Another road trip thread

pig-pen · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 8:14 am Post subject: Another road trip thread

Hello all. I recently purchased my L31 265 here on TheSamba. It now resides at Jer-Fab where she is being prepared for our arrival this august to LAX for a 28 day driving tour of California.

We have a loose plan, LAX - San Diego - up the coast to Big Sur - a while in Santa Cruz - Across to Yosemite - San Francisco - back to LA

Any thoughts on this would be most welcome from some natives, along with good stuff to do with the kids...(7 and 2)...

Good places to stay? Cool stuff to see not in the guidebooks? VW meets and shows?

My main question though, is can y'all give me a list of VW shops on that route, I would love to have a little list of places to go if anything falls off or goes wrong!

Smile

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1954 L227 Type 113
1964 L31 Type 265

Red Fau Veh · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 8:58 am Post subject:

Where you park the machine at night while you sleep in a hotel will be a concern imo. Maybe have Jer Fab install a hidden anti theft device, or get a tent and do some camping.
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pig-pen · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 9:49 am Post subject:

we have booked some log cabins like at big sur, staying in a couple of KOA campgrounds... like at yosemite and santa cruz, but yes... it is a concern of course.
_________________
1954 L227 Type 113
1964 L31 Type 265

Eric&Barb · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 10:35 am Post subject: Re: Another road trip thread

64 ragtop volks · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 1:49 pm Post subject:

i would consider bringing some basic tools and spare parts, extra points, or extra petronix, a coil, a fuel pump some fuses, extra clutch cable,wing nut, a throttle cable, fan belt, a spring loaded pushrod tube, a complete gasket kit( cheaper then buying indiviuals )and things like that. a $15 part that goes bad can be a problem if your far from a parts store. sometimes a fresh build will have some gremlins to work out. and GET a AAA roadside assitance membership for peice of mind.

EverettB · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 3:18 pm Post subject:

If you are coming in mid-late August and staying for a while I would go to the Sacramento Bugorama in early September.
It can be dirty and hot but it's a big meet with a lot of people camping and hanging out.
Arrive on Saturday and stay until Sunday.

All the cool kids are in the swap meet area. Wink

Show listing here
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/shows/index.php#12525
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Shoyrtt · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 4:19 pm Post subject:

Everett said it "...hot..." August temperatures can be HOT in the California inland areas. Stick the the coast as much as possible. Pacific Coast Highway (AKA "PCH") should be your main route of travel.

It might be too late for reservations, but California has some great beach campgrounds, perfect for the kids along the way. http://www.parks.ca.gov/

As you may know, there are some "must do" attractions for the children. Disneyland, Lego Land and Sea World come to mind. Traveling North on PCH, Santa Barbara, Solvang and Pismo are nice. Once you are North of Point Conception (just North of Santa Barbara) there tends to be a lot of fog in the Summer months. Moro Bay and Hearst Castle are good stops.

Your trek from Santa Cruz to Yosemite is where the heat might be a problem. I would try to stay off of the Freeways as much as possible. Maybe go east trough Gilroy (you will just miss the famous Garlic Festival) through some boring farm land to the Sierra. I believe the closest VW shop along the way is Siegfried's Motors in Fresno if you have trouble here.

I echo what others have said about tools, parts and AAA. Good luck!

Edit: You will get a ton of thumbs up from people on this trip and lots of questions and stories from people every time you stop. Also note that Californians drive fast and some of them don't get the nostalgic VW traveling along at 50 mph. The slow moving vehicle magnet is a good idea, but even then just know there will be assholes. Just keep cruising! Cool

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pig-pen · Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 1:54 am Post subject:

All great advice thank you.

Shoyrtt · Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 11:45 am Post subject:

pig-pen · Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 3:04 pm Post subject:

Shoyrtt · Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 4:50 pm Post subject:

I have never been to the "Feed the Bug" show (Fresno is 3+ hours away from me). The "big" VW shows in Southern California are typically in May/June. Bugorama in Sacramento is in September and I'm sure there are others. From the video, I would guess the "Feed the Bug" show is well attended, but not "big" compared to the Classic etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=101&v=Wz7FKeeOEjQ

If you are planning to go from Santa Cruz to Yosemite, Fresno isn't far out of the way, but again just be prepared for some heat. Fresno does have the reputation (not sure if it is true) for having one of the highest rates of auto theft in California.

abritinthebay · Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 9:58 pm Post subject:

Ok, well lets break this down by area.

LA Area

Santa Monica Pier. It's beautiful, it's fun, its just an iconic stop.
La Brea Tar Pits. Different, unusual, and educational. It's a great way to spend an hour or two (nice museum for the kids too).
Santa Barbera. Just up the coast from LA it's a great little town with an absolutely amazing movie theatre in the middle of it that is styled like the inside if a Spanish town square. Also has great food, bars, and lots of AirBnB places to stay.
Los Olivos & Solvang. Los Olivos is a cute, sleepy little town in the center of SoCal Wine Country - worth a stop just to enjoy the area and check out a tasting room. Solvang is more touristy - it prides itself on looking like an old dutch town. It's fun, good road trip fair. Nearby here is Pea Soup Andersens which is a great stop for lunch. Really shockingly good road food and it's something of a road-side food icon.

Central CA

Paso Robles. Center of the main southern california wine industry. Lots of cheap hotels and some good food too. Mainly worth stopping for the vineyards tho.
Hearst Castle. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE FOR IT IS AMAZING. Get tickets in advance though.

NorCal

Santa Cruz and the Big Basin Redwoods. Santa Cruz boardwalk is a given and the whole town is great but head up highway 9 to Boulder Creek and the Big Basin Redwoods. There are tons of great camping (and tent cabin) places here. Little Basin or Huckleberry Campgrounds are my recommendations but they are all pretty good. Beautiful scenery, good hiking, lovely area.
Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and the Aquarium. Lots of great hotels and AirBnB places here. Catch the Monarch butterflies if you're in season, check out 17 mile drive for great views, but for sure check out the Aquarium. It's not Sea World, but it is rather amazing. Cannery Row has fun stuff and lots of great food in Pacific Grove.

As for the rest - I could fill a post with things to do in SF, Oakland, and Yosemite areas....

pig-pen · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 6:51 am Post subject:

Great stuff. Thanks for the tips. Now going to be shipping truck home from san fran, so will get to spend more time up there too... which is a bonus.

more serious matters though... here she is...

We have (or rather Mike @ jer-fab has) started stripping the ugly coat of primer off her... the sides revealed some red which we figured might be good under there, good enough to blend in anyhow... but then it all turned nasty...

so there is going to be more body work than at first thought. silver lining though the OG paint on the roof is really nice, as is the interior... dove blue

opinions on paint schemes and colours please!!!!
_________________
1954 L227 Type 113
1964 L31 Type 265

KevinAlbrecht · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 7:00 am Post subject:

If the original color was dove blue, then bring it back. Even cooler if you an find a shop that will shoot it in single stage.

If you don't like the blue, then paint it whatever color you want.
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Shoyrtt · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 8:18 am Post subject:

X2 on Dove Blue. Now if you want to change things up and not mess with the integrity of the truck (you can easily change it back), I really like the addition of a black roof. Not the greatest pictures but here is my friend's single cab:

in the right of this pic:

I think a DC lowered in Dove Blue with a black roof, black emblem, black bumpers and black Porsche alloys would be cool and a little different. Cool

pig-pen · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 10:16 am Post subject:

hmmm... yeah, I like that idea, but then I would be covering the only OG paint left (on the outside) with black... like the black bumpers though. that would be good, and rolling black steels I think. Hmmm... I shall have a little photoshop.

Unfortunately we don't really have the time for a full paint job so its gonna be a satin finish... also the funds got eaten by flights from UK to LAX. I still have my OG paint on the inside!
_________________
1954 L227 Type 113
1964 L31 Type 265

mandraks · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 11:07 am Post subject:

pyrOman · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 12:14 pm Post subject:

FWIW, when I drove the Dormy across the states to Floriduh and back, I used a "campground ap". Drove until it started to get dark then search for a campground in whatever area I was in. It would should how many spots it had as well as amenities, hot showers, etc. Used a couple of the same places on the way back as well but learned of others that I will forever avoid! Confused

Good luck on your trip! Cool

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Help Help · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 2:06 pm Post subject:

If you're going south from LA I really recommend PCH as much as you can.

Plan to stop in Huntington Beach. If it's a weekend there is always a car show going on and if not maybe another activity. If you went LAX - WolfWest - HB that would be 3-4 hours of driving the first day and wouldn't be a bad shakedown. And if you're there, Disneyland is only 20-30 minutes away. Pierside parts is pretty close too if you need something stat. There are enough VW people in HB that you can find some support if needed.

Further south, San Elijo is an awesome camp ground for tent/bus camping. There are a few others in the vicinity too. I can go on about places to eat/drink along the way but you'll find your own gems.

When you head north of LA, I'd go PCH again although there are some freeway sections that if not for the CHP would be 90 MPH plus. Stop at Malibu and Rincon for 15 minutes each. The Cliff House is cool hotel to stay in. North of Santa Barbara there is Refugio beach, another great campsite for tent/bus camping. (If you are really bold you can dive here and might even get a lobster but watch out because *the landlord* has been seen there from time to time.)

pig-pen · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 5:10 pm Post subject:


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