
Oregon, Wisconsin, New Mexico--and back.  I traded it in
because I was tired of being cold after a day of skiing at
10,000'.  So...

I bought an '81 with a gas heater.  I drove it to Montana,
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah--and back.  I still have
it--and just drove it to Buses by the Bridge at Lake Havasu
City--and back.  One trip the gear shifting broke about 75
miles from Boulder.  I wired it up with some classic bailing
wire--and drove home in 2nd and 3rd.  I drove it to Lone Pine,
California, to climb Mt Whitney in a red hot September.  It
developed a sinister knocking noise after running hot around
Tonopah, Nevada.  Back home, it turned out to be piston slap
and a call for a Boston Bob engine--but, it got me back home
those 1000 miles from Lone Pine, knocking all the way.
I also drove it on many primitive roads in NM, Colorado and
Utah, including in to American Basin--and back.

I bought an '87 Syncro Westy in '01 and drove it 75,000 miles
with the 2.1 waterboxer--many trips on remote roads in
Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California, and Baja.  It always brought
me back.  Now I have put 25,000 miles on it with a Subaru 2.5
to Texas, Utah, Idaho, California, Arizona--and back.

Last fall, I bought another Splitty.  Oh, it is a tent....  ;-)

With about half a million miles in VW buses, the only trip
that was aborted was the one when the shift linkage broke.
On the few other trips where there were problem, the VWs
got me home.

Until the Syncro, the previous four VW buses were also my
daily drivers--and at 5,000' and above.  [I really noticed
the extra power in the '81 when I was near sea level at Lake
Havasu City!]  Lots of ski trips all over Colorado, plus to
work every day--and back.

How could I have had more reliable, trusty vehicles?

Richard
Boulder

[Trips since '95 are at http://jones.colorado.edu]