Let me start off by saying that I own both
an 87 Syncro Westy and a 1999 33.5 foot Tropi-Cal
motor home (With Slide-out). If the VW is so great, than why do so many Listees want to add more power, toilets, heat, AC etc.? Because they want the comforts of the real RV without the costs.
Everything is a compromise. As for the awfull fuel
economy, yours had a problem or you drove very fast and up a lot of hills. My
first motorhome was a 1992 Tioga. Class C, 27 foot,
12,500 lbs loaded. At 55 mph I could get almost 10 mpg. At the 65 to 70 I
usually traveled, I got 7.5. This was with the Ford 460 and 4 speed overdrive
transmission. The coach I have now weighs 16,300 lbs. empty. With the Ford
Triton V-10, I get 8.5 mpg traveling 65 to 70 mph. Maximum wieght
is 20,500 pounds. I usually wiegh around 19,500 fully
loaded which includes 75 gallons gas, 75 gallons water. I lose about 1 mpg when
towing the Syncro Westy. In
four years, I have put about 60,000 miles on the two RV’s. At least this
is 60,000 miles less for the Syncro Camper which now
has 185,000 miles on it, (original heads and gaskets). By the way, at best, the
Westy gives me 17 mpg at those speeds. 70 to 75 mph
with the AC on doing the NY to
Anyway, I do agree with many of your
comments about the Vanagon. However, there are times
when we need more room or more equipment. The Westy
is somewhat limited to fair weather and really only two adults. The four of us
need more space. Sometimes we travel with more. I really wish VW would accomadate us with something a bit larger so we could keep
on Bussin’
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List
[mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of developtrust
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2001
7:54 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Vanagon versus Lazy Daze
motor home
I
thought I would share this with the group. jimmary@softcom.net asked
me this question in a recent private mail when he found out I had a Lazy Daze
and sold it now owning a Vanagon. "You had a Lazy Daze and now a Vanagon -
how come the switch.? LD is considered the Rolls of motorhomes."
My
answer is this: First if you are considering buying a larger motor home don't
do it unless your ego is really there and you want to live in it for extended
periods of time.
How
many large campers, or seagoing boats or lake pleasure boats have you seen
sitting in driveways? How many truck camper shells have you seen sitting there
also using up that driveway space? Or how many people have had to cut a special
gate into their back yards to store the large camper or boat?
The
Lazy Daze gas mileage alone (and most small Campers too) was only 5 to 7 MPG.
And my Lazy Daze was only 22 feet long. (Many get only 3 MPG.) It was not
practical as an every day transportation vehicle, or for grocery shopping and
such. Great for camping (about once or twice a year) but that is about it. The
Lazy Daze is like a large boat. You take it out a few a year to
justify owning it (except at first when it is a new toy) or use it as a guest
room then it sits in the driveway and depreciates.
Sure
you have a full bathroom and shower, but my Vanagon has a port-a-potty and a
shower bag I can hang from the roof when I am not at a campground.
Large
home owners may look down on the Vanagon Camper but I assure everyone we have a
way superior vehicle. Way, way superior. The Vanagon, gets good mileage, is
versatile, can go almost anywhere, functions as an office, a kitchen, a dining
room, a bedroom, a living room, a cargo vehicle, and you can get up and go at
the drop of the hat. And it encourages you to enjoy the outdoors and fresh air,
picnics and such instead of being in the motorhome watching TV and using the
microwave.
The
large motor home is a real chore to get going, can not maneuver well, needs special
handling skill, is a gas guzzler, hard to park, needs special parts, blocks
traffic, is slow uphill, irritates drivers behind it, and on and on. AND worst
of all it sits in your driveway most of the time baking in the sun.
And
here is the real kicker. My
Vanagon on the resale market is worth TWICE what the Lazy Daze could get today.
How
do you like those apples?
William