TheSamba.com :: View topic - Traveling the USA with our ´70 Baywindow Bus

Fri Feb 21, 2025 4:18 am

Hi,
my name is Michael from Braunschweig, Germany. I worked at Volkswagen at the engine design dept (sorry, only watercooled engines)

After 4 years of intensive travelling in a ´63 Split bus in Europe and Morocco, we changed it over for a ´70 Baywindow weekender. I bought it by Samba from NY 9 years ago. After 60k miles in Europe it gets time to ship it to the US and visit it´s home coutry.
We will arrive End of August in Halifax and will have a first time slot of three month until end of November.
We will start at the east coast to visit the old home adress of the Bus in Long Island and New York. I will also try to contact the first owner. He is retired and I found his name at an adress near NY. Next stop will be St.Petersburg, Fl to visit my sister...
After this, we are free to head where we want. I hope there will be some VW meetings on the way to visit. I just started to find some POI we have to see. The idea is to end anywhere in the west (because of the weather) after 3 month, store the car and come back in January to go down the Baja together with my daughter.

If you have any advices for me. May be meetings, junkyards, shops, lonely back roads or POI, please write...........

Totally happy to see you and your country

Michael

Fri Feb 21, 2025 4:38 am

Wilkommen, Ducmic!

I’m in Port Jefferson area of Long Island so let me know your timing. Every first month Sunday we gather up vintage cars for Cars and Coffee and we have only lonely sage Green Bay Bus right now.

Pm me for communication here

Fri Feb 21, 2025 10:07 am

Welcome Michael!

There are a lot of POI's throughout the US so you may need about 10 years to see them all. :)

If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, there are VW meet ups a few times a month.

Feel free to reach out if you make it up to the Vancouver BC area in Canada.

Fri Feb 21, 2025 11:39 am

You might want to rethink your journey into Mexico.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13vgg720jo.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexi...an-surfers

Fri Feb 21, 2025 1:00 pm

welcome michael.

there is no place in the us of a that doesn’t have something worth seeing.

if you make it to the central coast of california, let me know.

Fri Feb 21, 2025 1:32 pm

I recommend skipping most of Southern California and getting straight to Baja. Far safer, cheaper, less crowded, and more welcoming.

Make sure you plan your trip west according to the elevation changes as well as mileage. What looks like a straight shot on a map could take 2-4 times as long in a bus due to elevation and the pure emptiness compared to other parts of the country. Gas can be more scarce… You’ll want an app like iOverlander if you plan on staying in free/public land campsites along the way. Unlike the east coast, not every square inch of the western US is covered in gates and “no trespassing” signs.

Enjoy your trip!
Robbie

Fri Feb 21, 2025 1:43 pm

Hi,
after starting the threat I got only one answer and wondered........but then I wake up. You are minimum 6h later then central european time :D
I will try to contact anybody there after we arrived and get near to the place you are living.
I ordered a map for the USA and take a box of needles to mark points that must be visited.
One of the first stops will be at Port Jefferson for Cars and Coffee and will visit the place where the Bus was located in Brookhaven.

Regars Michael

Sat Feb 22, 2025 9:15 am

In the middle of january there is a large VW campout, BBB (Buses By the Bridge) in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Well worth attending.

I think Mexico is fine as long as you aren't a surfer and don't have fancy tires.

Sat Feb 22, 2025 12:03 pm

TDCTDI wrote: You might want to rethink your journey into Mexico.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13vgg720jo.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexi...an-surfers

Yes, but you need to pay attention, and choose your routes carefully.

I drove the length of Baja with a friend who owns a condo near Cabo a couple of years ago; he wanted to leave the car there for their use, so we made a trip of it, flying back. Three days of fantastic drives, views, meals, and people. Once we got 100 miles south of the border, I felt safer. Seek advice on what to bring (and not to bring) and where to drive and stay, and you'll be fine.

I also suggest you make sure to include the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) on your travels. Catch some central coast VW folks on the way.

Sat Feb 22, 2025 1:35 pm

Quote: Once we got 100 miles south of the border,

:D :D :D

Sat Feb 22, 2025 1:46 pm

Lind wrote: In the middle of january there is a large VW campout, BBB (Buses By the Bridge) in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Well worth attending.

I think Mexico is fine as long as you aren't a surfer and don't have fancy tires.

Thanks for "BBB". This afternoon I cheked YT for some videos. Seams to be a good meeting to meet nice people. I have to add it to the calender!!!!!
January is normaly no the time for camping but my Bus ist equiped with a petrol heater since we had a very, very cold summer trip in the north of Scotland 2017 with our Split window bus.
We added 195/80-15 A/T tires since our second Morocco trip on all our Busses...........and I am not a surfer :D

Michael

Sat Feb 22, 2025 1:52 pm

TDCTDI wrote: You might want to rethink your journey into Mexico.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13vgg720jo.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexi...an-surfers

It seams better, not to read this :roll:

Sun Feb 23, 2025 11:13 am

If your coming down the RT95 corridor. In Maryland check out on Facebook, Harford County Vintage Volkswagens. They meet usually once a week. Or you can stop at my empanada restaurant. We can maybe work it out with the club and have a VW gathering. All this is right off RT95 in north eastern Maryland.

Sun Feb 23, 2025 1:35 pm

Having driven the I95 corridor Maine to Florida more than once, i'd be looking at alternate routes for driving a bus.
I95 is a shit way to "see the country" on the East Coast.
It all depends on how much time you have. I've a penchant for staying near the coast rather than go inland.
Parts of RT1 in Maine, Acadia national park, to Brunswick are nice driving. Between Portland Maine and Boston, the choices of route narrow, same as they do between Boston And NYC.
RT 1 near population centers typically turns into big box stores, strip malls, and traffic lights. This is where getting on an interstate highway makes sense and will improve gas milage with reduced frustration of having to slow down and stop endlessly.
From NYC south, consider the Cape May ferry from NJ to Delaware, then eastern shore MD to the bridge tunnel to Norfolk. Or ferry ride and head to Annapolis MD, then follow 301 to 17 to Yorktown VA.
RT 13 and 17 south outside of Norfolk wander through North Carolina. 17 will get you well into Florida.

Sun Feb 23, 2025 2:04 pm

ducmic wrote: TDCTDI wrote: You might want to rethink your journey into Mexico.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13vgg720jo.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexi...an-surfers

It seams better, not to read this :roll:

I wouldn’t let those articles worry you. One is from a year ago, and the other a decade ago.
A LOT of worse shit has happened in every city in the USA since then. Be safe, but don’t travel scared.

Sun Feb 23, 2025 2:13 pm

i respectfully disagree with robbie. southern california is full of things to see and do, and has plenty of friendly people. like robbie.

plus, some of the world’s best beer is brewed there.

being german, i assume you like beer.

Sun Feb 23, 2025 6:01 pm

CanStan wrote: ducmic wrote: TDCTDI wrote: You might want to rethink your journey into Mexico.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13vgg720jo.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexi...an-surfers

It seams better, not to read this :roll:

I wouldn’t let those articles worry you. One is from a year ago, and the other a decade ago.
A LOT of worse shit has happened in every city in the USA since then. Be safe, but don’t travel scared.

Dude, that was just some of the more high profile examples, Mexico has 4x the annual murder rate of the US, and that doesn’t include those that just go missing.

Sure, there are definitely areas of the US that I would suggest to stay away from also, but those typically aren’t places that tourists wanna go anyway.

Mon Feb 24, 2025 1:11 am

Using aggregate statistics as a surrogate for safety is a poor strategy.

Leaving Germany, you have already made a 8x jump in murder “ risk” coming to the US, most Americans who fear travel to Mexico fear brown people more than murder rates. This happens from watching too much “Narcos”

Mon Feb 24, 2025 8:04 am

TDCTDI wrote: Mexico has 4x the annual murder rate of the US.

Abscate wrote: Leaving Germany, you have already made a 8x jump in murder “ risk” coming to the US.

In USA, some murderers actually become cult heroes !
OJ
Menendez brothers
Luigi
Blake
Kohlberger

Mon Feb 24, 2025 8:14 am

Abscate wrote: Leaving Germany, you have already made a 8x jump in murder “ risk” coming to the US...

This^^^^^. Thank you. I was just going to point this out.
If you're going to encourage him to avoid Mexico based on murder stats, it would only make sense to use those exact same stats to discourage him from coming to the USA, since that's an even more dangerous leap to begin with.

I want to be sensitive to what's happened over in the Vanagon forum over the last couple weeks, since we don't know all the details, but lets be honest here- if you're not involved in the drug trade, gangs, or a violent domestic relationship, the chances of being killed by a complete stranger are staggeringly low.

Again, travel safe. But don't travel scared.

It sounds like an awesome trip! Have a great time!