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Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:52 pm

I like to think it’s merely keeping good records, but certain other family members see it as the strongest evidence yet of an advanced case of VOCD (Vanagon Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I’m talking about my repair and enhancement journal. It’s a single MS Word document where I note everything I do to the Westy. This includes both repairing/fixing a problem, like a brake job or an oil change, and enhancements, like new curtains or a new aux. battery system. Here’s a sample entry:

********************************************

Repair / Enhancement: 3rd brakelight
Date: June 2008
Work done by: me
Cost: $20
Comments: LED brakelight ordered online from JC Whitney. Idea from the Samba, as several people have used this part with success. The idea was to improve the van’s visibility to other drivers when braking. I connected the hot wire to the rear left brake wiring with a tap splice, wrapped the heck out of the splice with self fusing silicon tape to hopefully weatherproof it, and ran the ground wire down to the coil ground bolt. Time: about 1 hour.
Link: http://www.jcwhitney.com/Third-Brake-Light/600003037.jcw?in_dim_search=1

********************************************

If I ever (god forbid) sell the van, this will make for interesting reading for a future buyer, and justify my asking price. If I ever (god really forbid) need to make an insurance claim, this document will have everything right in one place of the actual $$$ I’ve put into this project/hobby/mistress/obsession =^)

I’ve already used it several times to answer the “where did you order that part, how much does it cost, any tricks to installing that” sort of questions on this forum.

If anyone else keeps a journal like this, please chime in.

If you want to start a journal, here’s some suggestions for Windows folks. (Warning geek-speak ahead. Mac users, you likely know this stuff already.)

1) In MS Word, use the “Insert --> Bookmark” at the actual entry. Then make a hyperlink (highlight text, right click, hyperlink) on the first page, giving you a clickable “Table of Contents”. Click an entry, and you go right to the details. This is very handy when the document starts to get over about 20 pages.

2) For graphics, use the MS Word feature “Insert --> Textbox”. This lets you draw a box on the page, and then add images that you can easily resize and move around. Having images in the journal can be useful to jog the memory about a part or procedure. Grab images and text from a web page – see next tip.

3) Use a screen grabber utility to easily copy and paste anything you see on the web (images, forum postings, etc.) into your journal. This is a very handy bit of software to have for all sorts of other things too. I am sure there is a good one built into the Mac, but Windows users can try this one – Ace WINscreen.
Free download: http://www.caltroxsoft.com/products/ace-winscreen.htm

And if you really want to see it in action (typos and all) you can read it here:
http://outdoordads.org/westy-journal.pdf

Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:57 pm

Hi, my name is Perales, and I have VOCD.
I keep a spreadsheet. (actually more than one)

Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:29 pm

Man that is nothing - I have an entire blog devoted to my Vanagon

The VOCD part is that I have a spreadsheet in my cell phone to track every time I put gas in my Vanagon that includes trip meter reading, total gallons purchased, date, and price paid.

I have a sickness.

Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:34 am

I have a ships log that I keep in my glovebox that is a very detailed record of work and a trip log of every trip I take, so I guess I have it too!

Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:45 am

The PO of our Westy was a county adoption professional and included the camper's "Life Book" when we "adopted" it. I've tried to keep the entries up to date.

Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:53 am

Hi, my name is Jon and I am a Vanaholic

My spreadsheet tracks everything I spent on my Van, separated by whether its an upgrade, or simply maintenance.. An upgrade is something like a house battery or lift springs, whereas maintenance is things like a brake job or new tires.. now, which collumn does a new tranny go in, well, its maintenance.. what about new pop top canvas, well, thats maintenance too..

what about a subaru engine, well, that IS an upgrade :-)

my cell phone tracks last time I changed oil and rotated tires

Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:59 am

Wow, I thought I had it bad with my ship log... you guys need professional help! :D

Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:15 am

Isn't that what this forum is for?

Sometimes I look for old posts of mine to see when I did something...

Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:32 pm

Quote: Sometimes I look for old posts of mine to see when I did something...
Routinely! Routinely! I just now searched back to see what kind of LED bulbs I put into Winston's tail lights. They went dim on the driver's side when water got in. I cleaned them up and got the water out, and put in some conductive grease and they seem to be fixed, at least for now.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep water out of a tail light? Putting our 'journals' up on the Samba lets you all learn from our experiences, which is a good deal all 'round.

Best!

Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:44 pm

Stardate 4401>
Vanagon runs> 55 millapede speed> tests nominal> beer terminal> v;/d,. /.;.hug c x d .bnz,.;÷> Been attacked by the Dog Star Leader, Haley....

Abort!
Abort!

Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:11 am

tikibus wrote: Stardate 4401>
Vanagon runs> 55 millapede speed> tests nominal> beer terminal> v;/d,. /.;.hug c x d .bnz,.;÷> Been attacked by the Dog Star Leader, Haley....

Abort!
Abort!
Tiki, It doesn't work as well without your old Avatar, I miss him :(

Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:21 am

I keep water out by drilling 1/16 drain holes in all(especially front) so water cant collect,couldnt seal up to stop. I keep a small notebook/cheap calc in all my drivers.Since i do all maint etc i know what is going on and i calc gas mi at each fill,found a oxy sensor going south by a 3mi drop in mileage, also good to have at sell/trade time,just a habit of mine.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:39 am

My most recent van came with folder containing records of its "full" mechanical history. Full is in quotes because it is difficult to tell if there are gaps in the documentation. Regardless, it is very interesting reading and does provide far better documentation than none. it was very disorganized so, I went through and organized everything by date.

I've continued with it and this is the first time I've really committed to something like this. Even things like self-installed vac hoses and spark plugs are recorded by placing the receipts in the folder with notes written on them.

It's a lot of fun looking at shipping records for the van and the original sales purchase records...along with warranties that I wish the van still had.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:26 pm

I keep a spreadsheet, but haven't fooled with Excel in years. Open Office dot org offers free word processor and spreadsheet applications that are a match for the high cost microsoft titles.

http://www.openoffice.org/

Fri Oct 31, 2008 4:25 am

I just have a 3 ring binder with sheets with about 5 columns (date, oil change/lube, tire rotation, where done, and a big column for comments)

I have separate sheets for each car so I can keep track of what was done when and where. (I use this for my "normal" cars as well as the v-dubs.) With 2 cars, a truck and 3 VWs, there is no way I can remember.

It lives in my shop, so at a glance, I can see when I changed the oil, waxed, replaced brakes or whatever in any of the cars. A spread sheet is nice, but I don't keep a PC in my shop, and that is where I need it.