Date:         Sat, 27 Mar 1999 10:46:24 -0800
Reply-To:     Larry Burt <lwburt@SPIRITONE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Larry Burt <lwburt@SPIRITONE.COM>
Subject:      Tires, Shocks, Heat
Comments: cc: wetwesties@onelist.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Thanks again for the tire and shock advice.

I just got a set of Yokohama 370's put on my 86 Westy. Ended up paying
$328 total, which included $37 shipping, mount, balance, etc, and a
pretty good service/warranty package from a local outfit called THI.

I went for the 370's over the 356's due to the amount of wet/snow/mud
driving here in Oregon. They are a tad noisier than my aging Bridgestone
603V highway treads were, but seem to have great traction. The shop
installed them with 36psi front and rear, which seems low to me, given
the 38/49 on the door sticker. Any recommendations from the list on
inflation?

I've also ordered a set of Bilsteins from ASI (Anderson & Stiehle) in
California. I talked with Mark Anderson at 800-683-2890. Total cost
including shipping is $294. I'm supposed to get them next Wednesday via
UPS. I'll report on these after I get them installed.

I've seen a few posts on heaters recently. Four years ago I had a local
RV service place (Laurelhurst Heating in Portland OR) install a 12000
BTU propane furnace (smallest available--I think it's the same model
they are putting in the new EV winnebago camper), which runs off the
main propane bottle. It has complete electronic ignition/controls,
outside combustion air/exhaust, and a thermostat. It's made the van very
livable in the winter for camping and I also use it to warm up the
inside a bit on cold mornings. I've run it at freeway speeds
occasionally as well, and see no reason why it couldn't be used for
auxiliary heating on an air-cooled westy. As I recall, the total cost
with installation was about $500. Two other friends have had the same
thing done and are both very pleased.

Larry