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Date:         Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:03:51 -0500
Reply-To:     Jarrett Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jarrett Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Trip report: Big Bend
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Just got back from a few days in Big Bend. This is the longest (and most remote) trip I've taken in Olly since the Bostig install last summer, and it performed like a champ. None of the hills gave us any real challenge, and due to the lower speed limits in the park, I saw the best fuel mileage I've seen yet: 21.9 mpg on one leg, and that was loaded with bikes on the rear hatch and a full tank of freshwater.

I never had an issue with clearance, but we never travelled any overly demanding roads. I do want to upgrade to Bostig's HC oilpan, however, mostly for the peace of mind and increased departure angle. I've already got a nice dent in the stock oil pan where I went over a curb a little too aggressively. I can't recommend the Bostig conversion too highly.

The year-old Nokian Entyres were nice to have on the road. Sailing was pretty smooth throughout the drive, but there were a few times when winds got gusty, and the van tracked very well even then. The Hankooks were good, but the Nokians are better.

We got to use our new Bus Depot Ezy Awning, and it is much nicer than any tarp and pole setup I had previously. The awning itself is well constructed and mounts pretty securely to the van, especially using the wheel jack points. It's not the fastest awning to setup in the world, but I think I can do a bit of labeling or color coding of the poles to speed up the setup considerably. And for $120, it's a steal. I'll be interested to see how well the nylon fabric and stitching hold up over the long haul.

For what it's worth, I don't recommend that you store a can of fix-a-flat in the spare tire well. After climbing into the Chisos Basin and some warm idling while we looked for the water fill station in the campground, the temps climbed high enough to burst the can. No harm done to the van, but it was messy and left a not-so-lovely aroma to linger.

Big Bend is a spectacular park, although during Spring Break campsites fill up rapidly. I wasn't able to get any backcountry sites or campground sites the first night out there, so we ended up in a RV park in Terlingua. Got a site in Cottonwood Campground that suited us just fine the next few nights, but the campgrounds do fill up quickly. I've now stayed in all the campgrounds at the park, and Cottonwood is in my mind the best, although it is not central. No generators are allowed, and due to its more remote location, it doesn't draw the crowds, so it ends up being very quiet. The owls were the loudest things, and I'll happily put up with being woken by their late-night philosophical waxing.

Saw one Eurovan Rialta and a few Sprinter Airstreams. Otherwise it was all SUVs, trailers, and tents. Sadly not a single other Vanagon in the 1000 miles of travel.

Big Bend is remote, but if you're anywhere near, it's worth the trip. More story, pictures, and even a link to a video can be found here on the blog: http://www.kpcnsk.com/?p=293

Jarrett Kupcinski Olly, 89 Westy with Bostig conversion


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