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edeurmeier
Samba Member
Joined: October 25, 2004
Posts: 23
Location: Pasadena,CA
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 Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 2:32 pm Post subject: USA Roadtrip! Any advice or resources to offer? |
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Hello all,
I'm on week 4 of a cross country road-trip with my wife and 1 year old in our 83 Vanagon. We're coming from Pasadena, CA and our in St. Louis at the moment. Atlanta and the east coast is next, all the way up to Maine and back through the midwest via Chicago and Iowa. Then Yellowstone and Montana to Seattle and back down the west coast.
We're right around 3000 miles and I'm getting ready to do our first oil change. Capt'n Kiwi is running great and we're all having a good time. I was hoping to see, though, if any of you would be willing to offer your assistance in time of need, whether it be with mechanic recommendations for serious repairs or sweet junkyards and parts suppliers (there aren't a lot of VW suppliers around and we're far from the ones I'm aware of).
We intend to be traveling around until mid-July, reconnecting with family and scoping out potential towns to relocate and new jobs.
If you can't offer any advice or your resources, no worries. Please enjoy the blog we started.
www.gobusgo.wordpress.com
Peace!
Erik |
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climberjohn
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Joined: January 11, 2005
Posts: 1674
Location: Portland Orygun
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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Wowzer, sounds like a great trip!
Some resources you may or may not be aware of:
1) www.roadhaus.com - peer reviewed North American VW shops
2) Benchmark maps - the best road atlases for backroads exploring.
3) AllStays Camp and Tent smart phone app - shows all campsites near your location on a Google map interface, very handy.
-CJ
_________________
'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often. |
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carterzest
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Joined: January 22, 2008
Posts: 3245
Location: PDX/RipCity/StumpTown
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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here are some free campgrounds around the USA.
http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/default.htm
and another great resource where the above link was found. Kind of bulky to surf on a phone, but, lots of good things to bookmark
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/waters/links.htm
Have a great trip you guys. Sounds like memories to last a lifetime. I always print out the Roadhaus link that Climberjohn linked above so I have a hard copy in my van for the states I am going through, as, usually breakdowns happen when there is no service. If nothing else, makes for a nice firestarter on the last let of the trip 
Keep us posted on your progress.
Non-Ninja edit: Just noticed your blog link. Great writing style and awesome pics. I will be keeping an eye on it If you end up in the PDX area, check the link in my sigline...we will roll out the red carpet for you.
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Jeffrey Carter ~o~ PDX Thread ~o~86 SyncWesty ~o~ 86 SyncTintop ~o~ NWMF 2013
| tencentlife wrote: |
| Get lost! It's fun! |
Last edited by carterzest on Thu May 31, 2012 4:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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windnsea
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Joined: May 07, 2008
Posts: 334
Location: Pasadena, CA
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| I'll buy the beer when you get back to Pasadena - that's my home also! |
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reluctantartist
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Joined: August 13, 2006
Posts: 1748
Location: Bloomington, IN
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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A few resources:
The vanagon rescue squad which has a cool android app if you have one:
http://www.vanagonauts.com/index.phtml?catid=74
And the AIRS list (use the phone numbers):
http://www.type2.com/rescue/
When you get to indiana feel free to look me up.
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1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them. |
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kuleinc
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Joined: August 10, 2007
Posts: 1444
Location: East Bay Area, California
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shadetreetim
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Joined: January 10, 2011
Posts: 993
Location: Riverside, California
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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Love the blog. Keep them coming. Very nice writing. Safe travels.
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TP
57 GMC 350/350TH
89 Vanagon Wolfsburg 2.1 4SP
12 Tiguan 2.0T 6SP Tiptronic
Don't get bored easily? Check out my build thread. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...;start=120 |
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vwlovr
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Joined: May 21, 2006
Posts: 1092
Location: on the road
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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have fun on your trip, check out the City Museum in St. Louis, your son may be a tad young to fully appreciate, but it's a really great place. it's like a children's museum designed by artist instead of lawyers.
my family and i live full time on the road (in a bigger vehicle) and i can tell you there are tons of great sites to see. my other absolute favorite midwest attraction is the National Air Force museum in Ohio, in my humble opinion it is by far the best aviation museum in the country and it's free! it may be too big for your son, but he looks stroller age, so he can nap while you check it all out.
anyway, happy trails. |
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Summers420us
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Joined: June 14, 2010
Posts: 452
Location: Amissville, Virginia
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:56 am Post subject: |
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When you are heading up the East Coast, if you happen to take the Blue Ridge Parkway and\or Skyline Drive, or even find yourself in my area, you are welcome to pitch camp at my place. We live in Amissville, VA. About 30 minutes from the Sperryville entrance (Rt 211) of Skyline Drive. The Parkway connects right to Skyline Drive and they both make for some fantastic touring.
Refill the water tank, perform an oil change, whatever you need.
Have a great trip!
Per Wiki:
'The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles (755 km), mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and offers access to the Skyline Drive, the major north/south artery through the Park. The two All-American Byways are separate and distinct. The Blue Ridge Parkway was built to connect Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Parkway is not a National Park, but is a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, and is the most visited unit in the United States National Park System. Land on either side of the road is maintained by the National Park Service and, in many places, the park is bordered by land protected by the United States Forest Service. The Parkway will be depicted on North Carolina's version of the America the Beautiful quarter in 2015.[1]' |
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CessnaJon
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Joined: August 15, 2008
Posts: 280
Location: Griffin,GA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Come see us if you are in the south Atlanta area. I've got some random Vanagon spare parts laying around plus a small fleet of Power Wheels. We'll clear a spot in our hanger if you need to do some "covered camping" . Jump in the pool, do an oil change, fill water tank , etc...
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1976 MGB
1984 MB 240D
1990 Westy
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alain riaud
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Joined: October 13, 2011
Posts: 90
Location: France
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:25 am Post subject: |
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| carterzest wrote: |
here are some free campgrounds around the USA.
http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/default.htm
and another great resource where the above link was found. Kind of bulky to surf on a phone, but, lots of good things to bookmark
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/waters/links.htm
Have a great trip you guys. Sounds like memories to last a lifetime. I always print out the Roadhaus link that Climberjohn linked above so I have a hard copy in my van for the states I am going through, as, usually breakdowns happen when there is no service. If nothing else, makes for a nice firestarter on the last let of the trip
You bet. "Sounds like memories to last a lifetime"
Believe me we drove that road, even a bit more to Fairbanks Alaska, fourty years ago and we still speak about it.
We drove the missing part, Quebec, maritime provinces and New Egland last fall.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Non-Ninja edit: Just noticed your blog link. Great writing style and awesome pics. I will be keeping an eye on it If you end up in the PDX area, check the link in my sigline...we will roll out the red carpet for you. |
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danfromsyr
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Joined: March 01, 2004
Posts: 5432
Location: Syracuse, NY
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jackbombay
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Joined: October 19, 2007
Posts: 1859
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:35 am Post subject: |
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Awesome road trip!
Some info for when you are in the yellowstone area, this is from a thread about camping in yellowstone,
| jackbombay wrote: |
If you drive over teton pass from Jackson wy to teton valley Idaho there is plenty of free camping, up teton canyon are some great free spots perched along the edge of teton creek which will be charging pretty hard in early/mid june, there are also some awesome hikes out of the end of teton canyon (wilderness area so if you rode a bike in there the planet would split in half, or something equally terrible) that rival most any hike in teton park itself.
Pics from the top of "The devils stair case" trail that starts from the end of teton canyon.
There are also campsites with pit toilets and water near the end of teton canyon, but those are not free, same goes for campsites along the teton river down the center of teton valley.
And although there is a chance this will blow out a prime free campsite, here is a link to a sweet campsite on a point sticking out on hebgen lake, you can drive out pretty close to the end, and there may be holes dug in the ground that work perfectly for putting your vanagon tires in to make the van level. 220* lake views  But if I show up and you're there you owe me a beer  Nice sandy beach on the north side of the point, but in June the mosquitoes can be downright miserable, especially this year with all the snow we have had... |
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vanagonjr
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Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 938
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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Alain (from France) can tell you. I can probably set you up with a nice overnight spot in the White Mountains.
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John
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/limbobus/
86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender" |
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alain riaud
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Joined: October 13, 2011
Posts: 90
Location: France
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| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| vanagonjr wrote: |
| Alain (from France) can tell you. I can probably set you up with a nice overnight spot in the White Mountains. |
You bet, John.
Very beautiful place, but unfortunately a bunch of odd people.
BTW, back from a one month trip through Morroco, awesome. |
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vanagonjr
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Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 938
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:24 am Post subject: |
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| alain riaud wrote: |
| vanagonjr wrote: |
| Alain (from France) can tell you. I can probably set you up with a nice overnight spot in the White Mountains. |
You bet, John.
Very beautiful place, but unfortunately a bunch of odd people. |
That's one of the nicest things someone has said about our group of friends
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John
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/limbobus/
86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender" |
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edeurmeier
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Joined: October 25, 2004
Posts: 23
Location: Pasadena,CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: You guys are great! |
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Thanks everybody! I knew I could count on the VW people to come through with advice and hospitality.
So many people have just lit up when we pull up next to them at the pump or in a parking lot, and we've gotten so many honks and waves as we're putt putting by on the highway. I don't think it would have been the same if we had an rv or an astro van.
Pretty awesome what the VW does to people. |
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dhaavers
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Joined: March 19, 2010
Posts: 2129
Location: http://g.co/maps/zt72q
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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FYI: I've used this site to plan several roadtrips: http://www.freecampgrounds.com/
You need to have an idea where you're heading - unfortunately sites
are listed by town, with no map for reference. I try to have a state map
with index for reference while I look at options on the website.
Entries are rated for scenery & noise. Some of the comments are
pretty interesting but all-in-all fairly helpful.
Lots of free or cheap (less than $10) "city parks" can be found through
the midwest (Ohio through Nebraska or so) & the smaller towns are
generally quiet & happy for your visit.
Do your homework - Happy Trails!
----------------------------------------
EDIT: Just came across this site with more good (albeit "RV camping") info: http://rvparkreviews.com/
I'll be adding this to my bookmarks...'cause the more you know, the more you know!
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"The WonderVan" |
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