Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 20:16:20 PST
Reply-To: Timothy Gardner <caninewolf@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Timothy Gardner <caninewolf@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Mom to travel across U.S.: advice? 2nd thought
Content-type: text/plain
Ok my second response to all this,
I am also the type to take a few chances...and prob didnt travel as well
prepared as I should but I had great times to never take back! The VW
is the only way to see our country good...lots of windows and
viewability=) So as I said I am not always prepared but to my best I am
and that usually means something will break..I've met a bunch of
mechanics and never been screwed over! I have met the coolest, nicest
and best people...they all understood my van and I owned a syncro!!!
None of the problems they fixed ever broke angain and some of these
people hardly worked on VW's before but were just good. Now this could
be due to me being male but im not all that intimidating or the type
that no one would screw over. I was 18 on my first trip and 19 on the
second...I usually would be screwed over...I have this feeling that many
people talk too much about the handful of bad mechanics who screw over
people. One thing I would say is that VW DEALERS are BAD...many do not
understand the Vanagon because they have not worked on them in sooo
long..some try to open the front of your van!
Ok now a thing to sign up for is LIMBO(Late Model Bus Organization) they
give you a book of numbers to call in each state. These people will
give you #'s of VW shops to help you in the area. A good book=)
Happy travels
Tim G
84 wolfsburg(222k body(66k engine))
>From: Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
>Reply-To: Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Mom to travel across U.S.: advice?
>Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 19:31:26 -0800
>
>With proper planning, the risks the trip and the vanagon pose can be
minimized. the
>hardest part may be finding a competent mechanic to do a thorough
pre-trip inspection
>of the van....especially the cooling system and some judgment on the
head gaskets.
>A new water pump would be a good idea if it has not been replaced yet.
So would an
>expansion tank. New belts a must. (remember...a breakdown along the
road presents
>potentially dangerous risks that justify investing in preventative
maitenance). hoses
>and fuel lines should be carefully inspected, too, along with the
typical pre-travel
>stuff applicable to any vehicle.
>
>A cell phone and AAA card make a lot of sense. Pepper spray isn't a
bad idea, either.
>
>steve
>
>
>Kari Williams wrote:
>
>> hi everyone,
>> i'm a new subscriber to the list and am hoping for some advice. i
recently
>> purchased a '90 vanagon (not camper, but back folds into a bed), and
am
>> planning to drive from california to new york and back again with my
2 teenage
>> daughters for our annual girls trip. (i know what you are thinking:
glutton
>> for punishment. but they are the ones who really want to go!) anyway,
my
>> vanagon has low miles (60,000) and runs great, but is there something
i should
>> do to it before making the journey? like, i don't know, replacing the
fuel
>> lines and belts or something? the only thing i know how to do is add
coolant
>> and oil and call AAA. we have 2 months to make the trip and plan to
take it
>> slow and easy and spend a few days in corpus christi, miami,
washington d.c.
>> etc. should i be changing the oil every 2,000 miles or so? anything
else?
>> my brother is a vw mechanic and always keeps my vws in shape,
but he isn't
>> being helpful about this trip, as he thinks 3 women alone on the road
are
>> headed for disaster. anyone out there make a similar long distance
trip?
>> advice? warnings?
>> kari (karibel@aol.com)
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