Date:         Wed, 07 Jun 95 13:02:20 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Richard <rapalmer@unity.ncsu.edu>
Subject:      Wild West trip report

Alternative titles
"Hey, my butt isn't sore after driving all day"
"Wow, maybe you Vanagon folks DO have something there..."

Well, good to be back, and after reading my 1000 or so list messages, I
thought Ishould post a report of my Westfalia trip.

     For those who don't know, Tom Brouilette, of NEATO fame, owns
ROAMIN' HOLIDAY, out of Albuquerque NM, which rents out Vanagon Westy's.
As my father had many frequent flyer miles to use up, I convinced him
that we should take the family vacation to drive through the scenic west
in a Volkswagen. After a bit of persuading, I managed to bring my mother
and sister around to the idea as well. Everything was arranged, and we
were off.
   We arrived in Albuquerque on a Sunday afternoon, and picked up Casey,
our '86 GL Westfalia, with only 53,000 original miles. Full of gas,
water, and propane, we headed north, for our first KOA of the trip. 
We went to Chaco canyon, Arches park, through the Rocky mountains of
Colorado, rode 2 different scenic narrow gauge steam railroads, explored
old Santa Fe, and visited several other scenic Native American sites.
Iwill skip the discussion of the touristy stuff here, and discuss only
VW stuff, but let me say, the scenery was MAGNIFICENT! (It was
everywhere you looked!) Scenery everywhere. Took many rolls of pictures,
and some 3 hours of videotape.
   Volkswagen-wise, the Vanagon drove as well as any "real car".
Shifting was super smooth, and never a problem with accelerating, going,
starting, or braking. I really love the front captains chairs,
particularly the armrests. Great features. We chose never to use the AC,
to avoid blowing things up, but it was there. Actually, we never really
needed it. We got some snow a couple times...
The camper was super. The 3-way refrigerator ran constantly the whole
trip, and was always cold, no matter what mode it was using for power. 
My comfort-oriented family was REALLY impressed with the whole trip, and
seeds are growing in the ir minds to one day buy one for the family!!!
One thing I did notice about continuous mountain driving, is that there
seems to be a gap between 2nd and 3rd gears. Anyone else noticed this?
What I mean is that you must rev 2nd really high, then shift, and then
3rd still revs kinda low. this is really irritating while climbing hille
at 10,000 feet. 
   Anyway, overall I drove a bit over 1900 miles in 2 weeks. (I hogged
all the driving), and never had even the tiniest problem. Not even a
drop of oil or coolant leaked, and everything was just splendid the
whole trip! I was well pleased.

So, if anyone has any desire to do any camping out west, or just want to
try out a Vanagon to see how it is, I 100% recommend Roamin Holidays.
I Can put you in touch with Tom Brouilette, or NEATO members already can
get in touch with him. Another list member, Ron Lussier, has already
reserved one for later this summer. It was super fun, and I had a great
time.

  As far as older busses, I had the supreme pleasure of riding in Tom's
'53 BArndoor Deluxe, which was in perfect shape! What a thrill. HE
share's a building with the Bus Barn, so also on the lot was a nice '51
barndoor wagen, a single cab, and a nice highroof from Denmark. OUt back
were several other splits, including a crew cab. I saw a ton of busses
out there, a lot of old ones and splits, but few bugs. Most bodies were
in good shape, thanks to the dry, hot desert. 
I found quite a surprise at the Monticello, UT. KOA; the owner's father
was one of the first VW dealers in Ca. He had in a garage the first Bug
that was imported there, a '54 oval Bug, with working semaphores, and
only 35,000 ORIGINAL MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT still had tread on the original whitewall tires. MAn, that car was
super perfect! Whew!
Also on hand were several "junk" splits, with bodies more perfect than
most I've seen driving around here! Wish I had a BIIIIIG trailer!
Anyway
I'm glad to be back, and if anyone wants more details, just drop me a
line.
Richard, Just another deadhead "destroying" his bus by enjoying it...
(sorry I missed that thread)