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Additional Photos
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Current Rig: 1987 Bostig Westy. Luna |
The Greatest Car Ever Built - There, I said it. |
My 1991 Westy, Jean Claude Damn Van |
Built out these two for Jimmy Buffett |
Jimmy Buffett's Syncro Adventurewagen |
My 1986 Syncro Westy |
My 2003 Eurovan Winnie |
My 1987 Syncro Adventurewagen Westy. Pound Puppy. |
1982 Westy. My first. aka, The Cube. |
1985 Westy. The Perp. |
1991 Westy. Rosie |
California Coasting (NYTimes) |
Gretta Van Lefturn 2003 Eurovan |
Gretta Van Lefturn 2003 Eurovan |
Some of my work on J Buffett's Syncro |
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Before you buy the wrong van, call me. Price: 75
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Need advice buying a Vanagon or Eurovan? Hire a journalist and fanatic who’s owned 8 of them.
For years, I’ve written about VW campers for titles including Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, Adventure Journal and the New York Times. To me, they are the greatest vehicles ever built. Even 40 years after the first Vanagon Westfalia rolled off showroom floors, there is no more capable, rugged and long-term engineered camper van on the road. And though the Eurovan was last produced in 2003, it’s still one of the best small campers you can buy. Owning a VW Van can lead to the greatest adventure of your life, but it can also be a drive straight down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The youngest Vanagon now dates back to 1991. Plastic wears out, rubber rots, wires grow brittle while connection points oxidize. Bearings lose lubrication, metal fatigues and rust metastasizes. And that’s just the tip of the mechanical iceberg when you own a 30-year-old roaming tiny house.
I bought my first Vanagon, an aircooled Westy, over 20 years ago. Since that time, I’ve owned eight Westys — two of them Syncro’s — and a wonderful 2003 Eurovan Winnebago. VW vans are a family affair. My sister, a geologist, drives a Subaru-powered 1985 Westy, while mybrother regularly writes about his 1987 Adventurewagen on his cycling blog "The Revolting Cogs." https://revoltingcogs.blogspot.com/2019/10/van-of-constant-sorrow-part-one-sads.html
I rely on our VW’s not only for family camping, but for work as a reporter — covering political rallies, mudslides, hurricanes, wildfires, riots and the Michael Jackson trial. Because I never know when I’m going to be called to drive a long distance at a moment’s notice, driving a VW van for deadline work means understanding what element of my mobile office might break before it breaks, and being picky about what systems I upgrade and rely on. My garage today includes upfitted Bostig-engined ’87 Westy (here's a video interview overview of that van, complete with too damn many ummm's and ahhh's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV35G7065Qc)
while our 2003 Eurovan Winnebago was bought from Lucas at GoWesty
(and here's an interview/overview of that van: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89WggWV5QQM).
In addition to my own vans, I’ve also handled buildout and maintenance of a Syncro Adventurewagen and two Ford Sportsmobiles for Jimmy Buffett and have performed countless hours of restoration, electrical and mechanical work on my vans, and the vans of others. I am familiar with the offerings of the amazing vendors producing upgrades and gear undreamt of 30 years ago, and I’ve worked with many of those vendors on projects. I understand integrated camping and mechanical systems from solar to water to propane, air conditioners, heaters, brakes and suspensions and I’ve learned from decades of my own mistakes. I've also dealt with nearly every engine conversion known to Vankind from Eurospecs to Subarus to Bostigs to diesels to stock Aircooleds, 2.1's and 1.9's. Every conversion or regular stock engine configuration for that matter, has its strengths and weaknesses. And based on spare parts and services, some are even better for you depending on where you live.
The point of all this, is that through the years as a VW driving journalist, a side hobby has evolved into a side business — working mostly through word of mouth with folks eager to purchase or research van campers or install solar and other system upfits. Based on a few suggestions from clients with and with the permission of Everett at the Samba, I’m placing this ad in the classifieds.
I’m not an official VW mechanic or vendor. I’m just an honest fanatic who has learned a ton. If you’re in the market for a Vanagon or Eurovan, or even in some cases, an aircooled Microbus, and need expert advice on a purchase or upfit, I humbly offer my services before you spend many thousands of dollars. Everyone has a different need, lifestyle, mechanical ability and budget to consider. With the same unbiased rigor I apply to my reporting, I’ll listen to your needs, wants and experience and make (sometimes brutally) honest recommendations based on what I hear. I’ll scrutinize vans currently on the market, while also considering vans potentially available but not yet listed on the mighty Samba.
I work at a flat $75/hour rate — no commission. I’m thus under no pressure to persuade you to buy something you don’t need, and in some cases, I might even warn you off a van purchase entirely. I can help with upfits (advice or actual installations), communication with sellers, and if you’re a seller, I can potentially assist your communication with a buyer — and advise on steps to help get your van sold. I can also provide plenty of references.
If you need some hard-won wisdom borne of axle grease, scarred knuckles, curses and magical journeys, don’t hesitate to reach out. [email protected].
Below is some of the my “van journalism” through the years.
NYTimes:
DRIVING; Drawn to a 1980's Camper With the Soul of an S.U.V.
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/18/travel/driving-...n-suv.html
California Coasting - Traveling the California Coastline in a VW Van
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/travel/escapes/09camp.html
DRIVING; Love Notes And Ghosts on A Lonely Road
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/20/travel/driving-love-notes-and-ghosts-on-a-lonely-road.html
Outside:
The Purpose Driven Van
https://www.outsideonline.com/1856606/purpose-driven-van
The Greatest Car Ever Built
https://www.outsideonline.com/1915261/greatest-car-ever-built
Read This Before You Rent Your Beloved Van to Strangers
https://www.outsideonline.com/2406932/outdoorsy-van-rentals
The Ride of Your Life - Seven Dream Rigs
https://www.outsideonline.com/2093836/ride-your-life
The Scuttlefish:
The Surfmobile Devotional. An Ode to the Venerable Volkswagen Vanagon Camper.
http://thescuttlefish.com/2014/11/the-surfmobile-d...-camper-2/
More of my Work is here:
http://chrisdixonreports.com
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