Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 20:16:27 -0800
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: royalt3@ix.netcom.com (Royal P. Taylor, III )
Subject: Unexpected trip part I
Volks,
When I got the call that my gramother had passed
away, I knew that there was no way we could
afford to have me fly to Syracuse New York from
Memphis Tennessee for the funeral. I was
bumming heavilly untill the obvious became
visible. I would drive my 71 Westy, Olga.
Crazy? Yes, but I had tried to take good care
of her, and I had enough spare parts to fix most
any problem that I encountered on the almost
2200 mile round trip. As for a place to sleep,
well, I would sleep in the camper!!
So last tuesday I informed my employer that I
would be taking thursday, friday and monday off
for the trip to New York. I worked feverishly
on tuesday and wednesday getting Olga packed,
and making sure everything worked as well as can
be expected. My trip home from work
wednesday revealed a new squeak, so upon my
arrival I got the front up in the air to
discover the disk brakes shot. Working until
about 10:00 PM, I got everything together and
double checked my spare parts just in case... My
spare parts list included: spark plugs, ignition
coil, rotor, distributor cap, fuel pump, belt,
voltage regulator, battery, tire, oil, transaxle
lube (with thoughts of Grendal), two jacks,
wheel chocks, fix-a-flat, tire puncture sealer,
timing light, dwell/tach meter, starting fluid,
wheel bearing grease, disk brake pads, spray
lube, and of course duct tape.
Being unsure how Olgas heat would hold up in the
cold north, I packed two sleeping bags, a wool
blanket, thermal coveralls and everything else I
expected to need in the event of the winter
weather that appeared to be approaching the
area.
I started off at 4:00am on thursday under a
cloudy sky. I was able to maintain 65 mph
despite the full load in the bus (including a
port-a-poty just in case). My only complaint
was the cool breeze blowing from the back into
my right shoulder. During one rest stop, I
decided to try and put one of my sleeping bags
in the open area under the camper top, and much
to my delight I found it stopped the draft!!!
So, I set out to look for a building supply
store where I would purchase a sheet of rigid
foam insulation and install it in the offending
space.
I couldn't help but notice the wind blowing in
the area of 30mph around Cincinnati, but wasn't
too concerened until I attempted to carry the
sheet of foam across the parking lot of the HQ
in which I had bought it. It started to break
on a couple of occasions, but I managed to get
it to the bus, only to discover my true problem
would be how to hold it, cut it, and install it
without the remaining piece blowing away!!! I
wont go into detail, lets just say that
somewhere over Cincinnati there is a piece of
silver covered insulation blowing free with the
breeze..... I did keep the majority of the
insulation, cut and fitted a piece to the
opening in the roof, and completely ended the
draft!!!YAY!!!
So, I set out once again.
I found that I was beginning to get a little
road weary around Columbus OH, so I decided to
look for a campground. I was looking forward to
the first night in the bus.. I found a place
about 15 minutes south of Columbus, and stopped.
They had electrical hook-ups (for my space
heater) but no bathroom facilities... Boy was I
glad I brought the portable toilet!! I
surrendered my $12.00 and chose a site.
Stay tuned for part II tomorrow...
Royal Taylor
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