Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 20:55:33 -0800
Reply-To: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Subject: Re: One-ton vans
> Wasn't there a post a couple of years ago from a guy who transported a
> civil war canon half way across the country? I think he might have even
> done it in a splitty. Anybody remember? Joel?
>
Yes, there was -- and I have hauled some heavy things as well -- like *two*
tons of ceramic tile -- yards of sand, etc.
I was not wanting to start a thread on testimonials, though -- I'll freely
grant that you can seriously overload these and still move down the road.
I'll even grant that they drive better with about 600kg load in their
shorts.
> Compared to the Ford ranger pickup I had it is much more capable of
> carrying a load.
As well it *should* be -- the Ford is rated at 1/2 Ton. Even that rating
kind of seems optimistic compared to the Ford F-150 -- also rated at 1/2
Ton. To get to a "one-ton" truck in US terms, you have to go all the way to
a Ford F-350 -- a seriously large vehicle. I was merely offering the
unasked-for-opinion that the two systems of rating are somehow coming from
totally different directions.
What brought this to mind was the Austrian power supply in my Sun computer.
It, like many PC supplies, is rated at 350 watts. It is seriously overbuilt.
The Korean versions probably will put out 350 watts of power -- just like our
Vanagons really can haul a ton of material. I suspect that a Ford F-350
could haul *many* tons, despite it being called a "one-ton" truck. In
US terms, all one-ton trucks pretty much come with eight-lug wheels (often
they are dual-wheels as well) and full-floating axles. Empty, they probably
outweigh a Vanagon loaded to full gross.
Despite all that, the power suply on my Sun seems to have bit the dust, and
I'm certain it costs plenty to replace. All that overbuilding does not come
cheap. And 350 watts seems not enough to handle a machine the size of the
Sun -- it ain't a PC, either.
As to the size-of-things hauled, I doubt that there is a more capable hauler
in a small truck than a VW singlecab. The bed is far larger than the 4'x8'
typical in a US "full size" truck. The VW is closer to 3mx2m. I'd love
one of the new Doublecab transporters with the long wheelbase and syncro --
the Vanagon DC box is both too small and *way* too high for best use. Not
that I'd ever trade for a Ford F-350, though. I *love* my VWs.
Sigh.
Malcolm
1980 Vanagon L Westfalia
1981 Vanagon L (parts)
1982 Vanagon L Westfalia Diesel (parts)
1986 Vanagon GL
1986 Transporter Kombi Syncro
1986 Transporter Doublecab Syncro
