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Things your van did recently
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82WestyMan
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Joined: December 28, 2006
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Location: Western OR
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:25 pm    Post subject: Things your van did recently Reply with quote

Saw another thread going on about work you've done TO your Vanagon... but "all work and no play" makes your Vanagon a dull vehicle.
Just as important is what you did WITH your Vanagon or Westy after you finished working on it.

(Moderator Warning: Any "What I did TO my van" posts will be deleted! This thread is about what your VAN did today, not what YOU did.)

So here goes…

After spending countless hours (or should I say months, starting with a $1,500 'ebay find' back in May '06... and more dollars than I care to think about…)
I took a little (280 mile) test drive this afternoon to see how everything works together out in the real world...

… turns out that sign is only 125 miles from my front door…
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...ended up driving from the southern entrance up to Asheville, NC, about 70 miles or so (the parkway is about 470 miles total)… absolutely stunning with the fall colors… a perfect road for a Vanagon, posted 45mph and NOBODY drives that fast, not even the bikers... next trip I think I’m going to drive up the VA/NC line (about mile marker 215) and drive the 185 miles back down to Asheville…
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"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
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82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine
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fastwagens
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^^^^^^

did you read his post?

BTW what I did with my van today was just drive it.
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torocreek
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Joined: June 20, 2007
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Location: Long Beach, Ca.
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm jealous of the beautiful countryside you get to drive in. Nothing like getting out in the van, enjoying the drive, and not having anything go wrong.

Today I washed all of the ash off of the camper from the fires and took the kids, wife, and dog to the beach. We got a few sprinkles of rain but unfortunately it was over real fast. We would love to see some moisture for the remaining fires and maybe a washdown of the ash from everywhere. It was nice to have the Santa Ana winds and heat finally break. It reached 94 at my house in Long Beach last week.

Good post, nice to hear about the successful use of one's van and not just the heartbreak.
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floggingmolly
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Picked up 4 pieces of 4x8 drywall, 4 pieces of 3x5 hardibacker, a sink, 50 square feet of tile, and some other misc. Stuff from the Home Depot. Love this thing! Wednesday, went to LA from SD through the nasty fires. Plan to clean her today as well.
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82WestyMan
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was thinking about your post, "torocreek"....

it's not so much about where you go as it is what you did... from my point of view taking your family to the beach was at least as beautiful... as was "floggingmolly's" (got to love that name... lol) responce... it's good to know it seems nobody's Vanagon is a 'garage queen'...
the thing i love the most about them is how varied and versitile they are in their many forms... truck, camper, off-roader, family van... just to name a few...
anybody can own a mini-van or a pick-up truck... to me, Vanagons have a certain "class" all unto themselves ... (not to mention I never have the problem loosing mine in a parking lot... LOL)

why i started this thread was to find out all the many and varied ways we take our beloved Vanagons and put them to use in our own lifestyles... I'm hard pressed to think of another vehicle that lends itself to that
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"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine
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Steelhead
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I drove 300 miles in just under 4.5 hrs (country roads and highway). It ended with race against some jerk in a toyota matrix for close to an hour on I-80. It was the weirdest thing, I never get competitive when driving but he was such an idiot! I was doing 80-85mph...which certainly made the trip go by. Vanagon against Matrix, kind of an odd flyweight matchup. Vanagon won!
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levi
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I woke up in my van this am about 2 blocks from the ocean, in a free parking spot, took a shower (yes I have a shower in my vanagon ), made breakfast, shuffled over to a coffee shop 100 feet away to talk vw's, life, and poker with friends. Life is good.
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gonna see life my way

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kevinbassplayer
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

levi wrote:
(yes I have a shower in my vanagon


Really? - Pictures??
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techbot
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good topic! I like having both threads...
I drove Bunter out to my friends property in the hills for a belated Octoberfest beer brewing party/world series game watching.. Here's our set up for cooking a pound of bacon for the German potato salad that we made.. deadly good!
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Here's an arty shot of my friends porch that we nicknamed "the sportsbar" for the night..
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I'm a pretty fair weather sports fan but watching baseball in the woods on a tiny tv with the sound low while brewing and drinking beer w/ friends is the way to do it..
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levi
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

None handy at the moment, but it's got a high-top, (adventurewagen), so I put in a shower behind the drivers seat, modeled after the one in the dehler-profi. Pull out when I use it, and then fold out of the way.
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One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40
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MarkE
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Joined: October 28, 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I put my new wheels on this morning, and then a few VeeDub heads went for a cruise along the coast.
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hiram6
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I drove back from Jekyll Island today. Stopped at the kennel to pick up the dogs, family is all together again, all good.

Jekyll was nice, did some birdwatching. I have no problem admitting I'm into birdwatching. Very Happy Saw a loggerhead shrike!!

This was the maiden trip with the wife in the Westy. She was somewaht lukewarm about it before.

Now she loves it!! She is already pushing for our next trip!! She has even christened it with a name, which in the spirit of peace in the household, I'll go along with. So the van is now Daisy.

She ran like a sewing machine, with only one little scare. On the way to Jekyll, I started to see the oil pressure idiot light flicker. Less than 1/2 a second, very random and intermittent. When we pulled off the interstate to check it out, I found the wire coming from the oil pressure sender was chafing against something, causing it to short. A few wraps of electrical tape, a zip tie to hold it in a safe place, and we were on out way.
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You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.
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captainpartytime
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Drove my wife and two kids to church, then the swap meet, and then to hell on earth...IKEA. Made it back in one piece...barely
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hasavan
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:51 am    Post subject: Gone vanning Reply with quote

Mrs Hasavan and I went for two little trips this past weekend, one to Halifax (Saturday) and the other to the Annapolis valley region of Nova Scotia on Sunday.

The wind blew hard off the Atlantic Ocean Saturday like a gale was forming and later in the afternoon, it was cold as a mother in law’s hug, but in the Westy, we were warm and unconcerned. Our two year old Black lab Ruby assumed her normal prone position on the bench seat as we roamed the old port city of Halifax visiting friends and family then had a meal of KFC at the “head of the bay” before going back to home port near Chester. Along the way we stopped at a local convenience store to get a movie for the night and ran into the guy I bought my Westy from. From that chance meeting I figured out how I am going to bed down my van for the winter and I am quite satisfied. We will put a cover over the van (former owner will lend it to me), then get a buddy of mine to shrink wrap it with the same stuff used for covering boats here for the winter. Badda boom, badda bing.

Sunday we left our house and headed north across the rocky spine of Nova Scotia to the Anapolis Valley, home to Nova Scotia’s major agricultural belt. We did not stop at any of the many farmers markets spread along the way, but did drop a few buck at the local Dairy Queen for an ice cream. Travellers of this small Canadian province will know that the leaves were in full fall splendour with vibrant colours of red, orange, yellow and a very few green leaves remaining to show how it used to look a few weeks ago.

We travelled from Chester across the mountain to Windsor, down through the back roads to Wolfville, then the Kentville to the Chester highway and home again. Our old 84 worked flawlessly and we got back home in time to have a barbeque consisting of marbled Alberta steaks and home grown potatoes. Desert was the fabulous, dream like weekend we had in our van.
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been building a fenced 'corral' in my back yard with my vanagon.

the van is perfect for a mobile work shop. (mine is an ASI Riviera camper)

I swivel the front pass seat around and loaded in
(4) 6x6x12
(6) 4x6x12
(20) 2x3x8

and hardware, tools food etc..

when the rain came up, I shut the doors and ate lunch inside while waiting for it to end. the tunes kept me happy, and the 110vt inverter kept my cordless tools charged. when done for the night, everything back in and shut it up, drove it back to the driveway .. everything still loaded up for the next day.

I carried the 2x4x14s inside with just a little sticking out the pass side window (swing mirror out of way)

next I'll be buying small shrubs and will be nice to fit them with NO wind damage or to short in the SUV.

I regularly get stares @ home centes with a LOADED down lumber cart pushing it up to the 'little' VW camper.. open the back hatch, swing the pass seat 90' and use side door for the heavy stuff (concrete)

people (contractors) are usualyl AMAZED.. and I tell them I have COLD drinks in the fridge to boot. heck soups in the pantry *shrugs
just another day in vanagon camper life.

soon it'll be sheet goods. carefully slid inside high and dry.

Dan
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wolfej1
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Drove about 350 miles and went camping in southern Ohio. Tried to get the VDO CHT gauge to get to 500 degrees but could only get it to about 460...... Laughing
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McVanagon
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Used the '85 to go get some stuff...
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ProvoCyclist
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just let my van rest today, he deserves it Smile
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Past: 1985 Sunroof GL, 2wd, Subaru 3.3L, manual trans, resprayed to Diamond Silver L97A
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tikibus
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lets see,

Moved 8 sheets of dry wall ( 1/2"x4'x8') plus 2 sheets of MDF (1/2"x4'x8'), 10 4x8's, a crap load of other lighting stuff and more.

In a Westy.

Along with moving a 2,000 Sq. Ft. Photo Studio equipment to a new locale.

Fun.
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1984 Westy - Tiki
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1971 Volvo P-1800E- needs TLC
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Jon_slider
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:48 am    Post subject: Camping in Carpinteria Reply with quote

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With a big swell at Rincon


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