Date:         Thu, 14 Dec 95 18:30 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EF0JPB1@mvs.cso.niu.edu
Subject:      spare tire window wash

>From: Charley Sever <stdnt14@KWANTLEN.BC.CA>
>Subject: spare tire window wash

>	I have a '73 camper van with a window wash resivoir that
>won't hold any pressure for longer than one day.  I have
>heard of one solution that involved connecting the spare
>tire air valve to the resivoir.  I assumed the spare tire
>was on the front of the van as it is on mine.  Has anyone
>ever done this and if so, how was it done?

Charley,

My guess is you are mixing metaphors. All the VW Beetles I
have known use pressure from the spare tire for the
windshield washers, but in the case of the Beetle, the tire
is already in front---in the trunk.

I suppose that if one of the Beetle units were mounted in
the front of a bus, with the spare tire on the front as
well, the system could work IF:

1) A hole is found/provided to run a hose from the spare on
the outside to the inside of the bus.

2)  A Beetle-type switch (valve) is installed inside the
bus.

3)  The valved side of the switch is fed to the existing
hoses for the washer jets.

All of those seem easy enough to do.  How clean or visible
it would be would be up to the talent of the installer.  The
Beetle pressure connection has a built-in restriction to
maintain spare tire pressure (20-22psi?) so you do not end
up with a flat spare.

By the time you go through all of that, you may be better
off fixing the setup you have.  This *does* sound like a
good solution for splittie washer woes, though.

-Jim Bryant