Date: Fri, 19 Jul 96 15:10:45 PDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: copley@healthcare.ubc.ca (Tobin Copley)
Subject: Ron's "Free" Eurovan
Everybody,
This morning I picked up the Eurovan/Winnibago camper Volkswagen of Canada
is loaning Ron Lussier for the Inuvik trip. It's prepped as a press
vehicle, and is fully decked out with propane fridge, furnace, and (yes,
Martha) even a shower.
It's currently white, but ask us again in a few days... ;-) ;->
Volkswagen is eating any damages to the van resulting from the Inuvik trip
or Ron's attempts at establishing new land speed records on logging roads.
Guess which vehicle we'll use to test water depth before we decide if we
should ford a stream?
I'm sure Ron will be providing a full review of the vehicle is upcoming
postings once the trip gets underway, but I'll throw in my impressions at
this point. I've only driven it from my place to work (VW sprung for a
full tank, so why not?), which is about 5 miles of city driving.
Negative comments first:
It has absolutely no personality whatsoever. Power everything, and the
power steering gives a "dead" feel with little feedback to the driver--I
hope this doesn't pose a problem when driving off-road. It's quiet, but
the motor has a surprisingly high-pitched note to it. The automatic
tranmission doesn't help matters--it'll be interesting to see how the auto
trans can deal with loose rough surfaces up hill on logging roads. It was
raining steadily during the drive, and the wheels seemed to spin too
easily. Torque-steer is noticeable when accelarating from a stop. The
motor, at least as far as city driving goes, is really anaemic--and this is
coming from someone who owns an air-cooled bus. Sure, it's a bit quicker
than my own bus, but not by much. I suspect a standard transmission would
go a long way towards improving performance in this regard. Awkwardly, the
automatic gear shift is mounted on the floor next to the driver. Weird.
I don't think the plastic sorta-venetian blinds for the camper windows will
last more than five seasons of camping.
I found the driver's seat really uncomfortable--my back was hurting after
just a few miles. To be fair, I'm sure I could fiddle with it to make it
more comfortable. You can't do that great VW bus resting-your-forearms-
on-the-steering-wheel driving posture. The steering wheel is out in front
of you like in a car. You don't get that great "happy bus" feeling one
gets from being perched behind the wheel of a breadloaf bus. With the
automatic transmission and the power steering, you don't drive this
thing--you just point it down the road.
(Donning Nomex underwear) Face it, kids, this thing is a big minivan with a
camper interior. (Rolling on the ground to snuff out flaming clothing...)
Positive aspects:
It's very nice and quiet inside. It has a heater. :-) I can steer with
one finger. It has arm rests for the front seats. Water doesn't come out
through the floor boards when driving wet roads, although that means I'd
need to find another way to keep my feet cool.
It has a propane furnace with a thermostat to control temperature, and a
CO2 alarm to tell you you are about to die. The large, front-opening 3-way
fridge is conveniently located forward in the galley, so that the driver
can reach back for a cold beer while driving. It's got a shower-type thing
that comes out by the raer hatch, and looks quite similr to Dave Garth's
hot-water shower he hooked up in his water-pumper westy and showed off at
the first annual Big Sur camp-out in 1995. Maybe winnibago saw Dave
Garth's shower pictures on the web? The area under the open rear hatch is
*huge*--I've never seen a hatch so large, and I have to say the pistons
that keep it from bonking your head are awfully stiff. It's a bit of a
strain to open and close the hatch, especially if you're carrying something
else at the same time.
It has rear seat head rests. The ABS works pretty well under severe
braking on wet roads. I've never driven a car with ABS before, and it
seems to keep the wheels from locking up hard, but I have to honestly say I
don't think the ABS offers a significant reduction in stopping distance
compared to threshold braking in my 1976 westfalia. I'm not sure how ABS
will perform off-road, where I find it useful to lock or spin wheels in
some situations, but we'll certainly have ample opportunity to find out.
I asked VW to add the optional over-the-cab stowage area to the vehicle,
which they did. It's similar to the luggage area in late-model breadloaf
westfalias, but with fewer tie-down points. This carrier will be useful
for carrying extra fuel, the second spare tire (supplied by VW), firewood,
yank straps, and all the other stuff we will want to lash to Ron's van.
They also added a bra after I warned them about flying rocks the size of
softballs, and how they will be covering the cost of all damages incurred
to the van. :-)
Haven't really looked at the camping stuff yet, so I'll leave a report on
that to Ron.
The people I talked with at Volkwagen were all very nice, and seemed
concerned that Ron and I be as happy as possible with the Eurovan. They
all were very big on it. It will be interesting to get a few drinks into
them at the party at my place and have a chance to talk with them when
their ties are loosened about where Volkwagen is going. I'll try to get a
rep to join the VW bus mailing lists--I'll bet they could learn a lot, even
if they just lurk. BTW, if any of you want to come to the party at my
place in Vancouver, BC at 6:00 sunday night, just give me a call at (604)
689-2660.
Overall, the Eurovan's nice and plush with that new-car smell, and it has
some neat features, but for nearly $50,000 I'll take my happy 1976 Westy
any day!
64 hours, then Northward ho!!
Tobin
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Tobin T. Copley copley@healthcare.ubc.ca
Dept. of Health Care and Epidemiology Voice: (604) 822-6219
University of British Columbia Fax: (604) 822-4994
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z3
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